For my
1000th post i only felt it right to post here, in the thread of the player who means the world to me, has brought so many memories to me over my life, and hopefully continues to do so for years to come. I would like to pay tribute to the legend that is, our captain, our hero, our saviour, Alessandro Del Piero.
There is no other player in the world that has such an effect on me. When i watch a replay of him scoring a goal that i have seen at least 600 times, such as the world cup 2006 semifinal goal between Italy and Germany, or his goal vs Real Madrid in the 2003 CL semifinal or his recent stunning finishes vs Real Madrid in this year's CL, the replays still gives me goosebumps, make me smile, and pump my fist, that to me is magic, and proof of the great amount of pride and happiness he has brought to my life.
Inspiring, classy, humble, amazing, legendary, are all words synonymous with Del Piero. The biggest regret i will ever have in my life will be if he retires and i have never seen him play live, so one day soon i hope to fulfill my dream of going to Italy (preferably Turin) or anywhere else to watch him play, something i will never ever forget. Funny how someone who has no idea who i am, has never seen me, been near me, heard of me, or any such thing, is such an idol to me, but what he does on and off the field in itself is reason enough for me to praise him so highly. Simply playing a sport, with such passion and talent, amazingly enough has made me over the years become spellbound by what he does. To me that is why football is so special, as it connects people around the world, who otherwise would not ever meet or converse. For me Del Piero has allowed me to meet so many people, enter into so many discussions, whether praising or defending him, as if he was my dearest friend. This connection occurs simply because of a jersey, a team I support, a team I love, and a team I would do anything to see succeed. I'm sure Rab would know what i'm talking about.
Where do i start, he has had such an illustrious, yet up and down career as well. So many unforgettable moments, whether they were happy or sad. When i was only 3 or 4, he won the U-21 Championships for Italy in France, of course i can't remember this, nor can i remember when he debuted for Juve because i was too young. But i have seen the highlights from the past and his first ever goal vs Reggina was to be the start of a legacy, not to mention his hatrick in his very first start for this amazing club of ours vs Parma. When i was a mere 6 years old, he graced the world with his skill, one year after winning his first scudetto of many, bywinning the Champions League in Rome, in 1996. Followed by the Intercontinental cup, a fantastic high point in his career. Two consecutive CL finals followed and much to my dismay and heartbreak we came up just short as finalists in both years to Borussia Dortmund and then Real Madrid, who could forget his fantastic freekick in the semis vs monaco, simply fantastic. Then disaster struck, and with it Del Piero missed the rest of the 1998-1999 season for juve, who struggled alot and ended up coming 6th place, his injury, many believed would not allow him to ever return to his best, boy were they wrong.Unless of course Del Piero could have gone on to be even better, if there is such a thing. After recovering from injury, Del Piero continued to shine for Juve winning many more Scudetti, but it was on the international front where drama tended to unfold for this legend. The Euro 2000 final for example, in which Alex came under alot of scrutiny for his performance, and in particular two chances in which he failed to convert, but never did my belief in him waiver.One of my fondest memories of Alex was his late substitution against Mexico, long hair, sideburns, moustache and all, securing qualification for the WC 2002 with a header to rescue the Italians. The world cup in 2002 was a different story that i hate even mentioning, as all of us know what happened vs Korea, such a disgraceful game, and i cannot stand to watch the replays of that game, pathetic lowlife referee and such, complete rubbish. Then came more heartbreak for me and my fellow Juventus fans, when we bowed out in the CL final to Ac Milan on penalties, that being the last of four times Del Piero has made it to a CL final. Then came Capello, and a dismal spell of being benched for the eventual traitor, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and not getting out of the group stages in Euro 2004, due to a "coincidental" 2-2 draw. But Alex was soon to be thrust back into glory when Italy won the 2006 World cup in Germany after unbelievable games such as the semifinal vs Germany and the final itself, most definetely one of the happiest moments of my life, and i'm not Italian but i seem to believe i am, so that's all that matters, my supporting passion. Then there are the millions of milestones he has achieved such as 500 appearances, and breaking the 552 appearance record, the all time leading goalscorer, and returning back to where he scored his first ever goal, Reggina, to score his 250th goal in the freezing cold snow, not to mention his back to back capocannoniere titles from Seria B and Seria A, where he, in one the most amazing displays of sportsmanship allowed Trezeguet in the final game of the season to take a penalty that he had earned, in order for Trez to tie Ale on 20 goals, only for Del Piero to rightfully earn another pk and convert to win the crown outright with his record 21 goals, of which he had already achieved earlier in his career.
I could go on and on about Del Piero, without a doubt, but most of you probably know his history, his goals, his story, and some of us even know the intimate details about his life, such as his musical taste etc etc, and some other stuff that maybe i shouldn't discuss, again, Rab, u know where im coming from
. Goalwise, i will not even bother to try and recall all, as the mere fact that i cannot, should be a testament to how many he has scored, and how much he has done for this club. Lets just say he has scored some amazing freekicks, against all kinds of opposition, be it Roma, Inter, Real, etc etc, and some marvellous open play goals throughout his career, including peaches such as backheels, his famous goal vs Fiorentina, and the occasional tap in "a la Trezeguet." I will never tire of seeing you score for this club, ever, and i will support you until the day you die. Now of course, i was gonna say that we have all enjoyed his 255 goals so far, but in true Del Piero fashion, never ceasing to amaze, he pops up today vs Bologna, grabs a brace and is unlucky not to have scored a hattrick after a beautiful left footed drive came off the woodwork with the keeper beaten, so let's call it 257 shall we. Sheer quality, a true legend. Nobody can deny he is one of the greatest players to ever grace this game, our hearts, our stadium, and we are lucky as fans to call him our own, Forza Juve, Forza Ale, We love you, forever.
it would be very fitting, but they will never be forgotten. I hope Nedved and Del Piero continue to win things with us after they retire, DP as manager and Nedved as Director of football.... now that would be a hollywood ending!!!
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