Did Gigi Buffon just break a clean sheet record or join the Night’s Watch?
Italy goalkeeping legend Gigi Buffon wrote his name into the Serie A history books once again over the weekend as he set a new record for the longest stretch without conceding a goal.
His 974 minutes of perfection beat the previous mark, set by Milan’s Sebastiano Rossi more than 20 years ago, and the Juventus stopper has now penned an incredible, emotional letter to the goal he has ‘sworn to protect’.
The seemingly ageless Buffon, whose skills show no signs of diminishing at the age of 38, writes that: “I was 12 when I turned my back on you… But the day I stopped looking you in the face is also the day that I started to love you.
“To protect you. To be your first and last line of defence
“I promised myself that I would do everything not to see your face again. Or that I would do it as little as possible. It was painful every time I did, turning round and realising I had disappointed you.”
Buffon’s words read like a solemn oath for goalkeepers, as he swears “to protect you. Look after you. A shield against all enemies”.
Just imagine David de Gea and Joe Hart meeting in the centre circle, turning towards their goals and reciting this before a Manchester derby…
https://twitter.com/JamesHorncastle/status/711923731594084354
Here is the full translation of the letter:
“I was 12 when I turned my back on you, denying my past to guarantee you a safe future.
I went with my heart
I went with my instinct
But the day I stopped looking you in the face is also the day that I started to love you
To protect you
To be your first and last line of defence
I promised myself that I would do everything not to see your face again. Or that I would do it as little as possible. It was painful every time I did, turning round and realising I had disappointed you.
Again
And again.
We have always been opposites yet we are complementary, like the sun and the moon. Forced to live side by side without being able to touch. Team-mates for life, a life in which we are denied all contact
More than 25 years ago I made my vow: I swore to protect you. Look after you. A shield against all your enemies. I’ve always thought about your welfare, putting it first even ahead of my own.
I was 12 when I turned my back on my goal. And I will keep doing it as long as my legs, my head and my heart will allow.”
