Former Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has offered his verdict on the infamous Calciopoli scandal.
During an interview with Corriere della Sera via FCInterNews, Buffon maintained the two Serie A titles taken away from the Bianconeri were rightfully theirs.
Indeed, Buffon deemed Serie A’s decision to strip the record-time Italian champions of consecutive Scudetto honors unjust.
Calciopoli was a massive match-fixing scandal that rocked Italian football in 2006, exposing deep-rooted corruption in the league.
Juventus were among several clubs involved in the scandal, along with AC Milan and Lazio amongst others.
However, they faced the heaviest punishment, including relegation to Serie B.
But being denied two Serie A titles was hard to digest.
To this day, many Juventus supporters still stake their claim for those revoked trophies.
Nonetheless, the scandal tarnished the league’s reputation, leading to widespread reforms in governance and officiating.
Former Juventus Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon Delivers His Verdict on Calciopoli
Buffon was the pillar of Juventus’ trophy-laden generation.
He stuck with the club even when they suffered relegation to Serie B as a result of Luciano Moggi’s transgressions.
Moggi remains one of the most controversial figures in Italian football history.
However, Buffon sees him differently.
Indeed, he described Moggi as “a nice and controversial person, a manager who has always been successful.”
Buffon also named him “a charismatic man who kept players at a distance but knew how to take them.”
As for the two revoked titles, one of the best goalkeepers of all time insists they belong to Juventus.
“Those who were there know that we won them on the field,” Buffon was adamant.
“In an environment where the pure ones who could throw the first stone were very few.”
Those titles continue to be a point of contention among Juventus supporters.
Indeed, they argue that, despite the scandal, their team deserved to keep them.
However, they appropriately belong to Inter.