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Italy coach Antonio Conte hails Gianluigi Buffon as a "champion" and reveals that he has great admiration for the Juventus goalkeeper.

Italy manager Antonio Conte has hailed goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as a "champion" and has revealed that he has great admiration for Juventus's number one.

The 37-year-old is to receive his 150th cap for Italy when the Italians take on Bulgaria in their Euro 2016 qualifying match on Sunday.

The former Juve manager is full of praise for the goalkeeper, who has been a key part of the national side for the last 18 years.

"Finding the words to describe Gigi is tough," Conte told reporters.

"He is such a champion. I admire him as a player and as a man. He was my teammate, my goalkeeper at club level and now for Italy."

Italy are joint-top of Group H with Croatia, with both sides sitting on 15 points from seven games.

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