Veteran Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has dedicated his side’s 4-2 Super Coppa triumph over Napoli in Beijing on Saturday to the club’s banned manager Antonio Conte.
Conte, who guided Juve to the Serie A last term, was banned for 10 months late last week for his involvement in match fixing during his time at Siena.
The ban means Conte won’t be involved on matchdays this term with the Old Lady, but Buffon symbolised Juve strength in dedicating Saturday’s extra-time triumph to their banned boss.
“The first dedication goes to our Coach, who daily sends us his sporting rage and hunger to be first that has no equal. All of that, despite his troubles…” Buffon wrote on his Facebook page.
Buffon also mentioned players Simone Pepe and Leonardo Bonucci who had been implicated in the scandal, but eventually cleared.
“The third thought goes to Simone and Leo, who emerged from a very long nightmare and in all this time never for an instant held back in their efforts for the Juventus cause,” Buffon wrote.
Meanwhile, Bonucci admitted the whole situation had been a “nightmare”.
“I immediately went to find Simone, who shared this nightmare with me. I embraced him and all our teammates. Now we hope Antonio Conte’s situation can end well too,” Bonucci told reporters.
He added: “It has been a very dramatic time for me. It all went well, both on the field and off it. I went from being cleared to starting the Super Cup game and winning it. This must surely be just the start of a long and tiring season.
“The most difficult thing was facing up to an obsolete sporting justice system. I never thought it would end badly, because I knew I was innocent. My conscience was clear and I always worked hard, thinking about the Super Cup we had to win. And we did it.”