Juventus’s veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said he always believed he would get another chance to win the Champions League after his team lost the 2015 final to Barcelona. Juve beat Monaco 2-1 in the semi-final second leg on Tuesday to complete a 4-1 aggregate win and progress to the summit clash in Cardiff, where they will face either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.
Buffon, now 39, has been on the losing side in two Champions League finals when Juventus were beaten in 2003 and 2015. “Two years ago, everyone thought it was my last final,” Buffon said, as reported by BBC. “But you have to believe in your dreams.”
The Italian is in supreme touch this season, having conceded only twice in the Champions League so far. Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe ended Buffon’s run of 10 hours without conceding a goal in the competition, during the second leg of the semi-final.
Sevilla’s Nico Pareja is the only other player apart from Mbappe who has scored against Buffon in the Champions League this season, and that was in the group stage. Buffon and Juve did not concede against Porto and Barcelona over two legs in the knockout stages.
“That’s how we got through,” said Buffon. “We’ve got to Cardiff – I won’t say it was our aim because getting to the final means nothing. I’m really happy because I’m in good shape. I can’t deny the fact that if we didn’t have a great team, getting there wouldn’t be possible.”
Juventus will find out who they face in the final after Wednesday’s semi-final second leg between Real and Atletico. Real hold a 3-0 lead going into the second leg.