Buffon, before his final service with ‘Juve’ at the San Siro

The Italian Gianluigi Buffon back this Tuesday (9pm) on mythical San Siro wearing a shirt Parmaas he did in his debut at that stadium 26 years ago when A seriesalthough this time he would do it to fight him Inter for a place in the quarterfinals of Italian Cup.

A few days after turning 45 (January 28) and playing at B-seriesin the team where he debuted as a professional, ‘Gigi’ Buffon He has recovered in time from his thigh injury and aims to start first in all a Inter Milan in the round of 16 of the cup competition, one of the biggest rivals of his career, especially when he was a member of Juventus because of the historic rivalry between the two teams.

We have to go back 26 years, to December 22, 1996, to remember the moment where the youth. Buffon 18 year old is on foot for the first time San Siro.

Before, a Carlo Ancelotti The 37-year-old coached a Parma full of big names such as Cannavaro, Thuram, Zé María, Baggio or Crespo who won 0-1 Milan with players of the quality of Baresi, Maldini, Desailly, Panuci or Weah.

Those times are long gone Buffon, who now accuses his physical problems of bigger problems but does not stop his efforts to stay united on the pitch. He finished last season without playing in order to recover properly from the discomfort he was suffering and it was not until the fifth day of this season, on September 10, when he played his first minutes.

He was in goal for three straight games, posting a record of two wins and one loss before re-injuring his thigh.

In fact, he has not played since last October 1, when he was the key to his team’s victory against frosinonecurrent leader, with a save that kept it 0-0 (2-1 last result) and reactivated the Parma who are now sixth, in the play-off positions with 27 points, nine from direct promotion.

He has only played three games this season, a figure far removed from the 26 he played last year, the undisputed starter in the team from the region of Emilia-Romagna (north), but the figure of Buffon He has a lot of weight on the ‘Crociati’, who need all their weapons at their disposal to pass the rotation against the ‘Nerazzurri’, who will take the opportunity to rotate and not have the Belgian. Romelu Lukaku to attack.

Despite the lack of speed, the Italian Fabio Pecchiatechnician of Parmapondered the importance and hinted at the possible ownership of the Italian world champion goalkeeper in 2006, which would mean his fiftieth appearance at the San Siro.

“‘Gigi’ is back in training, she’s with us. It’s a big help to the men in front of this game, both in managing the lead and the game itself. You have the skills to perform this role“said the coach at the press conference before the crash.

With a contract through 2024, when he turns 46, this could be the last big date for Buffonhis last dance under the sticks of a great stage where a victory, the move to the quarterfinals, could be the epic icing on the cake of his circular career and even the last service for his ‘Juve’, which can see how his biggest rival fell in the first exchange.