Sorry end to Buffon’s UCL career reminiscent of infamous Zidane head-butt

Jordan Russell (@JordRuss96)
12 apr 2018

Following Michael Oliver’s decision to send Gianluigi Buffon off in the dying seconds of last night’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final match in Madrid, comparisons have inevitably been drawn between the Juventus goalkeeper and the depressing way in which Zinedine Zidane’s playing career ended during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Zidane was shown a red card for head-butting Marco Materazzi in his final ever match as a player, while Buffon lost his head in similar fashion in what was his last appearance in Europe’s premier club competition. The veteran goalkeeper saw the red mist descend on his dream of lifting the one major trophy which has eluded him over the course of the past two decades, and he simply couldn’t handle it.

The debate on whether or not the English referee was correct to award Los Blancos a penalty kick will no doubt rage on for weeks, but it would be foolish to think that Buffon’s incredulous reaction was due to that alone. There is a much bigger picture and that is one of overall frustration that his last chance at European glory was snatched from him in the final moments of a match in which the Bianconeri deserved to take their hosts to extra time.