Alessandro Del Piero takes on Roma tonight, but looks back over his Juventus career, three lost Champions League Finals and the World Cup.In an extensive interview with Sky Sport Italia, the Bianconeri captain explains how he got to wear the mythical Number 10 jersey.
“When [Roberto] Baggio was not playing, I had that number because [Gianluca] Vialli wore the 9 and the other striker had 11.
“When Baggio left, the rule was introduced that a player keeps the same shirt number for the whole season. I was the last to wear it, so I certainly didn’t want to give it up!
“I grew up watching [Diego] Maradona, [Michel] Platini, [Marco] Van Basten, [Antonio] Careca and [Ruud] Gullit. All players very different to me, but I got great pleasure from watching them.”
The recent Champions League exit to Chelsea still burns Del Piero, especially as he was part of the Juventus squad that reached the Final four times from 1996 to 2003 and lost three of them.
“There are regrets for all three, because we were prepared in every occasion, but this can happen when it’s a one-off match and your opponent is just a tiny bit better on the day,” mused Alex.
“It might be destiny or many other factors, but once we deserved to lose, another time we lost on penalties and in another we should have had more. Unfortunately in these situations you have to give credit to your opponents.”
In between those Finals was a devastating injury that snapped all the ligaments in his knee in 1998.
“That moment was terrible and deeply difficult for me. My whole career was at risk. They were nine very long months, but it was an important journey from a personal level.
“I never thought of giving up, as I was convinced from the start everything would go back in place, even though there were many tough moments.”
Among them the misses in the Euro 2000 Final, which Del Piero put behind him with a goal in the 2006 World Cup semi-final against Germany.
“I called for the ball and later [Alberto] Gilardino said he heard me, so that proves sometimes everything goes the right way for you.
“After the goal I was already going crazy, but it got even worse when I looked up and saw my wife and friends in the stands. They were meant to be 20 rows further up, but I saw them right there in front of me.
“That was a very emotional and touching moment as, a bit like the goal, it was totally unexpected. There were two minutes to go and we were focused on defence, but then the counter-attack began and I sprinted off after it.
“Football is a team sport, but there are infinite moments of solitude where you concentrate and thoughts run through your head before a game.
“Joy is also shared and yet personal, as after a goal or a victory there is this ecstasy where you don’t understand what’s happening, throw your hands right and left, close your eyes and your teammates jump on you. Those are the sublime moments that sport can give you.”
Del Piero will end his career at Juventus, but there were fears it would not be the case when he was repeatedly benched by Fabio Capello and then the club was demoted to Serie B.
“I am extremely happy that I stayed with Juventus, because that was my primary objective. There were some events pushing me further away from Juve during that time, but this is the way it went and I am happy.”
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channel4.com
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