No regrets for teary Buffon as Italy exit Euros

BORDEAUX, France: Tears rolled down the cheeks of Gianluigi Buffon but the legendary Italy ‘keeper said there were “no regrets” despite the Azzurri missing a golden chance to beat Germany to a Euro 2016 semi-final spot on Saturday.

“The tears are for my disappointment. It was a magical experience that revived something in all of us and our fans, but it’s come to an end,” an emotional Buffon told media after Germany’s 6-5 penalty shoot-out win here.

After their quarter-final finished 1-1 in regulation time and neither team scored in extra-time, Italy’s bid to put two forgettable World Cup campaigns behind only unravelled at a dramatic penalty shootout.

“It’s a shame. When a team (Germany) misses three penalties out of five and you still don’t manage to win, it becomes complicated,” said Buffon.

“Sometimes it goes your way, other times it doesn’t. But that’s all a big part of sport, and you have to accept it.

“We wanted to leave this tournament without any regrets and that’s what we will do. We made our people proud and for this we can’t be sorry.”