Gianluigi Donnarumma hailed Juventus captain Gigi Buffon, discussed his best Milan saves and contract dispute. “I should’ve listened to my father.”
Milan-Juventus kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“Buffon is the history of football, both on and off the pitch,” the 18-year-old told Sportweek magazine.
Gianluigi Donnarumma hailed Juventus captain Gigi Buffon, discussed his best Milan saves and contract dispute. “I should’ve listened to my father.”
Milan-Juventus kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“Buffon is the history of football, both on and off the pitch,” the 18-year-old told Sportweek magazine.
“He has this calm during the game. He always wants to be there, in every match. He takes training very seriously and I see that on international duty: he’s the last to leave the gym and the first to get on the field.
“When we do meet up, Gigi tells me to stay calm, even during difficult moments, and never to get big-headed, because humility is the first quality you need to become great.
“After Buffon, there are many other goalkeepers I admire, such as Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois, Hugo Lloris and David De Gea. I am a long, long way below their standard right now.
“The strikers I’d never want to face are Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They’re very different, as Messi was born a phenomenon, whereas Ronaldo worked hard to become what he is today.”
Does Donnarumma have any regrets?
“There are choices that make you grow up and with hindsight I would not have made them, but I regret nothing. Let’s just say that in some situations I should’ve listened to my father.”
This can be interpreted as a reference to the summer contract feud with Milan and agent Mino Raiola, where it was reported the goalkeeper’s family had pushed for a contract extension and the representative wanted to take him to another club.
Donnarumma was asked what his most important match has been and drifted back to Juventus again.
“Other than the derby we won 3-0 against Inter last year, the one where Mauro Icardi fired his penalty on to the upright, I’d say the Super Cup we won in Doha by beating Juventus. It was a strange atmosphere there, it felt more like a training session.
“My best save was for Italy on Wesley Sneijder, but the most important was to deny Paulo Dybala’s penalty in the Super Cup.”
The shot-stopper cast his eye over the current calcio scene and tipped the Juve dominance to end.
“I say Napoli lack nothing this year. As for Milan, with many strong players, it’s not easy to find the right chemistry to get them working together quickly, but there’s a long season ahead and we are combative.
“Andrea Conti is really impressive and Patrick Cutrone is amazing: if he doesn’t score a goal, he gets furious. Even if we win and he doesn’t score, he leaves the pitch in a rage.”
Donnarumma is only 18, but sees his future still on the pitch in a different guise.
“I haven’t really thought about it yet, but I’d like to be a goalkeeping coach. Having my older brother Antonio as a teammate at Milan is motivation on one hand and support on the other. We share a room in the training retreat, play around in training and this helps us get through the day of exercises.
“If I hadn’t been a goalkeeper, I would’ve liked to become a striker. I did try as a child, but I wasn’t good enough.”