ARY
Gianluigi Buffon and the Champions League:
one last shot at glory?His playing time since re-joining Juventus
after one year with Paris Saint Germain has
been limited, but when given the chance
the era-defining Italian shot-stopper is still
proving why he is consistently referred to as
one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history
of the game.The most recent addition to his sizable
portfolio of stellar performances came in
Juventus's 1-1 Coppa Italia first-leg draw with
AC Milan. At the San Siro, Gigi made 11 saves.
The pick of the bunch came when, at full
stretch, he nudged Zlatan Ibrahimovic's goal-
bound header past the post - a 42-year-old
saving from a 38-year-old; it was a moment
which stood as a monument to longevity and
to stoic defiance of age.When the final whistle shrilled, Buffon
swapped his shirt with young AC Milan
midfielder Daniel Maldini, son of Paolo and
grandson of Cesare. Buffon had played
against his father dozens of times and
alongside him for the Italian national team.
Less than half the legendary goalkeeper's
age, Maldini junior was clearly touched by
the gesture - even with a lineage within the
game as prestigious as his own, it still meant
a lot to him to get the shirt worn by Gianluigi
Buffon.But he has come back to Italy to make more
than just memories. He has returned for
arguably the same reason he left: to win the
Champions League – the big-eared trophy is
the only one that has evaded him throughout
his career. He is an unhappy member of a list
of players – that includes Ronaldo Nazario
and compatriot Fabio Cannavaro – who have
never won the top prize in the club game.He first got to the final in 2003. After an
all-Italian stalemate between Juve and AC
Milan at Old Trafford, Buffon saved twice
in the shootout but still ended up on the
losing side. He would have to wait more
than a decade for his next shot at the glory,
but a vintage Barcelona performance meant
Buffon again missed out. It finished 3-1 to
the Spaniards in Berlin – the defeat was
made all the more painful by the fact that
Buffon could, and probably should, have
held on to Messi's 68th-minute shot from
which Luis Suarez scored on the follow-up.
Two years later and Juventus fell victim to
another Spanish juggernaut in the form of
Real Madrid who won the title for a second
successive season with a 4-1 victory.It seemed he was destined never to win with
the competition. But, now back at Juventus,
Buffon can take encouragement from
the fact that the Old Lady are among the
favourites again. It's unclear whether this will
be Buffon's last campaign as a footballer, but
what a fitting end to his career it would be
to see him lift the elusive trophy under the
lights in Istanbul come May.By: Adam WilliamsONE LAST
SHOT?