Juventus ‘Invincibles’ emerging force – Gianluigi Buffon

By BEN RUMSBY
Published on 19/09/2012 02:41

JUVENTUS captain Gianluigi Buffon last night declared Chelsea’s Champions League triumph proved anything was possible in football as he played down his own side’s lack of experience in the competition.

Juve return to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 2009 this evening when they take on last season’s surprise winners at Stamford Bridge.

It will also be only the third Champions League in seven seasons for the Turin giants, who used to take a place in the competition for granted until the Italian match-fixing scandal consigned them to the wilderness.

But they arrived in London yesterday on an incredible 
42-game unbeaten run in Serie A, having not lost a single match on their way to last season’s title.

And goalkeeper Buffon insisted his team-mates had already proven they were big game players for both club and country. The Italy stopper said: “Before Chelsea won the Champions League, in the previous years, they were always the team to beat and they always failed.

“And then, when they started struggling, when they were in a declining phase, that’s when they actually won the Champions League. What’s beautiful about football is that it’s not always the team that’s considered the stronger one that’s actually going to win.”

The 34-year-old, who is in his 11th season with La Vecchia Signora [the Old Lady] of Italian football, added: “We’re an emerging team that’s got a great future.”