Coppa Italia, Atalanta-Juve, the last final of the senators. And Buffon …

Together they make the impressive number of 43 trophies, won in national club competitions, from Serie C to Scudetti, passing through Serie B (together), Italian Cups and Super Cups. Very heavy notice boards, which have given them glory and honors, but also burdens and responsibilities: we are talking about Gigi Buffon, 43, and Giorgio Chiellini, 36, black and white flags that will be played on Wednesday against Atalanta, the first with certainty, the second not yet, the last trophy in the black and white jersey. And they will even be able to greet and receive a greeting from the public, given that the match will mark the return in presence in the stands (for 4,300 fans). The goalkeeper has already formalized the greetings: at the end of the season he will marry elsewhere if he receives an offer that still gives him incentives, or he could stop playing football. But in the meantime he will defend the goal in the final of the Italian Cup, after he showed a good state of form against Sassuolo and even saved a penalty (on Berardi, with the match at 0-0). The defender, on the other hand, has not yet spoken with the club, and therefore made his future known, just as his employment against the Gasperini Boys is certainly not. But it is still likely that this will be his last season on the pitch.

23 trophies vs 20 …

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Both have known only three teams in their long career: Buffon, who started at Parma in 1995, arrived at Juve in 2001, and remained here continuously, except for one season at PSG (2018-19), for a total of 19 seasons in which he has won 4 Italian cups and 6 Super cups, in addition to 10 scudetti and a Serie B championship. In his bulletin board there is also an Italian cup and a Super cup won with Parma, for a total of 23 cups. If he were to win the next Italian Cup, he would equal Roberto Mancini in the ranking of the most successful in the trophy, with 6 wins. King Giorgio follows him closely: he left Livorno in 2000, except for a very brief period on loan to Fiorentina, has been wearing the black and white shirt for 17 seasons, with which he has collected 533 appearances, 36 goals and 19 trophies (from a Serie B to 9 league titles, as well as 5 Super Cups and 4 Italian Cups). And one is still missing: with Livorno he won a Serie C championship, and in all they make 20.

Mapei talisman

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Retracing their long history, the present sees Juve on the eve of a match that is giving away the second trophy of the season, after the Super Cup won in January again at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia against Napoli: an opportunity to implement the bulletin board for the two senators, a chance not to be missed for the club, to make the season less bitter and above all to charge the team towards the last and decisive championship match. A few kilometers away, at the Dall’Ara in Bologna, on Sunday evening Juve will know if their imminent future will be in the Champions League and in the Europa League. It will not be enough to win the Coppa Italia, but it certainly can help.