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Buffon: Ready for Wembley challenge

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Buffon: Ready for Wembley challenge
Buffon: Ready for Wembley challenge
Buffon: Ready for Wembley challenge

Gianluigi Buffon has played on the biggest stages in world football and Wednesday will be no different as he leads Juventus out onto the Wembley Stadium pitch for a first competitive match at the "Home of Football" in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg vs. Tottenham Hotspur.

Here's what the captain told reporters at Wednesday's pre-match press conference:

BIG MATCH, BIG STAGE

“It’s a very exciting challenge both because we’re playing in such a historic theater of football and the fact that we are playing against a strong opponent and the battle seems a little bit uphill. But sometimes going downhill can be tougher than uphill."

ONLY SUCCESS ON THE MIND

[This being the last Champions League match] hasn’t even crossed my mind. Not the least of all because I’m optimistic by nature but I hope this is not the last this year for me or Juventus and that we’ll have many more important ones!”

WEDNESDAY'S OPPONENTS

“I think Spurs quite clearly have lots of great attributes with a tried and trusted style of play which means they like to go forward in an attacking way, be physical and be technical as well. At the same time, they have a style of play which also allows the opposition a few openings and opportunities for a goal, so I think the fans are in for a treat tomorrow and a great game. The team that has the best clinical edge will be the ones that win and goes on to the next round.”

“I don’t think [allowing two goals to Spurs] is a coincidence despite the fact that we stay compact and tight in defense which is one of our strengths even at the beginning of the season when we were criticized. Sometimes you have to look at the opponent and the way they play. Spurs are very good in attack and that’s really their strength. When you’ve got players like Kane, Alli or Eriksen, you can certainly concede a goal though I will admit that maybe conceding two is too many.”

READY FOR THE BATTLE

"I guess its normal that there's pessimism when Juventus faces some adversity. One false step and people fear the worst and criticize without taking into account the opposition as well and that there’s another team who put in a really good performance. When our backs are against the wall, we are spurred on to do even better."

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