Italy manager Antonio Conte has hailed goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as a "champion" and has revealed that he has great admiration for Juventus's number one.
The 37-year-old is to receive his 150th cap for Italy when the Italians take on Bulgaria in their Euro 2016 qualifying match on Sunday.
The former Juve manager is full of praise for the goalkeeper, who has been a key part of the national side for the last 18 years.
"Finding the words to describe Gigi is tough," Conte told reporters.
"He is such a champion. I admire him as a player and as a man. He was my teammate, my goalkeeper at club level and now for Italy."
Italy are joint-top of Group H with Croatia, with both sides sitting on 15 points from seven games.
Written by
Sam McEvoy
Sam McEvoy
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic
