18 May 2018
END OF AN ERA FOR NUMERO UNO
"Tomorrow, the most important thing is to celebrate the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and Gianluigi Buffon, who will be coming to the end of an incredible 17 years at Juventus.
"Buffon has always been an important presence in the Juventus locker room and still is. He is a champion and to coach him has been a pleasure, he makes the impossible saves and makes everything look easy that for others is difficult. The way he keeps goal is what makes him a champion and I believe that he is the best goalkeeper that has ever been.
"If we keep a clean sheet tomorrow, we'll set the record for the fewest goals conceded in a single Serie A season. That would be a fitting way to end the campaign."
ROUNDING OFF A GREAT SEASON
“Each Scudetto won with Juventus has been different but this one has been my favourite of all.
"I am happy at Juventus and I have an excellent relationship with the club. Next week, we'll sit down as we start to make the team competitive again just like every year.
"Juventus always aims to be competing on three fronts come March, the league, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League and we achieved that this term. It's in Juve's DNA to always be competitive. Now everything is good because tomorrow we will celebrate, seven Scudetti and four Coppa Italias and everything is fine, then next year we will all start again on zero points. Next year will be even more difficult but not impossible, but we need to keep raising our game.
"It's always our objective to work hard to create Juventus history. That boils down to determination, sacrifice and confidence in our own abilities. It's in the difficult moments that I actually have more fun, my favourite moment of the season was the final stage of the match against Tottenham, when we defended for our lives right until the end."
THE LAST LINE-UP
“Buffon will obviously play in goal, Lichtsteiner on the right of the defence and Alex Sandro on the left, two from Rugani, Benatia and Barzagli will play in the centre. Marchisio starts in midfield alongside two from Sturaro, Pjanic and Bentancur. Whilst up-top, Dybala, Higuain and Douglas Costa all start in attack, Pinsoglio will make his first outing of the season at the end.
“Tomorrow is an opportunity for the fans to thank players who have given a lot to Juventus over the past seven years. Players who are leaving like Buffon, Lichtsteiner and Asamoah, but also those like Marchisio, Chiellini and Barzagli who have won all seven Scudetti in this period.
“Over the course of 53 matches, I have fielded 51 different line-ups. That is proof of a strong squad which has obtained great results in difficult conditions. I thank my players for that.
“In my first year at the club, with three in defence Juve commanded matches better, in the second year we played less beautiful football but were more solid. At the start of last year, we were winning but playing badly, so I changed the formation to a 4-2-3-1. This year we’ve played well in the first half of the season and then I tweaked the formation again as we needed more solidity, there are certain moments where you have to change things.”
