Like a fine wine, Gianluigi Buffon continues to improve with age.
The 39-year-old played in his 100th Champions League game on Wednesday night as Juventus played Monaco in the first leg of their semi-final. For the tenth time in 12 European matches this season, the Italian giants kept a clean sheet.
Buffon was once more in impervious form, as Monaco failed to find a way past the Italian defence. It was the first time in the knockout stages the Ligue 1 leaders failed to find the net, having scored three times in each of their four previous knockout matches.
The goalkeeper turns 40 next January, and he feels his age is not slowing him down. He has previously said he plans to retire next year after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
"In every game I want to show that I deserve to play at this level despite my age," Buffon told UEFA after Wednesday's win. "I work hard every day for this objective. The day I quit, I want people to be sad about it."
Despite a glorious career which included a World Cup triumph in 2006, Buffon has yet to win the Champions League. He was part of the Juventus side that lost finals in 2003 and 2015.
After Thursday's 2-0 win, a potential final against Real Madrid could be his best chance of lifting the famous trophy.
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Six #UCL clean sheets in a row for the first time in our history. #FINOALLAFINE pic.twitter.com/ZRosZb8xEN
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) May 3, 2017
