Gigi Buffon loves clarity and sincerity. Therefore, when this morning he read in the newspapers about a heated discussion in the locker room at the end of the match against Napoli, with a lot of bickering between him and Medhi Benatia, he rolled his eyes in disbelief. That is because what was reported could not be further from the truth:
“It is that kind of clearly false gossip, which follows the defeats of teams that do not seem to have an Achilles heel: teams like Juventus,” the captain emphasised to the Juventus TV microphones. “It attempts to destabilize an environment and undermine the confidence and togetherness of a group. As normal as this is and as something that has always happened since I've been at Juventus, I find it both logical and correct to speak up and that is what I’ve done. Nobody, at least in my 17 years at Juventus, has taken it upon themselves to point the finger at another team-mate, blaming them for a defeat, and this will never happen while I am captain of this team. I would like to add that Medhi is an extremely respectful, polite person, who is contributing to the cause and forms a part of this exceptional group. I'm sorry that I’m forced to raise these points, but I have to do it, because in the light of certain news stories, if not slanderous, at least false, I believe that a clarification is due to protect the group and Medhi, who is a fantastic guy.”
GIVING OUR ALL
“We have thrown away five very important points in the last four days. Now we’re still in first place, albeit with a narrow lead, which we must maintain between now and the end of the season. This is our objective and it’s also our duty. We’ll do everything we can. Over the last nine months, we have used up enormous levels of energy, both physical and mental, but now that we only have 20 days left, we have to be completely focused and push to the very limit of our capabilities. Then, if our rivals end up ahead of us, we’ll congratulate them because, after a season of 38 matches, who wins – besides any mistakes in favour or against – wins because they were the better team. Therefore, we will shake their hands, if they have won and not us. However, this is something that we’re not thinking about right now.”
FIVE FINALS LEFT
“The match against Inter is decisive, just like the fixtures that follow against Bologna, Roma and Verona. Among all of that, of course, there’s the Coppa Italia final. As a result, 20 days await us, but 20 days in which we really must return to the pitch with a ferocity and competitiveness, and in which we must all be united. Otherwise, we end up playing into the hands of our opponents and of those who, in our rare moments of difficulty, have always looked for biased news to cause us problems, without ever succeeding. At this time, I want the team and the Bianconeri world to unite as one and create that wall of protection which allows us to take on these 20 days like a true Juventus team.”