Former Italy and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has revealed that facing Federico Chiesa nearly forced him into retirement.
The veteran shot-stopper, who made over 700 professional appearances during an illustrious career with teams including Parma, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, faced Chiesa for the first time in the 2017/18 season when the 26-year-old was making a name for himself at Fiorentina.
Speaking in 2019, the 2006 World Cup winner revealed that lining up against Chiesa Juventus’ trip to the Artemio Franchi Stadium in February 2018 was a humbling experience as he had played with the forward’s father, Enrico, during his first stint at Parma in the late 1990s.
“When I faced him, at first I was disoriented,” Buffon told Eurosport in 2019. “It was the first time I was playing against the son of a former friend of mine. I thought it was time to stop.”
Ironically, Buffon and Chiesa would later become team-mates at Juventus after the forward signed from Fiorentina on an initial loan deal in October 2020.
However, the goalkeeper revealed that it wasn’t until Chiesa’s international heroics at the end of the 2020-21 season that he realised what an “unbelievable” player the Old Lady had signed.
“When he arrived at Juve I didn’t think he was so good. I am honest,” said Buffon of Liverpool-bound Chiesa a few years later. “In the European Championships, he was unbelievable, in the final match with England. It was impossible to stop him.
“After a season at Juve with Federico, it is no longer a surprise for me, but it was not obvious that he would be able to play at such a high level in a tournament like the European Championship. If you do those things at such a high level, then it means that you are really special.”
Now, a few years after that glowing endorsement from Buffon and Chiesa is set to become Liverpool’s second signing of the Arne Slot era.
The 26-year-old had one year left on his deal with Juventus, which allowed the Reds to strike an £11 m deal with the Serie A outfit before the player travelled to Merseyside to complete the formalities of the transfer on Wednesday afternoon.
