Gianluigi Buffon is delighted to have reached another Champions League final but now says just getting there is “not enough anymore”.
The 39-year-old was in goal as Juventus lost 3-1 to Barcelona in the 2015 final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion and didn’t expect to have another shot at European glory.
But following a comprehensive 4-1 aggregate win over Monaco in the semi-finals, the veteran captain and his cohorts will now face one of Real or Atletico Madrid in Cardiff on June 3.
Goals from Mario Mandzukic and Dani Alves at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday night set up a third career final for Buffon and his second in jut three years.
And he said after the game: “Everyone thought it was my last final two years ago – I thought it might be too but I never gave up hope because you have to keep believing in your dreams and in what you do right down to the very last day.
“I’m delighted because I’m going into it in good form, but of course I’d never have got another chance if I didn’t play for a great team and didn’t have my team-mates to help me.
“It’s actually happening now. It was no easy feat, mind, despite our 2-0 lead from the first leg. If we’d gone into the game and been cocky about it, we’d have had a really hard time.
“It was still very tough but if you maintain the right attitude and you’re prepared to scrap for it then you can overcome the difficult moments.
“We’re going to Cardiff now but we can’t say we’ve achieved our target yet because reaching the final is not enough anymore.”
