After participating in the Champions League draw and receiving the UEFA President’s Award, Buffon expressed in an interview that he really likes the new format of the Champions League. When discussing the Italian national team, which was eliminated in the round of 16 at the Euros, Buffon believes that Italy is not as weak as portrayed by the media.
After receiving the UEFA President’s Award, Buffon jokingly said, “This is a great recognition, but you have to end your career to get more attention from the outside world. If I knew I would get this award after retiring, I would have retired long ago.” However, Buffon stated that he is honored to receive this award, which is an affirmation of his career.
Talking about the new format of the Champions League, Buffon said it is very exciting, “I really like this format, it is very exciting, and compared to the previous format, it has become more novel, but how to specifically evaluate the new format, I think we should wait until the end of the season to make a judgment.”
Although Italy, as the defending champion, performed poorly in this summer’s Euros, Buffon believes that Italy is definitely not weak, “We are not as weak as the media portrays. In the past 4-5 years, our players have been very competitive in Europe, and we won the Euros in 2021.”
Buffon believes that there were many reasons for Italy’s failure to defend the title at the Euros, “We have excellent players and good coaches, but losing to Switzerland in the round of 16 was wrong. We need to give the players 100% emotional support. I think losing to Switzerland was precisely due to a lack of emotional support.”
Buffon thinks that being eliminated in the round of 16 of the Euros means that the Italian team needs some changes, “We must strive to instill a sense of responsibility in the players. They are representing the country. I did not convey this point to the players, so I also bear responsibility. But I don’t think it’s because of the age of the team. The national team does not make room for young people; it only makes room for the strong.”