Yesterday, Italian legend Andrea Pirlo played one final match before retirement — his testimonial at the San Siro. After a career spent with Brescia, Inter, Reggina, Milan, Juventus, New York City FC and the Italian national team, a world-class selection of former teammates came together to celebrate the career of the midfield maestro.
With Serie A coming to a close this past weekend, the name on everyone’s lips was that of Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon. Buffon played his last match for Juve on Saturday and is set join a new club this offseason. The latest speculation has him linked with a switch to Paris Saint-Germain, although it was not too long ago that another Italian keeper named Gianluigi was being linked with a move to Paris.
Gianluigi Buffon played his final match for Juventus on Saturday after 656 appearances with the Old Lady. The legendary goalkeeper, among the greatest to ever play the position, said farewell to the Bianconeri fans at Allianz Stadium in Turin, and the tears were flowing from fans, the players and, of course, Buffon himself.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Italian shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon confirmed that Saturday’s match between Juventus and Hellas Verona will serve as his final appearance for the club.
Juventus is officially the champion of Italy.
That’s seven in a row, for those who are counting.
For Massimiliano Allegri, this is a period of astonishing success. Coupled with the Coppa Italia they won last week, that makes it four domestic doubles on the bounce for the Old Lady. Following on from the foundations laid by Antonio Conte, Juventus has become a winning machine.
No more talk of the title. Technically, the scudetto is not quite in the bag for Juventus, though it will almost assuredly head back to Turin for the seventh season in a row.
But after a few weeks of a Ross-and-Rachel style, will-they-won’t-they spluttering finale from Napoli, results have brought the title race to a close with two games left to play.
In these last few weeks of the season, however, there is still plenty to play for. The most interesting (and lucrative) prize on offer is the race for the Serie A Champions League spots.
Make no mistake, Chelsea’s Premier League title defense has been nothing short of a disaster. In fact, their season as a whole could be summed up as outrageously underwhelming on all levels. They sit in fifth place and face an extremely difficult task in trying to catch London rivals Tottenham in fourth.
Spurs are five points ahead and there are only three games left to play this season. Also, bigger foundational problems loom for Chelsea in the offseason — problems that no doubt contributed to the malaise and poor form throughout the campaign.
“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost; for none now live who remember it.” -What middle-aged soccer fans will be saying come 2040
How quickly can a man go from hero to villain?
For Kalidou Koulibaly, it was less than ten minutes of actual game time. After scoring the winning goal against Juventus in the dying minutes, reviving Napoli’s floundering title challenge, he was sent off in the first five minutes of the next game away to Fiorentina, squandering any resurgent hopes by setting the scene for a 3-0 thrashing by the home side.
Gianluigi Buffon is one of the greatest goalkeepers to have ever taken up gloves and played between the sticks. The Italian legend turned 40 in January and after nearly 200 appearances with the Azzurri and more than 500 with Juventus, everyone is wondering: Is Buffon retiring? It appears so. Probably. Maybe.