Alessandro Del Piero

Alessandro Del Piero | Time To Say Goodbye | HD

Coppa Italia Final- 2012-

Juventus V Napoli could  have been the perfect swansong for Alessandro Del Piero and he could have said goodbye in style. It never really felt as though Juve were 100% committed to the fixture, a little arrogance and a sense of entitlement started to seep into their game and they were never truly in it until they were 1-0 down. Amtonio Conte played this all wrong, in his efforts to appease the fans by playing Del Piero, he ultimately lost it. In reality, Del Piero and Marco Borriello were not exactly the greatest pairing, but nothing should be taken away from the amazing attacking football that was played by Napoli, in the first five minutes they had at least 4 shots on goal!! They were hungrier for this Cup as it felt as though they crumbled in the league and in Europe.
Georgio Chiellini was a big miss as Martin Caceras was not as affective down the left. The game wasn't as free flowing as I hoped an the referee let a lot of things go that led to tackles coming in faster and this then led to a lot of stop starts and the longer it stayed 0-0, the more heated it got. It was a little surprising that the game went on for 40 minutes without any yellow cards.. and yes, you guessed it, the first yellow card went to Claudio Marchisio,who looked like the walking wounded by the end of the game.

The first goal came in the 63rd minute when Marco Storari brought down Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edison Cavani slotted it home. At 1-0 Juve still had hope and their fair share of chances, yet it is the same thing with The Old Lady.. they have trouble with the finishing. This will come to bite them in the bum when it comes to knock out competitions like The Champions League, because a draw will not be enough. All hope was squashed in the 83rd minute when Marek Hamsik made it two. Tempers were at their highest because Juve had begun to realise that their unbeaten record could come to an end, and in the 90th minute Fabio Quagliarella saw a straight red for an elbow on Aronica- to be fair the Napoli man did have his arms around his neck and probably should have been booked in the first half with his kick on Marchisio in the first half which could have also been a penalty. But in the end the better team won and over 20 years without, Napoli deserved it. But Juve can take this as a lesson in humility, and maybe they should party less and they should never underestimate their opponents- because complacency and overconfidence will lead to you being kicked to the kerb!!!

Having said all that, Juve had a remarkable season and lifting the Scudetto is the perfect way to say goodbye to a legend like Alessandro Del Piero.

Happy Birthday to the Midfield Maestro!

And just like a maestro, he has led The Old Lady to their first triumpth in 6 years, and he turns 33 today. After spending 10 years at Milan one may have thought it was an odd acquisition, after all he was no spring chicken! Yet with his2 " bodyguards" in Aturu Vidal and Claudio Marchisio, any doubts were quickly dissolved. He could pass the ball with ease and perfect precision, and any time he did make a slight error in his play, it was met by confusion for anyone watching, because this is Pirlo, he doesn't make mistakes.

He has played 37 games in this long campaign and has never been substituted which shows you how important this man is to the success of Juventus. He may have only score three goals, but he has assisted 13 times with amazing results. He is also a great teacher as the two "whippersnappers" working with him in midfield have only gotten better! His control with the ball and his ability to dictate the game is probably the reason why Juve always have over 60% possession in each game they have played so far.

Happy Birthday Andrea and may all your wishes come true!

Juventus V Atalanta

An afternoon on great joy and incredible sadness as we wave gooodbye to some of the greater Italian players. I'm talking about Alessandro Del Piero but also Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Nesta and Gennaro Gattuso to name a few. It was the greatest day for Del Piero, as they have maintained their unbeaten record and he scored a wonderful goal. Atalanta were no pushover as the possession stats was fairly even and on a couple of occasions they did threaten to spoil the party, yet after a lapse in judgemant by Stephen Litchsteiner they ended the game as victors by three wonderful goals. The first goal was from Luca Marrone, a product of the youth system, and what a wonder goal as Marco Borriello did the grunt work and then did a wonderful backheel, which Marrone struck with such purpose, it hit the inside of the post before settling in the goal. This showed that Juve are more than one player and even though everyone will feel a tremendous sense of loss when Del Piero waves goodbye, Juve still have class!

The man of the moment didn't have to wait too long, on the 28th minute after a clever one-two with Emanuel Giaccherini- he scored and the stadium erupted and the fans went delirious. It was poetry in motion!

Sore winners?

As a loyal Juve fan I am over the moon with their triumph, yet their behaviour is questionable. I can understand the sense of injustice they suffered in 2006 to some extent, but what I can't seem to understand is why they would want to drudge up such a painful time in their history. Having two Scudetti stripped and 1 given to you fiercest rivals Inter will leave a sour taste in any ones mouth, but what they are doing can be considered to be a lot worse. They refuse to acknowledge it happened, and have instead called this their 30th victory. This is so childish and takes away from their extraordinary season, I mean they have won the league with a game to spare and have remained unbeaten. Surely, they should be celebrating that and not dwelling on what might have been.

In my humble opinion, the demotion to the second division was not all doom and gloom, hear me out, the youngsters at Juventus who would not have been given a chance to play had the opportunity to flourish, without the huge pressure that comes from playing in Serie A. Just think about it... Claudio Marchisio and Paolo De Ceglie are now first team players, would that have been allowed to occur under normal circumstances??

A lament to Alessandro Del Piero

The title may seem a bit overly dramatic, but they ring true in the hearts of Juventus fans all over the world. But in essence to “lament” is to express grief, and the day he leaves Juve will be a day of incredible sadness, because we are not only losing a great player, excellent captain and a fantastic sportsman… but we are also losing an incredible individual. Alessandro is a man who not only had a coolness and precision with his game but also knew that sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the success of the team. This great sacrifice that I speak off is largely evident in his last season at The Old Lady, he had to come to terms with the fact that there were younger and faster players that were going to get picked before him, and like the great professional that he is, he has accepted this, but God, when he did come on, he makes an immediate impact, not only to his fellow teammates and the game, but the decibel level in the stadium would rises significantly!


Del Piero may not have started his career at Juventus, but he has cemented his name in the hearts of all the Juventus fans around the world. Through his illustrious career at Juve he has acquired the nickname “ Il Pinturicchio” which is associated with Renaissance artist and which should give you the notion that he is more than a player, he’s an artist with the ball. Having spent 19 seasons at the club, he’s been through it all, from the horrific knee injury in the 1998/9 season to Calciopoli in 2006, and he has prevailed and come out even stronger, one could say he epitomises Juventus with his hard work, versatility and a never say die attitude.


Just imagine, if Del Piero had not suffered that injury in the game against Udinese in the 98/99 season what could have been? Could this man get any better? In my opinion that injury has made him hungrier and more determined to prove any doubters wrong…. Oh yes, there were some people who doubted he could never regain that spark that made him great. But boy, were they wrong, and he has been going from strength to strength ever since. Del Piero was quoted as saying, “ never get too depressed during the hard times and too elated during good times”. Suffering from such a serious injury that could end your career would be rather depressing, but Alex came back stronger than ever, but moreover, he brought an incredible intelligence to the game and he was always so diplomatic, especially when it came to the media.


This could be how he has been able to get as good as he is, he has been able to go with the punches and especially in Italy, where the media could destroy you if they wanted to, he has always been able to rise above it. Because not only do you have to have the physical strength but you also have to be able to be mentally strong to deal with all the media criticism and personal attacks from all over. But who would do this, after all he is one of the most loved players in Italy and this is why his parting is so bittersweet.


Some may think Del Piero may have lost some of the speed that made him a feared player, but he has the intelligence to read the game and he still has all the expertise and guile that will not go, no matter how old you are, as long as you stay sharp and have the same desire, and he has done that!

Throughout his wonderful career he has had the chance to play alongside some remarkable players from Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and Zinedin Zidane, and he has always done it with a smile on his face. His attitude to his game would always shine though, whenever he was on the pitch, it always felt as though nothing else mattered, he would immerse himself in the game- and the fans have responded to it and have continued to adore him for that.


The announcement that this was going to be his last season didn’t sit well with the supporters who believe Alessandro Del Piero to be “Mr Juventus”, and there have been appeals from all over for him to stay just one more year, but as it looks more and more likely he will be saying goodbye, all we can do is give him a send off filled with emotion to honour all the great things he has done for the club and Italian football and remember….


Class does not have an expiration date, Class is forever…..


Grazie Il Capitano!

The title deciders..

Milan V Inter and Juventus V Cagliari were played at the same time, like this title race needed any thing else to make it more tense, I was about to pass out!! To begin with, the game at the San Siro was hugely important, the result of that game could of dragged the title race to the last game, but thankfully that was not the case and Inter won and so did Juventus as they are League champions for the 28th time!
Yet the Milan Derby was not all smooth sailing, there were some very big twists thrown in to make it even more exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time.  Diego Milito was the player to open up the scoring for Inter on 14th minute, and from then on it was all Inter with sporadic attacks from Milan. This match is always a tense affair but rarely do you see it boil over to the coaching staff. As the half wore on and Milan were chasing the game, the ball had run out of play and as Robinho went to get it and get on with the attack it looked as though the Inter staff were withholding it, and suffice to say, some heated words were exchanged and it continued at the half time interval in the tunnels. But just before half time Milan clawed 1 back through a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty. It was a contentious penalty as it had looked as though Julio Cesar had got the ball not Kevin Prince Boateng, but the referee awarded the spot kick and Ibrahimovic slotted it in with ease, even though Cesar did everything he could to put him off his game.
The second half saw a more focused and determined Milan and we didn't have to wait long for the goal as the Swede hit the back of the net in under a minute! Milan were full of motivation, as they were aware that if they beat Inter they could either pip the title away from Juve or atleast make them sweat. It looked as though the ref had other plans as he awarded another penalty, this time to Inter for a foul on Milito by Ignazio Abate- and Milito soon equalised and he was also give the chance to win it and record a hat trick in the Milan Derby, a first for over 50 years! Yet Milan's humiliation was not over as Douglas Maicon struck a screamer to make it 4-2 and thus ended any hopes for Milan to retain the title.

Scenes of complete hysteria in Trieste as Juve clinch the title, their first legitimate title since 2003,

Alessandro Delpiero- Is This The End..??

Juventus V Lecce

An unexpected result considering the form Juventus have been lately, but I have to admit, I could sense it coming. In the second half Lecce were looking like a team with more purpose, and maybe the earlier sending off of Juan G Cuadrado filled them with a sense of injustice. Juve are still in the race for the Scudetto, this result just puts a little more pressure on the side from Turin.

The Old Lady got of to the best start when Claudio Marchisio gave the home side the lead in the 8th minute, yet Juve were struggling to get the second goal, they had their fair share of chances. Through the game they had 18 shots with 7 on goal and forcing the keeper to make 6 saves. Lecce must have studied the 4-0 mauling of Novara because they had made sure not to give Andrea Pirlo too much time on the ball, and as result he was forced to hurry and there came the miss placed passes, which are so unlike a player of his calibre. Juve came out after the second half feeling the pressure and were a little tense at times, but that should have eased when on the 54th minute Lecce were dowm to 10 men, but still Juve couldn't find the goal.
Throughout the game,Lecce had 4 shots with only one on goal, yet that was all the need to put fear and doubt back into the mind of this Juve fan! And in the 85th minute, substitute Andrea Bertolacci levelled the scoreline after a mistake by Gianluigi Buffon. Yes, you heard me, Buffon made a mistake! He was perhaps to casual with the ball and was duly punished, he had also done the same thing in the first half, it seems as though the big man might be getting alittle too confident. But before everyone blames him, where was the defence? why couldn't the forwards score? They had the 1 man advantage and yet they couldn't. Buffon is a great player, and sometimes we put him in the " superhero" category, but he is just one man and this is not a one man game. Gigi is a fantastic professional and he will not dwell on this mistake but learn from it and get even better. So before everyone gets on his back, just remember where we would be without him and be grateful we have him.

Yet I urge Juve to not despair, they are still ahead of Milan with two games yet to be played, and they have the Milan Derby on Sunday while Juve are away to Cagliari- Keep your nerves, the Scudetto is well within your grasp