Gianluigi Buffon backs Francesco Totti Italy return

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has welcomed the idea of Francesco Totti returning to the national team.

Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli said on Monday that he could call up the Roma forward should his side qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

"Some of us have shared this adventure with Totti from Under-15 level," Buffon told reporters. "So for me he will always be a companion in the national team.

"If he continues to play at the level he is showing this season, then I think the coach is right to say what he did. It is logical to consider someone who is re-writing the history of Italian football.

"After the World Cup in 2006, he preferred to devote more time to Roma, and perhaps that was the right thing to do to give his career longevity. Have I asked him to come back? These are personal conversations. When we meet we speak about a lot of things. He knows what I think."

Italy will take on Brazil in a friendly international on Thursday.