I can not speak for the WHOLE british footballing public, only for the hundreds I know personally, and the thousands, I have met over the years. On that basis, I have a decent idea of how highly king eric was valued. Its not solely talent that makes me personally, rate a player, its who they are off the pitch, how i perceive their mind, their spirit, their hearts...true, many fans judge players solely on what they achieve on the pitch in terms of success. I do not, however. Its clear that I have a preference for vicious types, rough justice artists...but that isn't to say i don't respect and value the gentile, gentlemanly comportment of Del Piero, as well as his obvious football talent...one of the greatest goals I have seen, in 20 years of of watching mainly british and italian football, as well as the international tournaments, perhaps my number one goal, definitely in the top 5, was Del Piero's goal in a 3-2 win over fiorentina; sousa, it may have been, floated a 30-40 yard ball over the defence, Alex let it drop, and hit is first time on the volley, with the outside of his right boot, the ball curled, then dipped into the top corner, over the keepers net. Pure and divine quality./..but like I say, the vicious types excite me more than DP. That will never change. I get as much pleasure seeing Chiellini crunch someone, as I do seeing Del Piero score another free kick. Its a different kind of pleasure...
The british press, like the italian press, is full of sensationalism. Its how tabloid newspapers are sold...but I thought every knew that.