JUVENTUS, Buffon: "Now it’s down to us"

© foto di Daniele Buffa/Image Sport

Gigi Buffon could barely conceal his delight when commenting on the prospect of leading Juventus out of the tunnel and back into the Champions League against Chelsea tomorrow night.

Along with celebrating the club’s first fixture in the competition since the 2009/10 campaign, Buffon will also be toasting his 400th appearance as a Bianconeri player.

And the shot-stopper believes that a great deal has changed since the Old Lady were last at Stamford Bridge in 2009.

Addressing the media in West London, Buffon said: “I’d say we’ve got greater awareness in our own potential than we did back then. Before we relied a lot more on individual champions, now there's a greater emphasis on the team as a unit.

“Our style of play is suited to European football. Chelsea’s players may have more appearances in the Champions League than ours, but we’re an emerging side.”

Buffon is adamant the team will be unaffected by their two-year absence from Europe’s top competition - and backs his team-mates to spring a few surprises along the way.

“Last season’s title victory was epic and qualifying for Europe as Italian champions gives us both pride and belief in our ability. I believe there are three or four teams that are above us, then there’s a group in which I’d include ourselves. It’s now down to us to show we’re competitive,” he concluded.