GLOVE STORY
Italy goalkeeping legend Buffon relives 2006 triumph with Spalletti stars in bid to ignite Azzurri’s stuttering defence of Euros crown
GIANLUIGI BUFFON has been sharing stories of Italy’s 2006 World Cup triumph in the hope of inspiring more history at Euro 2024.
The Olympic Stadium in Berlin, which will stage today’s last-16 clash between Italy and Switzerland, evokes great memories for the 46-year-old goalkeeping icon.
And 18 years on from the best night of his career, Buffon is hoping his success can now rub off on Luciano Spalletti’s players.
“Buffon has spoken with everyone – he’s allowed all of us to relive the excitement of 2006 through his stories,” said Italian coach Spalletti (right).
“We know we have to honour comparisons with our predecessors in 2006 when we brought home the trophy.
“That was a special moment in Italian history and we hope to show our best.”
Italy celebrated World Cup glory in Berlin as they beat France 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the final.
As defending champions here, they would have been eliminated if it had not been for Mattia Zaccagni’s fire-cracker in the 98th minute that broke Croatian hearts. Now Spalletti believes his troops can brush their Group B struggles to one side and kick on in their ambitious quest to retain the trophy.
He said: “We were really keen to get out of the group. The players probably struggled with that, but we’ve done it.
“Now I expect them to be more relaxed because you don’t have to think about permutations, everything is in your hands completely.”
The match is being billed as the battle of the goalkeepers as Gianluigi Donnarumma battles to outwit Yann Sommer between the Swiss sticks. The Italian keeper, who saved Luka
Modric’s penalty in the 1-1 draw with Croatia in
Leipzig, said of his opposite number: “I know
Sommer well, he had a wonderful season. I’m in touch with Gianluca Spinelli, his Inter goalkeeping coach, I’d like to congratulate him on winning the Scudetto.
“We need to make sure we do a great job against him because it won’t be easy at all. I really admire what he has achieved so far but I hope he does a lot less tomorrow.”
Paris Saint-germain No.1 Donnarumma wants his team to learn from their mistakes against Croatia after they were let off the hook. Now there is no longer any margin for error.
He said: “A lot of people wrote us off and said it was the group of death. It wasn’t easy and we were well aware of that.
“We deserved to lose against Spain in terms of what we showed out there, but we did a good job against Croatia to stay in the game, all things considered.
“It paid off and we deserved to score that equaliser that brought us here. “We need to make sure we don’t make too many mistakes, don’t gift them anything, we have to just dominate this time.”