Juventus, Buffon: "I hope to reach the World Cup in 2018. Verratti? He will be Italy's captain someday"

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Gianluigi Buffon is not only a goal keeper he is also an icon of the position. Juventus's and Italy's evergreen number 1 discussed aspects of his career with L'Equipe.

"When I scrutinize my past and think about my debut in Serie A, I realize what I have achieved. Who would have ever thought I would get this stage of my career. Phisically I'm doing well, even better than in the past, it's the mind that makes the difference. It's my ambitions that allow me to keep going forwards, if I only thought about the sacrifices I make then I would be killing myself mentally. Preparing the important matches is easy, the hard part is the matches that should be easier for us on paper, and mentally you have to remain extremely focused".

On his club career which can be depicted by two colors, black and white: "Nowadays its very complicated to remain in the same club for a long time. Doing so requires a bit of an effort in seeing the same things and the same people everyday. The routine is to defeat the opponent, the enthusiasm is the treasure you need to find to feel fulfilled and train with enthusiasm and determination. Changing clubs every three years is easy, I didn't do so because I built my career on certain values, amongst those is thankfulness towards my club and a feeling of belonging to a certain club, a team and the fans who have always behaved correctly with me. It is probable though that if Juventus hadn't been a top club I wouldn't have stayed here for 20 years".

To conclude the interview Buffon commented on Balotelli and Verratti: "I have met few lads as nice as Mario. When I hear people speak bad about him, it angers me becuse he's got a heart of gold. He's generous, loveable and he's 26 years old he can still play for 10 more. Verratti? He has incredible talent. His season start was a bit shaky but simply due to the injury that made him miss out on the Euros, he's returning to his usual levels. In the future I think he will become the leader and captain of Italy, I'm sure of it. I hope to get to the World Cup of 2018 with him".

@EddieBenedetti

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