Buffon: 'Bonucci teachable moment'

By Football Italia staff

Gigi Buffon assured the Leonardo Bonucci row with Max Allegri was “down to the excessive desire to win” and his exclusion can be a "teachable moment" for Juventus against Porto.

The first leg in the Champions League Round of 16 kicks off at the Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday at 19.45 GMT.

“We are in a very good moment considering the recent results and performances,” said the goalkeeper in his Press conference.

“We are aware of how important the match is and the strength of our opponents, as in recent years Porto have always achieved their objectives and finish among the top sides.

“They have a lot of European experience and we have the utmost respect for them, for we know we’ll have to earn our qualification and will get no easy ride.

“As far as we are concerned, we’re not coming off this succession of European triumphs allowing us to take a Round of 16 tie for granted.

“There have been decisive improvements over the years, winning back respect and prestige in Europe, but we did that by starting every game and every round with the utmost concentration and lack of arrogance. That’s the only way I know of going as far as possible in this type of competition.”

There has been tension in recent weeks, for example Bonucci’s disagreement with the Coach and reports the defender will be left in the stands tomorrow as punishment. Did the captain make his voice heard?

“These are situations that happen in a team that has a lot of competition for places. I think Juve are now among the elite of football, so it’s normal that incidents like that occur, as the only way to be satisfied is victory and a great performance every individual wants to give to his team.

“If that doesn’t happen, this feeling of responsibility and desire to go beyond limits can cause you to experience some situations in a bad way. It happens when the level of a team is this high, but it’s nothing serious and nothing is compromised.

“I was asked if I intervened when someone didn’t have a perfect attitude, I think all of us have the duty to intervene when work is not done properly.

“As for other situations, we are all more or less the same age except me – as I’ve gone a bit beyond – but we all know how to behave and the dynamics of a locker room.

“I have no idea if Leo will play. The Coach hasn’t given us the line-up yet, so we’ll wait and see. All we can say in these situation is that if there is a very talented, strong and leadership-style players as Leo, we are the first who have to sacrifice ourselves for the good of the team and to maintain certain balances and values.

“Leo is a very intelligent lad who embodies the Juventus spirit, so I don’t think he’ll have any problems accepting any type of decision, as he knows he’ll do it for the good of Juve and will send a teachable moment to the others.

“Let’s say players experience all Champions League games differently to in Serie A or the Coppa Italia, because it is the most difficult test, the one we care about the most and want to impress in the most.

“I am fortunate in recent years that the club has built a squad strong enough to have ambition. At times, that team ambition can make you happier than getting an individual trophy.

“There’s no denying that if we reached the Final two years ago and went close to winning it, even with some small miracles, it means we were already a very competitive side.

“Over the last two years the club didn’t dismantle the squad or hold back when making important buys. Juventus send the signal to the fans and to us players that the club is competitive and ambitious.

“What gives me confidence is that I see the way we train, I see how much we care about improving, how much better we can be and how hard everyone works."

Buffon will make his 100th Champions League appearance tomorrow, the first Juventus player to achieve this feat.

“I was told on the plane that it’s my 100th Champions League appearance. To be honest, my ego got a bruising, as it felt like I’d played many more!

“Iker Casillas is a colleague I have always admired and continue to admire a great deal. He took a brave and difficult decision to challenge himself, he’s in great shape and I hope we both have great performances.”

Porto striker Andre Silva said it was his "dream" to score past Buffon.

“Andre Silva is a great danger, I know him very well and hope he can achieve his dream of scoring against me, but only if Juventus manage to get through! That would be the best thing. I have to be at my best to keep a clean sheet, as Porto regularly create chances and make opposition goalkeepers despair.”

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