Buffon backs Totti for Italy return
Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon has welcomed the idea of Francesco Totti making a return to the international squad.
By FOX Sports Staff
Totti announced his intention to retire from international football after Italy's 2006 World Cup victory and has not made an appearance fro the Azzurri since despite later reneging on his decision to retire.
His recent scoring form has seen him leapfrog Gunnar Nordahl as the Serie A's second-leading goalscorer and Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has made it clear that he is open for Totti to make a return to the Italy squad for the 2014 World Cup.
Buffon, who has played alonside Totti from the youth levels of the Italy national team, believes that Totti still has what it takes to play at the top level of international football.
"Some of us have shared this adventure with Totti from Under-15 level," he told a press conference. "So for me he will always be a companion in the national team.
"If he continues to play at the level he is showing this season, then I think the Coach [Prandelli] is right to say what he did.
"It is logical to consider someone who is re-writing the history of Italian football.
"After the World Cup in 2006, he preferred to devote more time to Roma, and perhaps that was the right thing to do to give his career longevity.
"Have I asked him to come back? These are personal conversations. When we meet we speak about a lot of things. He knows what I think."
Buffon will lead Italy when they go up against Brazil on Thursday, and he believes that quality in th younger players in the squad like Mario Balotelli shows promise for the Azzurri's future.
"We will play this friendly and it will be a good test for us," Buffon added. "Over the next three months we will prepare for the Confederations cup - and it's a competition that we want to win.
"It is perhaps a bit too early to get a proper impression of the new players - we have only been together for a few days.
"But the fact that there are so many new players certainly bodes well for the future. This next generation looks like an important one.
"I think we all want to see Mario finally come good. I've always seen him as a quiet person around the group.
"Before he wasn't playing with continuity, but now he's at Milan that seems to have changed.
"I hope that with the national team he can give us joy - and with Milan perhaps a little less!"