Pirlo

by jibers Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:31 pm

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has been singing the praises of new signing and international team-mate Andrea Pirlo following a stunning debut against Parma.

Pirlo created two of Juve's goals in the 4-1 rout, with picture-perfect dinks over the defence for team-mates breaking beyond the backline. And Buffon claimed that watching the 32-year-old, a free signing from AC Milan during the summer, in action has turned him into a believer in a higher being.

"When Andrea told me that he was joining us, the first thing I thought was, 'It could be worse'," Buffon told Radio Monte Carlo. "A player of his level and ability, not to mention that he was free, I think was the signing of the century.

"[On Sunday] I thought God exists because it's truly embarrassing just how good he is. When I saw (Milan chief executive Adriano) Galliani in the summer I told him, 'Thanks, because you're really trying to balance out the championship'.

Milan romped to the Serie A title with two games to spare last season, while Juventus slumped to a second successive seventh-placed finish and missed out on Europe altogether. In the summer, Milan decided the out-of-contract Pirlo, who started his career at Inter Milan, was surplus to requirements.

Juve have spent heavily again in the summer, also bringing in Montenegro forward Mirko Vucinic, Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal and Switzerland full-back Stephan Lichsteiner.

They all made their debuts against Parma in which Juve looked truly impressive in their new 41,000-capacity stadium, albeit against woeful opponents.

They sit top of the embryonic Serie A table after the first round of matches and while other potential title rivals such as Milan, Inter, Napoli and Lazio will be involved in European football in midweek, Juve will be putting their feet up and resting.

link: http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1509407.html