![]() It was accomplished in 1993-94, at a time when Serie A was the envy of Europe. Perhaps, deep down, he might feel that his achievement was more worthy. The former Milan goalkeeper did praise Buffon and called him a worthy successor but it was plain that he took no pleasure in having his name written out of the history books. It was his record that had fallen and the disappointment was writ large across his face. Meanwhile, in a Mediaset TV studio, Sebastiano Rossi crossed his legs, blinked and then blinked some more. Juventus’s supporters roared with satisfaction as Buffon reached his milestone. The hosts, for all their efforts, never managed an attempt on goal in those opening four minutes, Immobile falling and losing possession on the one occasion his team threatened to penetrate the penalty box. For those first, frantic few minutes, every Torino touch seemed designed to take their team up the pitch as swiftly as possible. Moments later, Giuseppe Vives barged Mario Mandzukic violently off the ball in midfield before attempting to launch an immediate counter. That much could be seen in the very first seconds of the game, as Ciro Immobile sprinted at full pelt after Leonardo Bonucci in a successful bid to pressure the defender into a bad pass. No club would condone such behaviour and any rivalry between the players themselves is of a strictly sporting nature – but Torino as a team did want to deny Buffon this record. That match, just like Sunday’s, was preceded by ugly scenes outside, with rocks and bottles thrown against the windows of the Bianconeri’s team bus. Only last month we had a preliminary court hearing for a Juventus fan who stands accused of lobbing a paper bomb into a Torino section at the Stadio Olimpico during the previous meeting at the venue, in April 2015.
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