“10 million euros abandoned”
Goalkeeper oldie Gianluigi Buffon bitterly regretted his early departure from PSG, also because he lost a lot of money as a result. On the other hand, the Italian found exuberant words in a panel discussion for coach Thomas Tuchel, whom he praised as exceptionally clever and sensitive.
“I’ve only met a few people who are so intelligent,” said the now 45-year-old, who played under Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain in the 2018/19 season. Both came to Paris in the summer of 2018. The German coach is “extremely intelligent” and someone who manages to get a feeling for the cabin immediately, Buffon said as a guest of the football talk show “BoboTV” on the Twitch channel of former national player Christian Vieri.
“I’ve only rarely experienced something like this: He shows empathy, comes across as believable and sends out positive energy… wonderful,” enthused Buffon about Tuchel. The keeper returned to Italy after just one season at PSG and now plays for his youth club Parma Calcio in Serie B.
Buffon on Tuchel: “His offensive ideas were extraordinary”
In addition, Buffon praised Tuchel’s footballing know-how. “The training and his attacking ideas were exceptional, those of a top-top-top coach. He was almost a nobody when he came to Paris,” the 2006 world champion recalled. Before his engagement in France, Tuchel had no experience abroad as a coach, in the Bundesliga he coached FSV Mainz and Borussia Dortmund. With BVB he became the DFB Cup winner in 2017. On the coaching bench in Paris, he then won two championships and one cup. At his next stop FC Chelsea, Tuchel won the Champions League in 2021 and was named coach of the year by the world association FIFA. The 49-year-old has been without a coaching job since he was kicked out at Chelsea last September.
Buffon found clear words about his own career. It was the “biggest mistake of my life” to leave PSG prematurely. “I gave up 10 million euros,” he emphasized. “They told me Areola would play in the Champions League and I didn’t accept it. (…) Then I regretted it because Areola was injured and they signed Keylor Navas in his place.” Buffon had turned his back on Paris and returned to Juventus. The former world champion is now back under contract in Parma, where Buffon began his world career.
Buffon, Cannavaro & Co.: These famous footballers played at Parma
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