Face to face with Gianluigi Buffon, the most powerful goalkeeper in Italian football

Since you established yourself at a very young age, do you feel that you have lost something in your growth? The time to gain experience and to be able to make mistakes without being thrown in the headlines. I came into the limelight at 17 and had to manage success, popularity and adrenalin. Besides money, of course. You're not ready for all that at that age and I got very angry at the cliché that said that because I was earning a lot, I had to be mature. One has the head of a 17-year-old: money buys neither maturity, nor experience, nor a sense of responsibility.

What did all this entail? Those stumbles that many young people would probably have made on their way to adulthood, I paid dearly for them: the media resonance of certain situations put me in great difficulty. So I had to grow up before my peers. Today as a person I feel very strong because I have overcome all that, I am happy with my life, I have energy, strength and positivity to overcome difficult moments. I am not afraid of anything, except for my children.

From your first game against formidable attackers you gave an impression of omnipotence. That's true. I felt like that until I was 23, but I had to change when I moved to Juventus: I had the responsibility of representing one of the great teams in world football in Italy and the world. I realised that I had to live in a slightly more serene way and not constantly in battle. I am very happy to have changed.

What was the game for you? It's the reason why I didn't stop playing until I was 45, even though in the last five years, in some respects, it was a bit of a pain for me to have to train every day. But in the game I have always been who I am and I have always been able to continue facing certain challenges that before I was 23 years old were against everyone, afterwards they were only on the court.

To win without letting the opponents score. What did you feel after one of your impossible saves? A sense of great power. You realise it when you make certain interventions. And then you hear the roar of the crowd cheering you and going into raptures, you see your teammates coming to hug you: those are strong emotions.

The most important save you made? The one on Zidane against France in the 2006 World Cup final. It was also one of my most beautiful. But I definitely think I made five or six others that I myself wondered how I did it.

The opponents you feared most? Ronaldo the Phenomenal, an alien who changed football. Then Vieri who always scored for me in the early years, and Totti. Also Cristiano Ronaldo who often scored for me...

Da sinistra: momenti nella carriera di Buffon. La parata su Zidane alla finale del mondiale del 2006. Il bacio alla coppa del mondo. L’esultanza con la Juve durante la stagione vincente 2014/15.

You went through four decades as a professional. I started playing with players born in the 1960s and finished with those born in 2000... Four decades, 2 or 3 generations, which from a footballing point of view are at least three eras: to have remained at a high level is a great merit for me given how the speed of football has changed.

How did you prepare to face certain attackers? When I was young, I didn't and I thought they were the ones who should prepare to meet me. Then, as an adult, I took care of every detail, including studying the opponent. I was convinced that over-preparing brought too much tension, then I realised that it actually helped to keep my concentration high.

Buffon con Bonucci e Barzagli che, insieme a Chiellini, hanno dato vita a una difesa che ha fatto epoca sia nella Juventus, sia in Nazionale.

As captain and iconic man of the teams you played with, how did you interact with your teammates? I never had any preconceptions towards anyone and I tried to have a good empathy with those who respected the history of the club and the locker room rules, but who, above all, gave their all on the pitch.

You won a lot, but you also lost. What was defeat for you? A very painful experience but, in some respects, it is also very beautiful because it forces you to get into it and analyse it, and if you ever have another chance, you might start off on the right foot.

Playing around the world you travelled a lot. Yes, but I saw very little. Now I'm trying to catch up. Starting with Italy, which is the most beautiful country in the world.

How are you doing in your new role with the national team? I have a wonderful job. Before me, the figure of head of delegation, the sporting director of the national team, did not exist: it is a very rewarding investiture. The national team, as well as Juve or Parma, I feel it on my skin and it is normal since I joined in 1993.

Buffon alza la coppa dello scudetto del campionato vinto nel 2017/18.

How did your partnership with Norqain begin? The Italian subsidiary explained the project to me, the possibility of also becoming a partner, who I would be sharing this journey with, and the expertise of the people on board (as of 2022, the board includes the famous industry manager Jean-Claude Biver, ed.). What sparked me was the fact that it is a new brand: if it was already known, I probably wouldn't have been interested. I like the fact that it is independent and produces modern watches, with high-quality materials and movements, to be worn in sporty or casual contexts.