GIANLUIGI BUFFON was left in floods of tears as Italy failed to reach their first World Cup since 1958.
The Azzurri were held 0-0 by Sweden at the San Siro following their 1-0 first-leg defeat in Stockholm to shockingly fail to reach the finals.
Italian legend Buffon, 40, now knows he will never pull on the No1 jersey for his country again. Combine that with the failure to qualify for Russia next summer, and it all became too much for the Juventus hero. After the game, he choked: I'm sorry that my final game coincided with us not qualifying for the World Cup.
"I am not sorry for myself but all of Italian football." However, Buffon is by no means the first - or the last - footballer to sob on the football pitch. Check out 13 other big-name stars to be left in tears... for good reasons, or for bad.
1958 World Cup final
IN 1958, Brazil stunned hosts Sweden to win their first-ever World Cup in Solna, near Stockholm. The biggest storyline of that year's tournament was the emergence of a world superstar... 17-year-old Pele. The teenager scored twice in the 5-2 final win as Brazil finally got their hands on the most famous trophy in football. The victory was too much for young Pele though, who celebrated on the pitch, through tears of joy.
PAUL GASCOIGNE
1990 World Cup semi-final
IT'S the closest England have come to tasting glory on the world stage since the heroes of 1966. After battling to the semi-finals in Italy, England took Germany to extra-time after an 80th-minute equaliser from Gary Lineker. But in the 99th-minute, Gazza was booked for a bad tackle, receiving a yellow card which would suspend him for the final and he erupted into a flood of tears. Looking back on the incident, Gascoigne himself revealed: “I straightened up and turned to the ref. He’s gone for his pocket. Suddenly I can’t hear anything.
"The world just stops apart from the bloke in black. My eyes follow his hand, to the pocket, then out with the card. There it is, raised above my head. "I looked at the crowd, I looked at Lineker, and I couldn’t hold it back. At that moment I just wanted to be left alone. "I didn’t want to talk to anyone or see anyone. My bottom lip was like a helicopter pad. I was devastated.”
CRISTIANO RONALDO
2004 European Championship final
ANOTHER tearful star, another shock result.
Greece incredibly won the 2004 European Championship, despite no-one giving them a hope at the start of the tournament.
The Greeks battled past Portugal in the final to win 1-0 and get their hands on the trophy... on Portuguese soil, no less.
The loss saw then-Man United star Ronaldo break down in floods of tears as he missed out on the tournament win.
From The Sun
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