Buffon: 'Don't plan my funeral yet'

By Football Italia staff

Gigi Buffon blasted critics who “tried to organise my funeral” after one of his best ever performances to earn Juventus a 1-0 win at Lyon.

The shot-stopper was under fire after recent errors for both Juve and Italy, but hit back with a series of saves, including an Alexandre Lacazette penalty.

“People can organise a funeral, but there’s nobody there,” he told Mediaset Premium.

“I have said many times, without arrogance, that I am very auto-critical and don’t need to listen to others who try to use situations to disrespect and show a lack of fairness to people.

“I’ve heard many stupid things in recent weeks, but just one true comment: ‘I expect more from Buffon.’ That is true and I agreed with that wholeheartedly.”

After the reaction save on a deflected shot with his trailing hand, even Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes applauded.

“I didn’t celebrate after the saves because we were down to 10 men and I didn’t want to waste energy. I wanted to remain focused on what was going on in front of me, as I owed that to my teammates, to my club and to our fans who have always been unbeatable with me.”

As with his own career, Buffon is not going to settle with his Juventus teammates either.

“Juve must improve, because this is not enough in my view to go all the way. Paradoxically, we seemed more compact and more like a team once we went down to 10 men. We managed to suffer under pressure, but also weren’t just happy with a point, and that shows our spirit.

“We have the opportunity to do a lot better and it would be a real shame if we didn’t use the time leading up to the next round in March to step up a few levels.

“Lyon have European experience over the last 15 years, so this was a very tough test for us and a win would put one foot in the next round. Apart from the penalty, I didn’t get the feeling we could lose when it was 11 against 11. After the red card, one had to consider the possibility.

“We need to make some big steps forward in terms of beautiful football, though.”

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