Gianluigi Buffon Opens Up on Juventus, Depression and Key Coaching Figures

Gianluigi Buffon’s career is usually measured in saves, trophies, Champions League nights and Italy’s 2006 World Cup. Yet the former goalkeeper has reflected instead on the uncertainty, personal mistakes and decisions behind that public record, offering a candid view of the pressures that accompanied a defining era for Juventus and the national team.

Key takeaways

• Buffon said he has made many mistakes but believes accepting their consequences is essential to personal growth.
• He confirmed that he backed Gennaro Gattuso for the Italy job and would make the same choice again.
• Buffon chose to step away following Italy’s elimination against Bosnia, saying he preferred to take responsibility rather than seek a return.
• He argued that one missed penalty does not alter his assessment of Gattuso.
• The former Italy captain also addressed Conte, Allegri, Juventus in 2010, Tevez, Dani Alves, Cesc Fabregas, Gian Piero Gasperini and the present difficulties at Juventus.

Buffon on responsibility and the choice to leave

Buffon spoke about the strange unease that can arise even when a person is doing something that has long come naturally. For a goalkeeper whose name became synonymous with authority, longevity and elite-level performance, the point was not to deny failure but to recognise it.

He said that everybody can face periods in which familiar actions no longer feel comfortable. In his view, mistakes can be useful only when the person involved bears the cost and faces the consequences openly. Buffon admitted to having made plenty of errors during his life, while adding that he had always found a way to forgive himself.

That perspective also shaped his decision to leave after Italy’s elimination against Bosnia. Buffon said he walked away because he felt able to take responsibility, contrasting his own departure with figures who, in his words, continually try to come back.

It is a theme that fits the broader story of a player who spent decades in the centre of Italian football: not merely the goalkeeper expected to carry the weight of a shirt, but a man increasingly willing to speak about what happens when that role no longer provides the right answer.

Gattuso, Juventus memories and the figures around him

Buffon was unequivocal over Gattuso. He said he had pushed for the former midfielder to become Italy coach and maintained that he would still support that decision now. Gattuso, Buffon explained, was the appropriate appointment for the circumstances Italy were experiencing at the time.

He also rejected the idea that a single missed penalty should reshape that judgement. The result may remain part of the debate around the national side, but Buffon’s view of the coach has not changed.

The conversation ranged across several chapters of his football life. Buffon discussed Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri, as well as misunderstandings during his 2010 spell at Juventus. He expressed particular admiration for Carlos Tevez and Dani Alves, and gave his preference in the comparison between Fabregas and Gasperini.

He also turned to the current Juventus situation, adding another voice from a former captain who understands how quickly expectation becomes pressure in Turin. Across the interview, Buffon’s central message was less about preserving an image than about the need, at certain moments, to choose what brings personal happiness rather than simply fulfilling what football demands.