The Juventus keeper stuck with his club during turbulent times after Italy’s 2006 World Cup win in Berlin – the stage for the Champions League final against Barça

With blue-shirted players pogo-dancing joyously as they sang the White Stripes riff that had become their theme tune, if Gianluigi Buffon closed his eyes in the away dressing room of the Bernabéu, he would have been transported back in time. The colours, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, all came together to evoke Berlin 2006. Juventus are heading back to the place where Italy won the World Cup, and the connections for Buffon are overwhelming.

Few players show their footballing feelings quite like Buffon. When he sings the Italian national anthem, as he has publicly on 147 appearances as goalkeeper representing his country, he drenches himself in emotion. When he celebrates, as he did at the end of an intense Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid this week, he screams and shakes his fists with an operatic flourish that would grace La Scala. “This is a step we wanted to take with all of our hearts,” he explained later.

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All sentimental gestures were understandable considering what memories a return to Berlin, the venue for Juventus’s Champions League final date with Barcelona, evokes for Buffon. “Destiny” was the word that came to his mind. He tapped out a tweet that summed it all up for him: “Da Berlino alla B.....dalla B a Berlino!!!!! questa è la vita!!” From Berlin to Serie B and back again. That’s life, he exclaimed.

The cycle of this chapter of his story is irresistible. It is not just about winning the World Cup, it is also about the sacrifices he made around that time to stick with Juventus when they were demoted to Serie B as punishment for their part in a corruption scandal.

In the summer of 2006 Buffon was one of the protagonists caught up in the paradoxical mayhem that trailed the Italy team through the World Cup. In the midst of the Calciopoli outrage, when the national team met up at Coverciano to prepare for the tournament, they were booed by Azzurri supporters ashamed by the dishonesty being exposed in their game. Against this complex backdrop, they concentrated on football, built the walls around themselves to create a siege mentality, and conquered all.

Buffon went from hoisting the golden trophy in front of the eyes of the world straight into the second tier of the domestic game. Juventus opened their season at Rimini, a minor club with 3,396 season-ticket holders and a couple of small rickety stands behind the goals.

Many of his most talented team-mates jumped from the sinking ship Juventus. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira and Fabio Cannavaro departed in haste for European heavyweights. Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved stayed but they were older, their careers winding down. Buffon, then aged 28, was at his peak. The decision to stay for as long as it took his club to rebuild was remarkable.

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Even though Calciopoli had a “devastating” effect on him professionally, with past titles stripped and some potential future ones rendered impossible by relegation, he felt no doubt about where he wanted to be. “Everyone had to make their own decisions,” Buffon said. “It seemed right to stay with the club as a sign of respect for the way they treated me.”

That period of his life resonates in a profound way, coming shortly after a spell of depression. Looking at Buffon’s body language from the outside – the dominant personality that makes him a revered captain and the big, confident air he carries – it confirmed how nobody is immune to such difficulties. He suffered what he described as “dark periods” in 2003 and 2004, and sought treatment to help him recover.

“To the fans it does not matter a damn how you are,” he explained. “You are seen as the footballer, the idol, so no one thinks to stop and ask you: ‘Hey, how are you?’

“The problem was if I had said: ‘I am going away for two months to get better,’ I would have been finished. Because every time after that, if I had failed with a save or whatever, I would have been reminded of that period. I just couldn’t allow myself to go away for two or three months to get better. But I did see a psychologist and that helped me enormously.”

Watching Buffon playing these days, such an authoritative presence on the pitch, it is chastening to think that he once felt scared to play when in the grip of depression. During a match at the 2004 European Championship, he suddenly realised he felt better.

With the exception of the vanquished Iker Casillas, it’s hard to imagine too many goalkeepers around the world not warming to the sight of a 37-year-old Buffon strutting his stuff, exhibiting textbook goalkeeping to ensure nothing beyond Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty caused a problem, and letting out that heavy metal roar at the end of it all. Some 20 years after marking his Parma debut with wonderful saves against George Weah and Roberto Baggio, the veteran is still making waves.

A couple of his saves, one tipping away a swerving shot from Gareth Bale and another scrambling down to repel Karim Benzema at his near post, underlined the part he played in the outstanding team effort Juventus produced to see off Real Madrid.

With a new generation of goalkeeping excellence emerging in recent years – Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois and David de Gea leading the way – Buffon remains the godfather in gloves. There may be some other contenders for the title of best goalkeeper of his generation, with Casillas, Petr Cech and Edwin van der Sar worthy contestants, but it is hard to argue against Buffon.

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The glaring omission from his CV is a Champions League medal. He will have to be at his best to handle the wonders the Barça trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar can create. But his blend of passion and focus will be at full power on the night. “We will not be tourists in Berlin,” he says. “When you have the chance to play a Champions League final you have to win it.”

Back home in Turin after Juve’s draw put out Real, cars were tooting through the night. For Juventus to be back in the final of Europe’s elite competition is a powerful symbol of their recovery from Calciopoli. The return to the peak of Serie A is well established, with their fourth consecutive scudetto easily confirmed this season. Their modernised stadium is an example for all in Italy. An enhanced European status means so much.

Buffon understands that as well as anybody. It seemed like an awful lot of money when Juventus broke the transfer record for a goalkeeper, spending 100 billion lire (roughly €50m) to take him from Parma in 2001. Turns out he has been worth every one of those lire – and then some.