Key Points
Son of Italian football legend switches national team allegiance
Joins Czech Republic U18 team with family support
Aims to establish himself in international football
Prepared to face Italy in future matches
After his debut for the Czech national team in February, he now faces a prestigious tournament in Portugal, where the team led by coach Vaclav Jílek will face England, the home team, and France.
Louis Thomas Buffon joined the Czech national under-18 team for the first time in February, and his nomination has attracted considerable interest.
"I was very happy to come to the meeting. I was also curious about the different football culture. I got on very well with my teammates and I was really happy.
"I spoke with my family and together we decided that it would be better for my football career and my development as a player to play for the Czech Republic. My mother was of course very happy. But my father was also excited because it was my first nomination for the national team," he said.
After making a huge career changing decision, Louis' goals are clear - to fight for a stable place in the team and contribute to the success in the European Under-19 Championship qualifiers. "But right now I'm just focusing on the next match. I hope I'll get a chance to play in the European Championship qualifiers in the fall," he added
As a player for the Czech national team, he may face Italy in the future. And he reflected on what would a possible match against Italy mean to him
"I was born and raised in Italy, but I think that in order to be a 100% professional and do my job as well as possible, every match has to be important for me, whether against Italy or any other national team."
The Czech U18 national team completed two training sessions in Prague and on Tuesday afternoon headed to Porto, where they will participate in a heavily-filled preparatory tournament in the following days.
