Gigi Buffon has unlimited ‘admiration for Ronaldo’ and believes Real Madrid are the favourites for their Champions League tie, although things are 50/50 for now.
The veteran keeper spoke to Spanish paper Marca and reviewed the clubs history against Real Madrid.
“Why Juve can beat Madrid in knockouts but not Finals? There’s no explanation,” Gigi told Marca.
“We’ve won matches that are 180 minutes long, yet we’ve lost in 90. We’ll have to play Finals in 180 minutes!
“It’s difficult to find an explanation, but it shows that we know how to play against teams of this level, although it’s not the same when the game is 90 minutes long and not 180.
“Why Madrid won so convincingly last year? What we have to do this time around is apply our qualities and way of playing in order to strike a balance.
“The best team won, but we didn’t play so badly to be stuffed like we did. There are times in games when fortune smiles at you or not, and it didn’t help us that day.
“How to beat Madrid? By applying our best characteristics on the pitch, that’s what the Coach will try to do.
“Real Madrid are a better team than Juve. I don’t say it, history says it. Their track record, numbers…
“I believe that winning the Champions League is still a dream, although it’ll be very difficult for it to come true.
“We can compete with Real Madrid, but they’ve always shown that they have something special, different.
“What makes them different? Well, they’re the best team in the world by far. Does anyone doubt it? Winning three Champions Leagues in the last four years says it all.
“They’re No 1 and no-one can argue with that. Are this Real Madrid invincible in Europe? No. No team are invincible. They’re a very complicated team to beat.
“Real Madrid may be favourites, but the tie is now at 50 percent. We have to be ambitious. There’s history and the present, but Juve are also a great team, who know how to win trophies.
“Each game is different. I wouldn’t like it to be like it was in Cardiff. We’re playing well, but we’re not favourites.
“We know the we’re facing, and our objective is to still be battling until the final minutes of game at the Bernabeu.
“CR7? I have unlimited admiration for Ronaldo, he’s been able to improve over time.
“I admire him because he’s a person who knows what he does and is pragmatic. He’s proved to be an intelligent player.
“He changed his position and uses less energy than he did before but is still truly lethal. In front of goal, he really is a ‘killer’ and only Trezeguet has his clarity when finishing.
“I was lucky to play Ronaldo the Brazilian, with and against Ibrahimovic, but Cristiano Ronaldo is breaking record after record, hence my full admiration for him.
“Win against Milan? It’s a big source of happiness for us and it gives us an extra dose of enthusiasm.
“We knew we could take a very important step after Napoli drew, and win came against one of the most in-form teams in the League.
“Casillas to play his 1000th game? Together with Cech, we marked an era of football in the past and also in the modern day.
“If we remain important for our teams, it means that all our praise is deserved because Iker has proven to have a type of quality that isn’t normal.”
Translation from Football Italia
