Gianluigi Buffon Says Juventus Must Not Be Overconfident Against Real Madrid

Juventus play Real Madrid today, and if Gianluigi Buffon has anything to say about it the Italians will approach this game with an entirely different mindset than the last time these two teams met.

"I'd say we went into the Cardiff game over-confident and that was mistake number one. At the same time on the night Madrid were the better side and I hope for a better performance from Juve on this occasion," the 40-year-old told Diario AS.

If you're wondering how exactly anyone could possibly go into a match against the defending European Champions overconfident, I answer you thusly: that is exactly why you are not a professional athlete. Or, at least, one of the reasons. I'm sure there are others. But that's definitely a big one.

To play for a club as big as Juventus, one must have absolute faith in oneself, be absolutely sure of one's ability to match up against and indeed beat anyone in the world. Sometimes that's true. Sometimes it isn't. During last year's Champions League final, it was not true for Juventus against Real Madrid. Maybe this year will be different.