Buffon: Champions League final was Juventus´ destiny

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon insists the Italian giants’ progression to the UEFA Champions League final was “destiny”.

The veteran shot-stopper, 37, joined Juve from Parma in 2001, and has enjoyed the highs of eight Serie A titles mixed with the lows of the Calciopoli scandal that hit the Turin club.

After Wednesday’s 1-1 second-leg draw against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, a result that sealed a 3-2 semi-final aggregate win and a place against Barcelona in the showpiece in Berlin on June 6, Buffon said he was proud of Juve’s rise back to the biggest game in European football.

“It seemed like destiny, but it really did go the way we hoped,” Buffon told Sport Mediaset. 

“Mind you, we mustn’t go there [to Berlin] to be tourists. We are there to play a game that means a huge amount for all of us.

“I am so proud of my team-mates, of all the work we’ve done and the journey we’ve made.

“You don’t get the chance to play a Champions League final often, so we can’t do it by halves. We’ve got to give our all.”