Gianluigi Buffon has returned to Parma, the club where he began his senior career 20 years ago.
The veteran goalkeeper left Juventus at the end of the 2020-21 season and was reportedly approached by Turkish Super Lig giants Besiktas, and Flamengo.
The Italy great has instead chosen to return to Stadio Ennio Tardini, where he developed as a youth and spent six years in the senior team after making his debut back in 1995 at the age of 17, keeping a clean sheet against a Milan side featuring the likes of Roberto Baggio and George Weah.
Roberto D'Aversa, the Parma head coach, was a teenager on the Rossoneri's books at the time.
Parma announced the return of their "superman" via a video released on Twitter, showing Buffon digging up a time capsule buried beneath one of the goals at the famous old ground.
Buffon won the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana and famously the 1998-99 UEFA Cup with Parma before leaving for Juve in 2001.
His glittering career in Turin included 11 league titles – one of which came when they topped Serie B in 2006-07, Buffon having stayed at the club despite their relegation due to the Calciopoli scandal.
Buffon also won five Coppe Italia, most recently last season, and six Supercoppe Italiana. He reached three Champions League finals with Juve, losing each one.
He spent 2018-19 with Paris Saint-Germain, winning Ligue 1 and the Trophee des Champions, before returning to the Allianz Stadium two years ago.
A winner of the 2006 World Cup, Buffon's 176 Italy caps is a record for the Azzurri, his final appearance coming in a friendly with Argentina in March 2018.
Buffon, who turns 44 next January, will spend 2021-22 in Serie B, Parma having been relegated last season after winning just three games.
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David, King demand more from Soca Warriors in October window as League A survival on the line
Trinidad and Tobago’s interim head coach Derek King and captain Aubrey David were left ruing the Soca Warriors’s sub-par performances in the September window, which has their Concacaf Nations League, League A survival in the balance.
The Soca Warriors, who lost their opening contest 0-4 away to Honduras, were heavily favoured to take three points off French Guiana in the following encounter at home, but they were instead held to a goalless stalemate.
This was much to the disappointment of King, David, and the many spectators that flocked the Dwight Yorke Stadium, as that result left the Twin Island Republic sitting at the foot of Group B on a point. Jamaica (four points), Nicaragua (four points), Honduras (three points), Cuba (two points), and French Guiana (one point) complete the group.
The Soca Warriors now face a must-win scenario in their next two fixtures against Cuba on October 10 and 14 to have a slim chance at making the top two for a quarterfinal berth, but more importantly to avoid relegation to League B.
Having made the quarterfinal in the previous edition of the Concacaf Nations League, David believes there is a need for individual and collective introspection as they need to raise the standard of their game.
"It was a sad result for us. It's a draw, but it feels like a loss for us because three points would have put us in a good position in the group once again. Unfortunately, we didn't get going. We need to reset again because we have two important games coming up,” David said as he reflected on the outcome of their contest against French Guiana.
"I think we as a team have to look at ourselves in the mirror and go back to the drawing board and look at the things that brought us success in the last campaign. I think we need to be humble and have that hunger to get good results,” he added.
Alvin Jones echoed similar sentiments.
"I think each and everyone has to look in the mirror and decide what they want—whether we want to play big football or we just want to compete. I think we have a lot of work to do mentally and physically. Each and every player,” he noted.
Meanwhile, King, who was appointed ahead of the tournament following the dismissal of Angus Eve, felt his team could have done more to secure the three points against French Guiana.