Beware Spain! The legendary Buffon warned

Gianluigi Buffon, The legendary former Italian goalkeeper won the 2006 World Cup and was runner-up at Euro 2012. After hanging up his gloves in August 2023, he is now with the ‘azzurra’ as head of delegation and now he has issued a warning among the sailors, including their rivals in group B, the most difficult, in the great continental event that starts on Friday in Germany: Spain, Croatia and Albania.

“I think this Italy is probably underestimated, but it is a very competitive Italy,” Buffon warned on Wednesday in a press conference just after three days before Italy’s debut, current Euro Cup champions after winning the title in 2021, against Albania in Dortmund.

“The importance of wearing this shirt”

“What caught my attention the most, and also surprised me, about this group of players is the importance they give to the idea of ​​representing their country, wearing this shirt,” he continued.

Italy, led by Luciano Spalletti, They are not among the favorites to retain the title after failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and qualify for Euro 2024 as second in the group behind England.

“We have everything to put on a great tournament”

But Buffon, who was capped 176 times between 1997 and 2018, believes that “we have a good group and people who can make a difference, in other words, everything needed to have a good contest.”

Gigi emphasized that “these players show a lot of humility and a desire to be available to others. There are also 4, 5 or 6 players in this group who are among the best in Europe and even in the world.

Finally, Buffon showed his successor in the Italian goal, Gianluigi Donnarumma, as “a very strong point of our team. It is a guarantee that allows us to be competitive, especially when the games are undecided, it is good to know that you have a very solid goalkeeper behind you. “