Del Piero Alessandro
Alessandro “Alex” Del Piero is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. A technically gifted, and creative supporting forward, who was also a free-kick specialist, Del Piero is widely regarded by players, pundits, and managers as one of the greatest players of his generation, and as one of the best Italian players of all time, winning the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award in 1998 and 2008. A prolific goal-scorer, he is currently the second highest all-time Italian top-scorer in all competitions, with 346 goals, behind only Silvio Piola, with 390 goals; he is also the joint ninth highest goalscorer in Serie A history, with 188 goals, alongside Giuseppe Signori and Alberto Gilardino. After beginning his career with Italian club Padova in Serie B in 1991, he moved to Juventus F.C. in 1993, where he played for 19 seasons (11 as captain), and holds the club records for most goals (290) and appearances (705). During his time at the club, he won six Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia, four Supercoppa Italiana titles, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the UEFA Intertoto Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup. After leaving the club in 2012, he also spent two seasons with Australian side Sydney FC; he retired after a season with Delhi Dynamos FC in the Indian Super League, in 2014. Del Piero has scored in every competition in which he has participated. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA’s centenary celebrations. In the same year, he was also voted into the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, a list of the 50 best European players of the past 50 years. Along with six awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct, he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality as well as playing ability. At international level, Del Piero has also represented the Italian national team at three FIFA World Cups and four UEFA European Football Championships, most notably winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and reaching the final of UEFA Euro 2000 with Italy. He is the joint fourth highest scorer for the Italian national team, with 27 goals, alongside Roberto Baggio, and behind only Silvio Piola with 30 goals, Giuseppe Meazza with 33 goals, and Luigi Riva with 35 goals; with 91 appearances for Italy between 1995 and 2008, he is also his nation’s tenth-most capped player of all-time.
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Born in Conegliano, Veneto, Del Piero is the son of Gino, an electrician, and Bruna, a housekeeper. He regularly played football in the backyard with two friends, Nelso and Pierpaolo, as a child. All three dreamed of becoming footballers, but only Alessandro would eventually manage to do so. Alessandro’s older brother, Stefano, briefly played professional football for Sampdoria before an injury curtailed his career; he later worked as Alessandro’s agent. The family lived in the hamlet of Saccon, a rural home in San Vendemiano. While growing up, Del Piero’s family did not have much money for travelling abroad, so he considered being a lorry driver in order to see the world. While playing for the local youth team of San Vendemiano, Del Piero used to feature as a goalkeeper, in order to gain more playing time. His mother thought it would be better for him to play in this role as he would not sweat, and the possibility of him getting injured was less likely. His brother Stefano commented to their mother that, due to his skill, Alessandro was more suited to playing in a more offensive position, and Del Piero switched to a forward role. Del Piero began his rise to professional football in 1981, in the ranks of San Vendemiano. In 1988, Del Piero was first spotted by scouts, and he left home at the young age of 13 to play with the youth side of Padova. He joined the senior side during the 1991–92 season, at the age of 16, and at the age of 17, he made his début in Serie B against Messina, under manager Mauro Sandreani, on 15 March 1992, coming on as a substitute for Roberto Putelli. The following season, on 22 November 1992, he scored his first professional goal in a 5–0 victory over Ternana. In 1993, thanks to Giampiero Boniperti, Del Piero was bought by Juventus for five billion lire, with an overlap of 150 million lire per season.
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This shirt was worn by Alessandro Del Piero during the Uefa Cup game between Juventus and Maritimo which took place in Torino, “Stadio Delle Alpi”, on November 2nd 1994. Juventus defeated Maritimo 2-1 and at the end of the game Del Piero swapped his shirt with a Maritimo’s player whom we got it from. Del Piero was a substitute player and he came in to the game at the minute ’69 replacing Fabrizio Ravanelli. Del Piero transferred to Juventus in 1993 and played for the Torinese club for 19 seasons until being released in the summer of 2012. Although manager Giovanni Trapattoni insisted that he trained with the senior team, he initially played with the Primavera squad, which was coached by Antonello Cuccureddu, helping the Juventus Youth team to win both the 1994 Torneo di Viareggio, and the 1994 U-20 Scudetto. Del Piero made his Serie A debut against Foggia on 12 September 1993 under Trapattoni, as a substitute, and he scored his first goal in his next game against Reggiana on 19 September, after coming off the bench once again. On his full debut for Juventus, he netted a hat-trick against Parma. After his promising performances, Del Piero began to be deployed with more continuity, and he managed 14 appearances for Juventus that season between youth matches, league matches, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Cup, scoring 5 goals, which all came in Serie A, as Juventus finished the season in second place in the league. The next season saw Marcello Lippi take over as Juventus manager, as well as the introduction of a new team of directors, made up of Giraudo, Roberto Bettega, and Luciano Moggi; Del Piero played a more prominent role for the club that season following Roberto Baggio’s injury in November against Padova. Del Piero temporarily took his place in the first team alongside Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli, flourishing at the opportunity given to him, and Juventus went on to claim their first Scudetto in nine years. Del Piero scored 8 goals in Serie A that season, including a match-winning chipped volley against Fiorentina. Del Piero was also able to achieve a rare double, and he captured the 1994–95 Coppa Italia with Juventus, defeating their season rivals Parma in the final, although they were defeated by Parma in the 1995 UEFA Cup Final. During this time, Del Piero earned the nickname “Pinturicchio”, due to the similarity between his own technical and tactical characteristics, and Baggio’s creative style of play. This nickname arose when former president Gianni Agnelli compared the emerging talent Del Piero to the renaissance artist Pinturicchio, who was the student of the great Italian renaissance artist “Rafaello”, a nickname he had used to describe Baggio, to emphasise his elegance on the ball. Del Piero placed fourth in the 1995 Ballon d’Or for his performances throughout the season. With the Turin club, Del Piero won the Serie A eight times, although the 2005 and 2006 titles were revoked due to Juventus’s involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal.
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This style of shirt was never used by the team in any Serie A game. This special style was made by team’s supplier Robe di Kappa to celebrate the team’s centenary but the shirt was only used during a friendly game against Newcastle which took place in Cesena on August 3rd 1997.
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The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Football Championship, which is held every four years and organised by UEFA, association football’s governing body in Europe. The finals of Euro 2000 were co-hosted (the first time this happened) by Belgium and the Netherlands, between 10 June and 2 July 2000. Spain and Austria also bid to host the event. The final tournament was contested by 16 nations. With the exception of the national teams of the hosts, Belgium and the Netherlands, the finalists had to go through a qualifying round to reach the final stage. France won the tournament, by defeating Italy 2–1 in the final, via a golden goal. The finals saw the first major UEFA competition contested in the King Baudouin Stadium (formerly the Heysel Stadium) since the events of the 1985 European Cup Final and the Heysel Stadium disaster, with the opening game being played in the rebuilt stadium.
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Del Piero was part of Dino Zoff’s Italy’s squad that reached the final of Euro 2000. Although he was primarily used as a substitute for either Francesco Totti or Stefano Fiore, Del Piero appeared in every match of the tournament, and he wore the number 10 shirt. On 11 June, Del Piero came on as a substitute for Fiore in the 30th minute in Italy’s opening Group B 2–1 win against Turkey, hitting the cross-bar from a free-kick.[206] In the final group game, Del Piero started the match and scored the winner with a notable goal against Sweden, taking it past two players before curling the ball into the top corner from outside the area with a left-footed strike; Del Piero also set up Luigi Di Biagio’s opener from a corner. Del Piero made his second start of the tournament for Italy in their semi-final against co-hosts, Netherlands, which Italy won on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra-time. In the final, he missed two gilt-edged chances in Italy’s 2–1 loss to France in extra time, and was criticised by the Italian press.
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On October 2000 to celebrate the “Jubilee” a friendly game called “Giubileo dello Sport” between Italy Team and an All Star team made of foreign players playing in Serie A was played at the “Stadio Olimpico”of Rome in front of of Pope John Paul II. Most of the best international players of that period played the game including Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero, Gabriel Batistuta, Edgar Davids, Gianfranco Zola, Paolo Maldini. The Italian team played with a special “Jubilee”badge on chest that was used for this game only.
Watch above the “Giubileo degli Sportivi”highlights
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Juventus-Celtic was the first game of the Champions League 2001-2002. It supposed to be played on September 12th 2001. Due the terroristic attack to the World Trade Center in New York on September 11th, the game was postponed one week later.
Juventus F.C. and Celtic F.C. match worn shirts and Champions League player’s pass dated September 11th 2001
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This model of shirt with flat TU MOBILE sponsor was only used against Celtic Glasgow. The regular model for the rest of the season had embossed TU MOBILE sponsor.
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Del Piero has scored in every competition in which he has participated. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA’s centenary celebrations. In the same year, he was also voted into the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, a list of the 50 best European players of the past 50 years. Along with six awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct, he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality as well as playing ability.
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Italy vs Korea of the Fifa World Cup 2002 became one of the biggest shame of football’s history. Italy Team was kicked out from the tournament by the Korean Team for the second time in its history after the 1966 defeat. But the issue this time was the way it happened.The 2002 competition has gone down in infamy due to the huge number of refereeing mistakes that helped eliminate a string of top nations, and also ensured that Korea made it all the way to the semi-finals. During their final two group games against Croatia and Mexico, Italy had four perfectly good goals disallowed, but somehow managed to scrape through to the second round where they met South Korea. Against Guus Hiddink’s men, the referee Byron Moreno chalked off another valid Italy goal, a golden goal from Damiano Tommasi which would have taken them to the next round. Francesco Totti was sent off for diving when replays suggested he had lost his footing, while the Koreans – who repeatedly went unpunished for apparent foul play – were awarded a controversial penalty for a Christian Panucci tugging offence. Italy eventually lost after Ahn Jung-Hwan’s golden winner, but the match and Moreno represent a black mark in Italian sport. Moreno would later that year receive a 20 match ban after he played an extra 13 minutes of stoppage time during an Ecuadorian league match between Deportiva Universita de Quito and Barcelona Sporting Club. During this time Deportiva scored twice to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory. After retuning from his suspension, Moreno was suspended again after controversially sending off three players in one match. He retired from officiating shortly after just before he has been arrested at John F. Kennedy airport, New York, for allegedly being in possession of six kilograms of heroin.Moreno had the drug concealed in his underwear as he passed through security. But the Ecuadorian referee is definitely best remembered for his infamous second round game at the 2002 World Cup between co-hosts South Korea and Italy.
Watch above a full report of South Korea vs Italy
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He returned to the international scene in the 2002 FIFA World Cup under Giovanni Trapattoni, after winning the Scudetto with Juventus. Del Piero scored the decisive goal against Hungary, which sealed Italy’s qualification for the finals. Del Piero appeared as a substitute in Italy’s opening win against Ecuador, wearing the captain’s armband for part of the match. He instantly scored with a header against Mexico, after coming on as a substitute, an equalizing goal which saved Italy from the ignominy of a first round exit in their final group match. Del Piero pointed up at the sky after scoring the goal, dedicating it to his late father passed several months before. The goal sent Italy through to the second round, where they were eliminated by a golden goal in a controversial match against co-hosts South Korea, a match during which Del Piero started alongside Totti and Vieri.
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A serious injury occurred to Alessandro Del Piero during this season. He missed two months of football following that injury but he was able to be the team top scorer with 16 goals during the season.
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Due to his creative style of play, eye for goal, flair, and technical skill, Del Piero was known as a “fantasista” in Italy. His hard-working playing style was regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just “goal poaching”. Because of his technical characteristics, Del Piero usually played as a supporting-striker, which was his preferred role, although he was a tactically versatile forward, with good movement, who was capable of playing anywhere along the front line. He was also occasionally deployed between the midfield and the strikers as a playmaking attacking midfielder, known in Italy as the trequartista position, due to his vision, passing range, ball control, dribbling ability (in particular in one on one situations) and creativity, although he often stated that this was not his preferred position. Del Piero was also employed occasionally as a winger throughout his career, in particular during his time under Sacchi with the Italy national football team, due to his tendency to drift onto the wings, defensive work-rate, and his crossing accuracy, as well as his ability with both feet. In his youth, Del Piero played in the “trident-attack” of Lippi’s 4–3–3 formation, along with veterans Vialli, Baggio, and Ravanelli, as a striker, or more frequently as an outside forward. With the arrival of Zidane in the advanced midfield playmaking role, Juventus’s formation changed, and Del Piero partnered alongside a more offensive striker up front, such as Christian Vieri and subsequently Inzaghi, as a supporting forward. After losing some pace and agility following his injury in 1998, Del Piero performed a muscle strengthening regime, and he took on a more creative role in a combination with Zidane behind the main striker Inzaghi under Ancelotti; although he was accused by some in the media of not living up to his potential following his injury, due to his decrease in goalscoring, he successfully adapted to his new creative attacking role as an assist provider. As Juventus’s playing style continued to change during Lippi’s second stint with Juventus starting in 2001, Del Piero partnered with Zidane’s replacement, Nedvěd, in a free creative role in front of the midfield, or occasionally on the left flank, as a supporting striker, with Trezeguet upfront; he subsequently continued to play a similar role under Capello and later managers, although he became increasingly deployed as a substitute due to his advancing age. Del Piero was a free kick and penalty kick (62 goals from penalties) specialist. He is the third highest scorer of penalties in Serie A history, scoring 50 times out of 61 attempts, behind only Francesco Totti and Roberto Baggio. Del Piero’s unique free kick technique was usually characterised by a curling strike which rose high over the wall, and then suddenly dropped into the top corner of the goal; he attributes his ability on set pieces to the time spent studying Roberto Baggio in training. Del Piero is currently the Italian all-time top scorer of free kicks in all competitions (52 goals: 46 goals in clubs, 6 goals in Italy national team). He is also the third all-time highest goalscorer of free kicks in Serie A, with 22 goals, behind only Andrea Pirlo and Siniša Mihajlović. In addition to his talent and footballing abilities, Del Piero also drew praise throughout his career for his leadership with Juventus, and for his fair play and correct behaviour on the pitch.
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Alessandro Del Piero is a big NBA fan. In particular he is a Los Angeles Lakers fan (he lives in Los Angeles now) the team of his friends Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. There is something that Alessandro brought from the NBA in his style while he was playing. He used for several years the same Michael Jordan wrist band on elbow and also a finger band with his number 10 embroidered on it.
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Another sponsor issue took place with the team for the Champions League game against Maccabi Haifa in Tel Aviv. The Tamoil sponsor, owned by the Government of Libya was not used on team’s shirts for a specific reason. The Government of Libya, which is an Arab country, didn’t want the Tamoil logo being sponsored in Israel due the historical dispute between Israel and the Arab countries. So the team played with no sponsor on chest. So the team used a regular Serie A’s shirt without a sponsor on front and with a black square on the back for Uefa Rules which was different from regular Champions League shirts used for the rest of the season.
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The football media refer to a “Del Piero Zone” (“Gol alla Del Piero” in Italian), a style of scoring involving a dribbling approach from the left flank, followed by a precise, curling lob into the far top corner of the goal, from outside the area. This association came about as Del Piero had scored several goals in this manner during his first two seasons under Lippi, in particular during Juventus’s victorious 1995–96 Champions League campaign; Del Piero continued to score similar goals throughout his career, and the “Del Piero Zone” label has also been used to describe similar goals by other players.
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After Euro 2004, Juventus manager Marcello Lippi was replaced by Fabio Capello. Capello was not convinced of Del Piero’s fitness levels, and frequently benched him in favour of the younger, new offensive signing Zlatan Ibrahimović. Despite his limited playing time, Del Piero still managed to score 14 goals as Juventus won their 28th league title, due to his overhead assist to teammate David Trezeguet, which proved decisive in a match against Milan at the San Siro. Del Piero also helped Juventus to reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League that season, only losing out to eventual champions Liverpool.
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This shirt was worn by Alessandro in the first half of Juventus vs Udinese of the season 2004/2005. Even if it was an home game the team played with its away kit. This shirt was swapped by Alessandro with a former Udinese player who we got it from. A curious thing about this shirt is that Del Piero went in to the pitch with hand cutted sleeves but before the kick-off he asked to the team’s therapist Sergio Giunta to cut some more fabric from the right sleeve. The result is a shirt with a raw cutted right sleeve shorter than left one. Watch below the video of the sleeve’s cutting before the game.
Watch “Football for Hope”Highlights
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Football for Hope was a FIFA-sponsored football match played between the Ronaldinho XI team and the Shevchenko XI team on 15 February 2005 at the Camp Nou in Barcelona in support of the relief effort after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. Organised by FIFA and UEFA in consultation with the Royal Spanish Football Federation, and with support from FC Barcelona, who provided their stadium and staff free of charge, this benefit match for the victims of the tsunami saw an XI led by Ronaldinho, the 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year, beat a team captained by Andriy Shevchenko, the 2004 European Footballer of the Year, by six goals to three. FIFA hoped to raise £7 million in support of the tsunami victims, around a third through the game itself. All proceeds from the Football For Hope match went to the FIFA/Asian Football Confederation Tsunami Solidarity Fund. In 2011, FIFA won the Sport for Health Award at the Beyond Sport Awards ceremony. The game itself, which was watched by some 35,000 spectators, was a typical charity affair with a predictable pace, although the fans were entertained by a feast of goals. Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o and Senegal’s Henri Camara both scored two goals, which, along with strikes from Ronaldinho and the South Korean Cha Du-ri, helped the FIFA World Player of the Year’s team to victory. Alessandro Del Piero, Gianfranco Zola and David Suazo scored for Andriy Shevchenko’s side.
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Del Piero is currently Italy’s joint fourth all-time leading scorer, along with Roberto Baggio, with 27 goals in 91 appearances, with 2 goals for Italy coming in 12 World Cup matches and 1 goal in 13 European Championship matches; alongside Enrico Chiesa, he also holds the unique record for the most goals scored by an Italian international as a substitute. Del Piero initially played for the Italian U-21 side on 12 occasions, scoring 3 goals, and was a member of the team that won the 1996 European Under-21 Championship, appearing in the quarter-finals. Del Piero made his senior debut under Arrigo Sacchi at the age of 20, on 25 March 1995, in a 4–1 win over Estonia in a Euro 1996 qualifying match. Del Piero scored his first goal for Italy on the 15th November 1995, in a 4–0 win over Lithuania in a Euro 1996 qualifying match. His tournament debut was at UEFA Euro 1996, where he made his only appearance in the first half of a group match win against Russia as a left-winger, wearing the number 14 shirt, before being substituted at half-time by Roberto Donadoni.
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Juventus F.C. reached an amazing record in Serie A with Fabio Capello as coach. The team was in top position in the Serie A championship for 76 games between 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. The 2005-2006 Champions League season wasn’t good as expected. The team went out against Arsenal F.C. in the quarter-final leg. That was quite weird considering the quality of its players. Juventus F.C. was considered one of the favorite teams to lift the Champions League trophy.
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In his later career, after scoring a goal, Del Piero often celebrated by running to the touchline in front of the fans with his arms out-stretched, and sticking out his tongue, in a similar manner to Michael Jordan, also frequently leaping into the air with a raised fist towards the sky, or sliding onto his knees whilst passionately chanting to the crowd. Del Piero also performed a back-flip goal celebration in a 2008 UEFA Champions League match against Zenit, and he also pointed up at the sky after scoring on certain occasions, to dedicate a goal to his late father, such as when he scored against Bari during the 2000–01 season, and Mexico at the 2002 World Cup.
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The 2006–07 season was Juventus Football Club’s first season in its history in Serie B following the 2006 Italian football scandal, leaving Internazionale as the only Italian club never to have been relegated. Juventus were docked nine points this season (repealed from the original 17 point deduction). After Juventus were demoted to Serie B and their two most recent Scudetti were revoked, Del Piero pledged that he would stay to captain the team alongside with some other players as David Trezeguet, Mauro Camoranesi, Gianluigi Buffon and Pavel Nedved. He underlined that players should remain with the team, explaining that “The Agnelli family deserve this, as do the fans and the new directors.” While many key players such as Fabio Cannavaro, Emerson, Gianluca Zambrotta, Patrick Vieira, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Lilian Thuram left, Del Piero chose to stay and help the club gain promotion.
“A true gentleman never leaves his lady” Alessandro Del Piero
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Del Piero finished the league campaign as the top scorer of the 2006–07 Serie B season, with 20 goals. During the season, Del Piero also managed his 200th goal with Juventus on 21 October 2006, in a 1–0 league victory over Frosinone.
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In the 2008-2009 season Alessandro Del Piero lived one of his most emotional moment in his career. Juventus were drawn into the same Champions League group as Real Madrid, and UEFA Cup winners Zenit Saint Petersburg. Del Piero marked Juventus’s return to the competition with a match-winning free kick to seal a home win against Zenit. On 21 October, Del Piero netted a notable goal as Juventus defeated Real Madrid 2–1 in Turin, scoring with a first-time, curling strike from distance, in the fifth minute of play. On 5 November 2008, Juventus and Real Madrid squared off at Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League. The Italians won 0–2, their first away win against Madrid since 1962, and Del Piero was a key performer, scoring both goals, and drawing praise from Ranieri, as well as Real Madrid’s coach Bernd Schuster. As he left the pitch after being substituted, fans from both sides gave him an unbelievable standing ovation.
Watch the Santiago Bernabeu’s standing ovation for Alessandro Del Piero
“Del Piero is the best Italian player, we’re the same age and I’ve followed his whole career” Ryan Giggs
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On 17 July 2009, Del Piero extended his contract with Juventus by one more year until 30 June 2011 in Pinzolo while training for pre-season, thus practically ensuring that he would retire at the club with which he started his professional career.During his renewal, he said, “I am happy at Juventus and we are competitive. I want to keep playing for as long as I can and I’m certain that for at least two more years I will be at the top level.” On 14 February 2010, Del Piero marked his 445th Serie A appearance, breaking the all-time club record previously held by Boniperti, with a brace in a 3–2 win against Genoa. Del Piero finished the season as the all-time top scorer for Juventus, having scored over 250 goals in all competitions with the club, and having also made over 600 appearances in official matches for Juventus, breaking Scirea’s appearance record. On 14 March 2010, Del Piero recorded his 300th and 301st career goals during a 3–3 draw with Siena, with the first two goals coming in the second and seventh minutes.
JUVENTUS F.C.
January 5th 2012
Mohammed Al-Deayea Farewell Game
Al Hilal vs Juventus
Match Issued Shirt
Del Piero Alessandro
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This shirt was issued for Alessandro Del Piero for the friendly “Mohammed Al-Deayea Farewell Game” between Al-Hilal and Juventus which took place in Riyadh, “King Fahad” Stadium, on January 5th 2012. This style of shirt was used by the team in this game only. It is different from the regular season’s shirts because of the white squared background on the back. The shirt was originally released by Nike for the Uefa Champions League competitions but the team didn’t qualify for them during the season 2010/2011 so this style of shirt was never used anymore aside from this match.
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The 2011–12 season was Juventus Football Club’s 114th in existence. The club won their first Serie A title in nine years. Not participating in any European competitions, Juventus chose a new coach: Antonio Conte, who played for the side in 1990. Former club captain and fan favourite Antonio Conte was officially appointed as the new manager on 31 May 2011, taking over the post previously left vacant following the sacking of Luigi Delneri. It was Conte’s first appointment at a major Serie A club; he previously managed Siena, Arezzo, Atalanta, and Bari respectively, winning two Serie A promotions in the process (with Bari and Siena). His arrival was surrounded by the ones of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, top-class midfielders. 2011–12 season also marked the opening of a new arena, named Juventus Stadium. It has been officially opened on 11 September, in a match against Parma ended 4–1. First half of league saw Juventus gain several «key-wins» such as over Milan and Inter, both beaten in month of October.Despite criticized for the lackness of a centre-forward, role sometimes covered by Matri, the team was even able to score with other players. Reached the first place, title was certainly won at penultimate game due to 2–0 success in Cagliari’s home. Juventus ended the season without losses, breaking a record for 20-team league format. Conte’s squad also disputed Coppa Italia final, suffering – from Napoli – the first and only seasonal loss. This match signed the bye of Alessandro Del Piero, who – 7 days before – had scored his last goal (in Juventus-Atalanta 3–1).
Watch Alessandro Del Piero last game in Serie A
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On 13 May, Del Piero started Juventus’s final league game of the season against Atalanta, marking the occasion and the victory of their 28th Serie A title by scoring a goal. Twenty-seven minutes into the match, Del Piero picked the ball up at the edge of the penalty box and placed a shot past Giorgio Frezzolini to make the score 2–0, helping Juventus to go undefeated in Serie A that season. He was substituted off after 59 minutes to an emotional response from both sets of players and supporters, as he made a lap of honour around the pitch. This was Alessandro Del Piero’s final Serie A appearance for Juventus. In total, Del Piero made a club record of 705 appearances for Juventus across all competitions, scoring a record 289 goals, and providing 134 assists in all competitions throughout his career with the club; he also scored 188 goals and provided 105 assists in 478 Serie A appearances with the Turin club. In addition to these records, Del Piero is also Juventus’s top scorer and second highest appearance holder in the UEFA Champions League, behind only Buffon, with 44 goals in 92 appearances; he is also the top scorer and appearance holder for Juventus in European Competitions, with 50 goals in 125 appearances, in International competitions, with 54 goals in 131 appearances, and in the Supercoppa Italiana, with 3 goals in 6 appearances. He is the club’s top-scorer in Serie B, with 21 goals, and the club’s second highest scorer in the Coppa Italia, with 25 goals, behind Pietro Anastasi. Alongside Giuseppe Signori and Alberto Gilardino, Del Piero is also the ninth highest all-time goalscorer in Serie A, and he is currently the joint all-time top scorer in the Supercoppa Italiana, alongside Samuel Eto’o, Andriy Shevchenko, and Carlos Tevez. As of May 2016, he is the thirteenth highest UEFA Champions League all-time goalscorer, with 41 goals. Del Piero refused the board’s offer to retire the number 10 shirt in his honour, saying that “I’ve really had so much that I would never want it to be retired, this way, every child can dream of day of wearing it.” On 30 June, Del Piero wrote an open letter to the Juventus fans thanking them for almost two decades of support, stating, “Above all what remains is the fans, you who are Juventus. That jersey that I loved and will always love, that I desired and respected … From tomorrow I will no longer be a Juventus player, but I will always be one of you. Now a new adventure begins and I am as fired up as I was 19 summers ago.”
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At international level, Del Piero has also represented the Italian national team at three FIFA World Cups and four UEFA European Football Championships, most notably winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and reaching the final of UEFA Euro 2000 with Italy. He is the joint fourth highest scorer for the Italian national team, with 27 goals, alongside Roberto Baggio, and behind only Silvio Piola with 30 goals, Giuseppe Meazza with 33 goals, and Luigi Riva with 35 goals; with 91 appearances for Italy between 1995 and 2008, he is also his nation’s ninth-most capped player of all-time.
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Alessandro Del Piero while he was playing with these kind of boots was usual to have some padding on inside heels. He was wearing number 10 embroidered on tongue or heels while he was playing with Juventus F.C. and number 7 embroidered while he was playing with Italy National Team.
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This shirt was worn by Alessandro Del Piero during the “Trofeo Tim” game between Internazionale and Juventus which took place in Bari, “San Nicola” Stadium, on August 18th 2011. Internazionale defeated Juventus 7-6 after penalties. The “Trofeo Tim” consists of three 45-minute games and the winner is the team with the most points at the end of the night, Inter claimed the trophy with 5 points: 2 for the win against Juventus on penalties and 3 for our 1-0 win against Allegri’s AC Milan.
On 5 September 2012, Alessandro Del Piero signed a two-year deal with Sydney FC. He was paid approximately AU$3.5 million for each of his first two seasons, and therefore became the highest-paid footballer to ever play in Australia. Del Piero had been linked to Liverpool prior to signing for Sydney, but later revealed due to his memories of Heysel he would not have been able to move to the club. Upon signing for Sydney FC, Del Piero said, “It’s a special day for me. I am happy to announce that I just signed for two years for Sydney FC. This is a very big moment for me because I want to continue my career in a new part of the world where I can make a major contribution and help grow the game I love.” After the announcement of the transfer to Sydney FC, Juventus wished good luck to their former captain.[167] Francesco Totti and Filippo Inzaghi said they were saddened by his departure. Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow said, “The signing of Alessandro Del Piero is a big moment for this club and, we believe, a historic moment for football in Australia, I wouldn’t like to go into the details of the contract, but this does represent the largest professional sporting contract in Australian history and the numbers that have been discussed aren’t too far off the mark.”FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said that this signing will be crucial for the growth of Australian Football, both economically and technically. Ian Crook, manager of Sydney FC, said he would build the forward set-up around the Italian, who would be given “licence” to pull the strings. “We’re not going to reinvent the wheel here. He’s played 19 years for one of the biggest four or five clubs in the world, as a No. 10 or a No. 9. We’re not going to change that.” FIFA President Sepp Blatter sent his best wishes to Del Piero and his new club. On 6 October 2012, Del Piero made his A-League debut with Sydney FC in a 2–0 away loss against Wellington Phoenix. Del Piero scored his first goal for the club from a free-kick in 3–2 loss to Newcastle Jets on 13 October, in his first home game for Sydney. The match against Newcastle featured hero-cam, which allowed the viewer to track Del Piero’s movements with one camera throughout the game. On 20 October, Del Piero scored the winning goal against Western Sydney Wanderers FC (1–0), making history with the first goal in the first Sydney Derby. On 19 January 2013, Del Piero scored four goals and also provided one assist in Sydney’s 7–1 win against Wellington Phoenix; this was the first time he had scored more than three goals in a single match, and after being substituted, the fans gave him a standing ovation. On 10 February, Del Piero broke the club’s record for most goals in a single season, scoring his eleventh goal of the season in a 2–1 home win over Brisbane Roar.[178] Despite his record-breaking tally of 14 goals in 24 appearances, Del Piero was unable to help Sydney qualify for the play-offs at the end of the season. On 21 February, Del Piero renewed his contract until 2014. Del Piero was named Sydney’s captain for their 2013–14 season. On 11 October 2013, Del Piero scored the opening goal of the 2013–14 A-League season, the game-winner in a 2–0 victory over Newcastle Jets, also setting up Joel Chianese’s goal. Alessandro went on to score 10 goals in total for Sydney FC in the 2013–14 season, which earned him the Sydney FC Golden Boot; he helped the club qualify for the finals series, setting up both of his team’s goals in the final match of the regular season on 13 April 2014, a 2–1 home win over Perth Glory, before being released of his contract at Sydney FC. His final match with Sydney came in a 2–1 loss to Melbourne Victory in an Elimination final at Docklands Stadium on 18 April, courtesy of Gui Finkler’s injury time winner. On Sunday 10 August 2014, Del Piero captained the Hyundai A-League All Stars against his club of almost 20 years, Juventus, in Sydney, in front of over 55,000 people at ANZ Stadium. Del Piero was substituted off at the 63rd minute of the match for David Williams, to a standing ovation. In April 2015, Del Piero was named to Sydney FC’s team of the decade and to the AFC team of the decade.
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The Delhi Dynamos F.C. was an Indian professional football club based in Delhi, which competed in the Indian Super League under license from All India Football Federation. In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight or nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. On 13 April 2014, it was announced that DEN Networks had won the bidding for the Delhi franchise. The team had entered an alliance with Dutch club Feyenoord which lasted only for one year. The team started their campaign in the inaugural Indian Super League season on 14 October 2014 with a 0–0 draw against FC Pune City at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. The Dynamos did not experience the best of starts to their ISL campaign as they lagged behind at the last place till the 9th Round. The team rejuvenated and regrouped to climb out of the situation to finish in 5th place with a five match unbeaten run which included three wins and two draws. Delhi narrowly missed out on qualification for the semi-finals falling short only by a point. In 2015 Delhi Dynamos qualified for the first time for the semi-finals of the Indian Super League with the fewest games played in 2015. In 2016 season, the club finished third in the league round with 21 points and lost to the Kerala Blasters FC in the semi-finals of the season. In 2017 season, the club finished eighth in the league round with 19 points[6] and couldn’t qualify for semi-finals of the season. In 2018 season, the club again finished eighth in the league round with 18 points and couldn’t qualify for the semi-finals of the season. The club was rebranded as Odisha FC from Delhi Dynamos FC on 31 August 2019 and the base was shifted from Delhi (JLN Stadium) to Bhubaneswar (Kalinga Stadium).
Things to Know:
This shirt was worn by Alessandro Del Piero during the game between Delhi Dynamos and Goa F.C. which took place in Delhi on November 13th 2014. Alessandro didn’t play during the game as he used a reserve but he swapped after the game the shirt with a well known F.C. Goa European player who we got it from. Del Piero joined Delhi Dynamos F.C. for the season 2014 only. On 23 August 2014, it was reported that the team, that was set to play in the inaugural Indian Super League season, was in talks with Del Piero. His brother, Stefano Del Piero said “During the last (few) weeks, we have received inquiries from several teams, not only from India but also from other countries. There is a lot of interest in Alessandro.” On 28 August 2014, he officially signed for the Indian franchise, signing a four-month deal. Del Piero made his debut for the Delhi Dynamos on 14 October in a 0–0 draw against Pune City, a side which featured his former Juventus teammate David Trezeguet. On 9 December, Del Piero scored his first and only Delhi Dynamos goal, netting directly from a free kick, in a 2–2 draw against Chennaiyin. Del Piero made 10 appearances throughout the season as Delhi finished in fifth place, failing to reach the play-offs by a single point.
