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| Bitter birthday for Buffon |
Thursday 29 January, 2009 |
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Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon admits he could not have wished for a worse birthday present than defeat at Udinese last night.
The Bianconeri went down 2-1 in Udine and lost ground to Inter who extended their lead at the top of Serie A to six points with a win in Catania.
“The candles weren’t blown out, Juventus never lit them,” said a despondent Buffon, who turned 31 yesterday. “We got everything wrong and I committed a big error.”
The World Cup winner admitted that Juventus mistook their approach to the game and allowed an Udinese side that hadn’t won since October to grow in confidence.
“We should have attacked Udinese quickly,” Buffon explained. “We should never have let them get comfortable and encouraged.”
Fabio Quagliarella opened the scoring for Udinese after 20 minutes before Antonio Di Natale doubled the Zebrette’s lead with 15 minutes remaining.
“Quagliarella’s goal gave them a lift. We lost because of our attitude and approach to the game. If we had shown the usual Juve anger it would have been another game.”
When asked about the title race, Buffon refused to be too downcast, insisting that leaders Inter are still in their sights.
“We made a great comeback [earlier in the season when Inter were nine points ahead] and, perhaps, it was normal to come to a halt sooner or later.
“But if we bounce back against Cagliari on Saturday all will return to normality,” concluded Buffon. “And we will look for a new chance to retake the Scudetto.”
Juventus return to Turin this weekend to welcome the Sardinians who have shot up the table of late, winning their last three games.
Meanwhile, Claudio Marchisio has been rewarded with a new four-year deal after impressing throughout this season.
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