Moments after the final whistle blew on the biggest victory of his soccer career, Sounders midfielder Gustav Svensson embraced a legend walking tearfully across the field.
Svensson and his Swedish national team had just eliminated Italy from a World Cup berth last Monday for the first time in 60 years right in the Italians’ backyard. Now, an emotional Italian goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, one of his generation’s best and who’d subsequently end up retiring from international play, was heading his way looking inconsolable.
“You’re very happy when the final whistle comes but then you see a player and a legend like Buffon walking across the pitch and crying,’’ Svensson said.