Jakarta - The son of legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Czech Republic model Alena Seredova, Louis Thomas Buffon, said he is more interested in playing for the Czech national team than Italy.
The 17-year-old winger made his Serie B debut for Pisa earlier this month and has arrived in Prague for the Czech U-18 team's training camp ahead of the tournament in Portugal.
"I have spoken to my family and decided that playing for the Czech Republic would be the best thing for my career and my football development," Buffon said in an interview with the Czech Football Federation (FACR), as quoted by AFP on Thursday.
Buffon was first called up to training in February, and will now look to cement a place in the squad ahead of matches against England, France and Portugal.
“Naturally, my mother is very happy, but my father is also happy because this is my first call-up to the national team,” said Buffon.
“He (Buffon senior) also advised me to play for the Czech Republic, because that was the best way I could develop as a player,” he continued.
Buffon's call-up to the Czech national team's training camp has caught the attention of many fans and the media. He said he did not expect the spotlight, but realized that since he was a child he had often been in the spotlight because of his parents.