Soon Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas will be former goalkeepers and that, my good friends, will be a sad day indeed.
Buffon (39) and Casillas (35) are two of the greatest ‘keepers of all time but time waits for no man and retirement can’t be too far away for either.
We’ve witnessed some classic battles between the shot-stoppers through the years and there is nothing but mutual respect between the two legends of the European game.
It looks entirely likely that the last time we’ll see Buffon and Casillas embrace on the halfway line following the final whistle will be after the second leg of the Champions League last 16 clash between Juventus and Porto.
We got the penultimate hug on Wednesday night, when Juventus fired two away goals past Casillas’ Porto to put one of The Old Lady’s feet in the quarter-final.
A first-half red card to Porto left back Alex Telles made Juve’s task a little bit easier and that’s exactly what Buffon whispered in his opposite number’s ear when they came face-to-face after the game to swap shirts.
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“Buffon told me that the red card made it easier for them,” Casillas commented on Mediaset Premium, via Football-Italia.
“We tried to do well, but those two minutes really changed everything. We could’ve fought it out with Juventus otherwise.
“It’ll be better for us in the second leg if they have someone sent off early on, but either way we need to work hard and keep believing.
“It will be difficult, but we will give it our best in Turin.”
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