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Good article.
When I think of Del Piero, I think of him as 2 players... the pre-1998 version was a brilliant player, the heir to Baggio, on the verge of becoming the best player in the world. And there was the post-1998 version, still a great player domestically, but two notches lower than the pre-1998 version, and always failing in the big nights in europe or internationally.
And I always wonder, without that injury just how great would he have become... my guess is that he would have scored double the goals that he scored for the azzurri in 85 games (27 goals).
Still, its always sad to see a great career come to and end. I am sure he will always live on in bianconeri hearts as a legend. And I hope Juve give DP his contract, it will be sad to see him wear any other jersey at this stage in his career...
When I think of Del Piero, I think of him as 2 players... the pre-1998 version was a brilliant player, the heir to Baggio, on the verge of becoming the best player in the world. And there was the post-1998 version, still a great player domestically, but two notches lower than the pre-1998 version, and always failing in the big nights in europe or internationally.
And I always wonder, without that injury just how great would he have become... my guess is that he would have scored double the goals that he scored for the azzurri in 85 games (27 goals).
Still, its always sad to see a great career come to and end. I am sure he will always live on in bianconeri hearts as a legend. And I hope Juve give DP his contract, it will be sad to see him wear any other jersey at this stage in his career...
Is This The Beginning Of The End For Del Piero?
On Sunday Alessandro Del Piero was dropped from Juventus’ starting line-up against Fiorentina and axed from Roberto Donadoni’s Italy squad to face Georgia and South Africa. Goal.com asks whether Del Piero’s days at the top of Italian football are over… Alessandro Del Piero is a Juventus and Serie A legend. He is the Bianconeri’s all-time top goalscorer with 218 goals in over 500 appearances and he has also won 85 caps for the Italian national team, placing him fifth on the all-time list of Italian cap-holders.
Ever since making his Juventus debut in 1993 at the age of just 19, the Golden Boy has delighted Italian football lovers with his fantasy and skill. Who can forget the magnificent goal Del Boy scored against Fiorentina in 1994 when he got onto the end of a 60-yard pass and fired a first-time volley past the keeper? What about the Champions League hat-trick in the semi-final against Monaco in 1998, when Del Piero hit a stunning 30-yard free-kick into the top corner of Fabien Barthez’ net? There have been many great moments in Del Piero’s career and for this we will always be grateful.
However it seems pretty clear that Del Piero’s glory days have passed and he is no longer the player he once was. If you ask for my honest opinion, I believe Del Piero has never been the same since the horrific knee injury he obtained against Udinese in October 1998. In the previous season to that Del Piero was, for me, undoubtedly the best player in the world. He had it all – the skill, the technique, the shot, the vision and the pace as well. When Del Piero picked the ball up he would dribble past players for fun and his trademark became the curler from the edge of the area into the far corner. When you consider that he was just 23 at this time, it is scary to think how good Del Piero could have become.
After the injury against Udinese, which kept him out for the rest of the 98/99 season, Del Piero seemed to lose the explosiveness from his game. He lost at least half-a-yard of pace and never regained it. Nevertheless Del Piero still returned to be an outstanding player and you only have to look at his goals tally to recognise this. His performances for the national team are a different matter and I believe that Del Boy has never really performed in any of the major championships he has ever been to. However I want to steer way clear of this topic.
This season Del Piero’s game has clearly dropped. He has scored just one goal for Juventus, a one-yard poacher’s goal against Cagliari, and his performance for Italy against France last month (regardless of the fact that he was played out of position) was possibly the worst I have ever seen from the striker. On Sunday against Fiorentina, Del Piero was dropped for Vincenzo Iaquinta, and the ex-Udinese man, after scoring and playing well, is surely going to be first-choice from now on.
Del Piero just does not frighten the opposition like he perhaps used to. When Del Piero replaced Iaquinta on Sunday, the Fiorentina defence immediately pushed up to the half-way line in the knowledge that Del Piero, unlike Iaquinta did not have the pace to get behind them. The Viola dominated the remainder of the game and eventually earned an equaliser in the 88th minute. Del Piero turns 33 next month and one has to ask the question of how much longer Del Piero will be gracing the playing fields of Serie A. The Golden Boy is currently having negotiation problems over the renewal of his contract. The sticking point is over his salary. Del Piero is reportedly demanding £3.2m a year, which is frankly ridiculous when you consider what he has to offer on the field.
Del Piero is Juventus through-and-through and the Bianconeri hierarchy should do everything they can to make sure he stays at the club because he is part of the furniture. However whether his long-term role should be on the field or in some off-the-field director/ambassadorial position is debatable. It is also very questionable whether Del Piero will be going to Euro 2008 if Italy qualifies. After issuing Coach Roberto Donadoni with the ultimatum that either he picks him in his favoured forward position or doesn’t pick him at all, Del Piero has hardly impressed in his preferred position for his club. The likes of Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella are definitely ahead in his role in the pecking order and so it is not absurd to question whether we have seen the last of Del Piero in an Azzurri shirt.
