IT’S the words that will haunt Gianluigi Buffon for years to come.

Speaking in March 2016 about potential retirement, the Italian icon quipped: “Of course I have objectives, but there are no certainties.

“Maybe I could even end my career with a headbutt like Zidane did. I could nut somebody -- who knows.

“I need to search deep within myself and work out how I feel. You can never say never, though.”

12 years after Real Madrid’s manager Zinedine Zidane left the playing arena in disgrace after head-butting Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany, he was standing in the technical area, managing Real Madrid, when Buffon, who was on the park that night in Berlin, similarly lost the plot.

The incidents might not be of the same gravity, but still, it was an all-time brain fade from a man widely lauded as one of the all-time good guys of the sport - most likely his last ever involvement in the UEFA Champions League.

Football, bloody hell. What a strange crazy game, that makes us do strange crazy things.

Player Zinedine Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi. Source: AFP

Zinedine Zidane, now Real Madrid boss. Source: Getty Images

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon leaves the game Source: AP

Buffon still hadn’t chilled after the game, declaring referee Michael Oliver a “murderer” for his decision.

He was incensed. Inconsolable. Out of control as his lifelong dream of winning the UEFA Champions League slipped from his 40-year-old gloves.

The charming custodian, who took the time after the first leg to praise and congratulate Cristiano Ronaldo for his heroics, is widely viewed as a class act. He’s a role model to many – and as a disclaimer, one of this scribe’s all-time favourite players.

But regardless of the stakes at play, Oliver was within his rights to dismiss him for his out of character and out of line protests, as brutal as the context was, and as much as there was romance and a fairy tale being ruined. Too many kids were watching, to do otherwise.

Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus argues with the referee Michael Oliver Source: Getty Images

Juventus' Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (2L) argues with the referee Source: AFP

But here’s the thing; it’s football. You win some, you lose some and not all decisions are black and white, especially in the fog of one of the great European comebacks, at 3-3, in stoppage time.

“Clearly you cannot have a heart in your chest, but a garbage bin. On top of that, if you don’t have the character to walk on a pitch like this in a stadium like this, you can sit in the stands with your wife, your kids, drinking your Sprite and eating crisps,” he fumed in one of the great post-game interviews you’ll ever see.

“You cannot ruin the dreams of a team. I could’ve told the referee anything at that moment, but he had to understand the degree of the disaster he was creating.

“If you can’t handle the pressure and have the courage to make a decision, then you should just sit in the stands and eat your crisps.”

There was a push, as subtle as it was, from Medhi Benatia on Lucas Vazquez.

Real Madrid's Spanish midfielder Lucas Vazquez (2R) vies with Juventus' Italian defender Medhi Benatia (L) Source: AFP

Then it came down to interpretation, and arguably, it would have taken even more courage from Englishman Oliver to wave the incident away.

The pressure! Honestly, what would you have done if you were with the whistle in that moment?

Can you let it go, or ignore the push, because of the context, because you know it’s in stoppage time, because of “the dreams of a team”?

Was Buffon campaigning for justice and the dreams of a team when he watched Francesco Totti dispatch a penalty past Mark Schwarzer in 2006 when Lucas Neill felled Fabio Grosso in the box in the Socceroos’ Round of 16 elimination? Much like Buffon and his fear of his chance slipping, the context for many of Australia’s veterans was similar 12 years ago.

Italian player Fabio Grosso v Lucas Neill Source: News Limited

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (L) makes a save as Australian defender Scott Chipperfield (C) clashes with Italian midfielder Simone Perrotta Source: AFP

Football, bloody hell. It hurts. Fairy tales don’t always come true. Sometimes, it’s a nightmare.

And the thing is, it’s that addictive we always come back for more. It wouldn’t even surprise to see Buffon go around one more season to try right this wrong.

We’ll see this type of debate again, because nothing – not VAR, not a fifth official, not a robot with the whistle – could have avoided the pandemonium this stoppage time incident created.

Ask anyone wearing white, and it’s a clear pen.

Ask anyone wearing yellow (or usually, black and white) and, as Benatia bemoaned: “I went around Vazquez and got the ball. He just went down because he had nothing else to do at that point. You can see the ball bounce off my foot and change direction. Going out to a penalty like that is absurd.

“We are the victims of this situation, but we’re very proud of what we did tonight.”

Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) Source: AFP

The drama was a fitting ending to a wild 24 hours of Champions League football, where droughts were broken and records set, with Ronaldo’s inconceivable 98th minute winner meaning his 24th goal in his last 14 matches puts him in the top three UCL goal scoring seasons, with 15 goals from 10 games. Who holds spots No.1 and No.2? Yep, you guessed it. CR7, with 17 in 2013-14 and 16 in 15-16.

His Real, who were made to look abject and rudderless without Sergio Ramos against a rejuvenated Juve, are now chasing an unprecedented back-to-back-to-back crown. Liverpool are in the semis for the first time in a decade, Roma are there for the first time in 34 years after coming back from 4-1 down against Barcelona and for the first time in the UEFA Champions League era, there’s teams from Spain, Germany, England and Italy in the final four. You have to go back to the 1980-1 version of the European Cup for the last time that happened.

And fittingly, after the wild quarter final stages, it’s anyone’s guess what happens now, and if you’re from Rome or Liverpool, suddenly, you have every reason to believe there’s a fairy tale brewing.

Real’s vulnerabilities have been exposed, Bayern Munich were exceedingly underwhelming against Sevilla, and their style of play could just be something that has Jurgen Klopp licking his lips at the opportunity of exposing. Perhaps the more stout and resolute Roma, with a greater propensity to sit back wilily, are suddenly as big a danger to the Reds as anyone.

We’ll know more at 9pm AEST on Friday when the match-ups are set.

Sadly for Buffon, we doubt he’ll be paying much attention.