Former Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has identified Cristiano Ronaldo as his most formidable opponent and recollects the memorable overhead kick that the Portuguese striker scored against him while playing for Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Ronaldo continues to be regarded as one of the world’s top players and had a stint at Juventus from 2018 to 2021, where he netted over 100 goals for the Bianconeri. However, it was during his time at Real Madrid that he posed a significant challenge to Buffon.
Buffon, a goalkeeping legend and one of the best in the world during his tenure with Juventus, faced very few strikers who could successfully score goals against him. Ronaldo’s memorable overhead kick is a testament to his exceptional skill and ability to challenge even the most esteemed goalkeepers like Buffon.
The former Italy goalkeeper was asked the player he feared the most in his playing days and he said, as quoted by Tuttojuve:
“There were many. The ones who scored many goals for me were Vieri and Cristiano Ronaldo. Every time he saw me he scored. He had a cynicism and an extraordinary scoring quality.
“CR7’s overhead kick? To the general amazement of the fans Juventus fans, with great sportsmanship, stood up to applaud him and as he returned to mid-field, seeing me in disbelief, he approached me and said: “Well at 33/34 years old, not bad, eh Gigi?”. At that point I laughed at because his brazen way of representing himself which in the end represented reality didn’t really represent something different”.
Juve FC Says
Ronaldo is arguably the game’s greatest player, and Buffon is not the only goalie who found it hard against the Portugal star.
It was probably one of the reasons our board made a move to add him to the squad in the summer of 2018.
