Buffon: ‘Proud to stay at Juventus’

Gianluigi Buffon is “proud” to have extended his Juventus contract, and targets a 10th Scudetto.

The goalkeeper and Andrea Barzagli both officially extended their deals today, and the captain spoke at a Press conference.

“I’ll be brief and concise,” Buffon promised the assembled journalists.

“I’m proud of this further act of trust that the club and the world of Juve have placed in me.

“I want to emphasis the fact that the path we’re on together is one of strength, with everyone coming together to try and improve and get to the dream and the objective we’re all aiming for [the Champions League].

“I think I can reach it with my teammates and this great club which makes us feel secure. In the end the real truth is that player can only express himself at great levels when working with a group, and when there are people behind the scenes who know their stuff.

“I think everyone knows my history with Juventus, I hope it will end in the best way and with more successes.

“The last time I was here to celebrate a renewal it was with the President [Andrea Agnelli] and [Giorgio] Chiellini, today I’m with the President and Barzagli.

“I’m very proud of that, to share something so important with my teammate, because in the end I think there’s a bond that unites us both on the pitch and off.

“What interests me though has always been the pitch, and there we have something that is really deep, really special and borne of mutual respect.

“I think that in every situation you experience, in sport and in life, it’s not easy to find that, and we have that esteem between us players and I think with the directors. I’m truly grateful for all that.

“A 10th Scudetto? [Buffon has nine, although two were revoked due to Calciopoli] Honestly, we’ll see how these two years go. We’ll start next season with great humility.

“If it goes as I and all the Juve family hope, it would be a great satisfaction, those would be really incredible numbers.

“It would be my 16th season with Juve, and in those seasons I’d have 10 Scudetti and one title in Serie B.

“Those are really important numbers, for me but above all for the team.”

With the Old Lady having secured a fifth-Scudetto in a row, Buffon was asked what the difference is between them and the other teams in Serie A.

“I think what’s important is having these lads who are intimately familiar with what Juventus means, what it means to be at Juve, to wear this shirt and to represent the club on and off the pitch.

“I believe in the strength of these lads. Our strength in the dressing room will be there, and then if it’s decided on the pitch that we’re good we’ll see what happens.

“Does it help having a lot of Italians? Like I said at the beginning, it’s clear that having a hard-core, a nucleus of people who embody what it means to be Juve, is helpful.”

The goalkeeper was not even nominated for the Ballon d’Or last year, does that rejection sting?

“In all honestly I don’t feel any sense of injustice about the Ballon d’Or,” Buffon insisted.

“I know I’ve had a brilliant career, I know I’ve come close a few times, and deservedly so, I think.

“But I also know that if I didn’t win, it means I didn’t do enough. That’s the only truth, you can’t start looking for bad faith or other things.

“The fault is only mine, because I should have done better in certain situations".