The National's Sport cover for the Tuesday, May 5 issue, featuring legendary goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas as they prepare to go toe-to-toe in a grand hurrah on the grandest stage as their careers near an end for Juventus and Real Madrid, respectively.
Ian Hawkey previews the long road Buffon and Casillas have travelled to reach this point, the Champions League semi-finals where Buffon's Juve will host Casillas's Madrid on Tuesday night in the first leg.
“They are the sole survivors of an epic semi-final contested between the same two clubs a dozen years ago,” he writes, “a seniority that grants responsibilities.
“They will be the men wearing the captain’s armbands on Tuesday night, shaking hands ahead of kick off and sharing the knowing, respectful look that only members of the unique masonry that is the goalkeeping profession truly understand.”
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