Buffon Jr: hat-trick with the Czech Republic Under 19

Don’t waste time. Like his dad and his coach. Louis Thomas Buffon, son of Gigi and player of world champion Alberto Gilardino’s Pisa, scored a hat-trick yesterday with the Czech Republic Under 19 shirt, the national team for which he decided to play thanks to the dual citizenship that comes from the country of birth of his mother, Alena Seredova. Buffon jr started the match against Azerbaijan, a qualifying match for the European Championship which ended 6-1, scoring two goals in the space of ten minutes, between the 54th and 64th minutes, and completing everything with a hat trick served in injury time, in the 93rd minute. A goal from the left, one from the right and a header: complete repertoire.

growth

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The Pisa striker, who will become an adult on December 28th, is also creating a space for himself within the Tuscan squad. Gilardino had already made him debut in Serie A in Bologna, when last 5 October he brought him in in place of Nzola: at 17 years and 281 he was the youngest debutant in the history of Pisa in Serie A, complete with compliments also coming from Gianni Infantino: “Football – wrote the Fifa number 1 – is a big family, a story made of cyclical emotions. For this reason I happily welcome Louis Thomas’s debut in Serie A Buffon, son of the legendary Gianluigi Buffon who won the World Cup in 2006 with the Azzurri. As they say in Italy: good blood doesn’t lie.” From the point of view of precocity, Buffon jr also did better than his father who made his debut in the famous Parma-Milan of 1995 at 17 years and 295 days. Louis Thomas made his debut in an official match with the Nerazzurri club last March 9, in Serie B, against Spezia: on the bench was Pippo Inzaghi, another teammate of Gigi’s at the 2006 World Cup. At that time Buffon Jr. was still shuttling between the Primavera and, when necessary, the first team. Gilardino, however, had already taken the boy to the Morgex retreat in Valle d’Aosta last summer, also letting him play in several friendly matches and also giving him a shirt in the Italian Cup against Torino.

choices

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Louis Thomas – who, if he wishes, can choose to play with the senior Italian national team – is a fast attacking winger. He prefers to start from the left but can also play as a first striker. In Pisa, where he chose the number 16, he found the ideal environment: he can grow up calmly, even if he inevitably has a lot of spotlights on him and has to deal with a cumbersome surname every day. Also for this reason, he chose the nationality of the Czech Republic. As he himself explained. “I spoke with my family and we decided that playing for the Czech national team – he said some time ago – would be useful for my football career. We decided to undertake this experience. My mother was obviously very happy, but my father was also very happy: he also advised me to choose the Czech Republic because in our opinion it is the best solution for my development as a footballer”. So, instead, his mother Alena Seredova, in an interview with Gazzetta a month ago: “I haven’t influenced him, but I don’t deny that I like seeing him in my national team’s shirt… He’s happy for this footballing and human experience. And I am too.” In the end, everyone is happy.