As Giorgio Chiellini prepares to make his 100th Italy appearance this evening, Gianluigi Buffon writes an ode to his “faithful squire.”
The Nations League match with Portugal kicks off tonight at 19.45 GMT. Click here for the probable line-ups.
It’ll be Chiellini’s Azzurri Century, precisely 14 years on to the day from his international debut against Finland.
As Giorgio Chiellini prepares to make his 100th Italy appearance this evening, Gianluigi Buffon writes an ode to his “faithful squire.”
The Nations League match with Portugal kicks off tonight at 19.45 GMT. Click here for the probable line-ups.
It’ll be Chiellini’s Azzurri Century, precisely 14 years on to the day from his international debut against Finland.
He becomes the seventh player to reach this landmark and Buffon remains the record-holder with 176 caps.
“I’d say it is all going as planned!” wrote Buffon in the Corriere dello Sport newspaper.
“Chiello is and always will be my faithful squire who has made my adventures on the playing field more secure and victorious.
“He is the perfect example of one who, with intelligence, professionalism, humility, sacrifice and character has reaped the deserved rewards that perhaps out-perform those he had set himself at the start of his career, becoming a reference point for all those who played and continue to play alongside him.
“In my ideal line-up made up of one goalkeeper, five or six defenders, two midfielders and one or two strikers, Chiello is a fixed point, without the slightest hesitation.
“Congratulations for your 100th in the Azzurri jersey… with the objective, not even particularly disguised, of arriving at 200!!!???? With affection.”
Chiellini inherited the captain's armband of both Juventus and Italy from Buffon in 2018.