Ale talking with the PSG's owners. 
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Il Capitano Alessandro Del Piero (28 Viewers)
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Do you think he's negotiating with them? Imagine Ancelotti flopping and DP is taking over. "Ibra, we meet again."
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The men behind signing Alessandro Del Piero outline how they pulled off a major coup for Sydney FC
Sydney FC's Tony Pignata and Lou Sticca watch on as Alessandro Del Piero (centre) signs with the A-League club. Source: The Daily Telegraph
LURING the greatest name in A-League history was sealed in two key moments; an hour-long video conference in Italian during which Alessandro Del Piero was told he could become the David Beckham of Australian soccer, and a midnight walk with the player's two key advisers in Turin.
It can also be revealed that the genesis of Del Piero's signing was first sown last July, when then Optus executive Tony Pignata and player agent Lou Sticca had a casual meal in a Lygon St restaurant in Melbourne and the name popped up as a potentially defining recruit for the A-League.
When Pignata was made Sydney FC's new chief executive in June, Sticca again mentioned Del Piero as a target, although the Sky Blues already had Nicky Carle and Brett Emerton on their books.
"And then it all aligned," Pignata said, as Carle's sudden defection to United Arab Emirates side Baniyas left the door ajar.
But to then get Del Piero's signature, an extraordinary sequence of meetings and trips - none involving the player directly - was held before history was made.
In Pignata's own words, here is how it transpired:
Tuesday, August 28: "Lou had met Alessandro's brother and manager Stefano Del Piero at Juventus' last game (in May) and mentioned Australia as an option. They didn't dismiss it, so the idea was planted.
"We couldn't do anything at the time because of our roster, but when Nicky Carle announced he was going to Abu Dhabi I had a meeting with (Sydney FC chairman) Scott Barlow about potential recruitment, and Alessandro Del Piero was top of the list. He and the board were really supportive.
"That Tuesday I got a call from Lou who said, 'Get on a plane, they want to see you'. I had a chat to Scott and he was very excited, and said 'If you need to go, then go'.
"I had a bit of a rethink, I didn't want to travel all the way there to be told he would sign elsewhere, so I decided it would be best to speak to them via video conference.
"I flew to Melbourne where I met Lou. We had one hour to really sell it. Lou and I prepared for about three hours, we had a plan of attack.
"Lou drove it, he knew exactly what would push their buttons.
"We had a video conference at 6pm with Stefano Del Piero and Dario Tosetti, who is the chairman of Alessandro Del Piero's personal business. We had a white board, we spoke in their native tongue of Italian which was a good selling point as well.
"Being what Beckham was for (the United States') Major League Soccer in Australia was the nuts and bolts of our pitch, and what Sydney could do.
"They listened to us for an hour, and told us they wanted another conference at 9pm. That meeting was totally different, there was far more detail and we actually negotiated dollars and wrote a contract that we emailed to them. I was on the phone to Scott the whole time, saying 'This is what they want. what do you think?' The role Scott played in delivering this deal was enormous.
"They said 'Thank you, let's reconvene on Thursday at 6pm'.
"On the Wednesday, we sent the Prime Minister's letter, and that just showed how serious we were. They were very, very touched by that."
Thursday, August 30: "Lou and I were really, really nervous. We had come so far, the support on social media was phenomenal. On the Thursday night they were still very keen, and said 'We'd like to see you Monday'."
Friday, August 31: Pignata was in the Sydney FC office until 2am Saturday preparing documents for the Del Piero deal.
Sunday, September 2: Pignata and Sticca fly to Milan via Melbourne, aware that Sion (Switzerland), Celtic (Scotland) and Olympiakos (Greece) were also chasing Del Piero.
Monday, September 3: "Lou and I talked throughout the flight. I had prepared myself for the worst - I had to. We arrived in Milan, then drove to Turin.
"We got to the hotel around 3.30pm on Monday, and had a message that Stefano and Dario wanted to meet at 5pm. So after a 30-hour flight, we only had time for a quick shower and change and we went to meet them. We were just running on adrenaline.
"We went to their office and Alessandro was there, we spoke briefly, he was very warm and down to Earth. Then he left and we had a meeting with Stefano and Dario. They were very interested in the 'projecto', which is how we referred to it.
"Then we went for dinner around 9pm. (The four dined at an upmarket Turin restaurant, eating pasta and drinking mineral water)."
"We finished up about midnight, and took a half-hour walk back to the hotel. This was really crucial, looking back on it. Lou spoke with Dario, I spoke with Stefano, and we really bonded.
"It was just us, walking though the cobblestone streets of Turin with light drizzle falling, and we spoke about our children and families. There was no talk of money, it was just getting to know each other more personally.
"That really built the trust between us and that was key, because they had to trust that we could deliver what we were saying."
Tuesday, September 4: "We had another meeting with them, and they were upfront and told us they had a late offer from Liverpool. By that stage we knew Sion, Celtic and Olympiakos had dropped off. The Italian media were all over it, we left for the hotel at 6pm and I told the reporters: "Liverpool is a big club, but Australia is a beautiful country'.
"I received a text at 1am saying "We want to meet you at 11am'."
Wednesday, September 5: We were waiting in their office, Dario walked in and said, 'Congratulations, Alessandro is coming to Sydney'. Lou and I were over the moon - we couldn't high-five, but when he left the room we gave each other a massive hug.
"Then Alessandro came in and gave us a hug, and said 'Grazie, grazie'."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...up-for-sydney-fc/story-fndb5nmd-1226471369108
Sydney FC's Tony Pignata and Lou Sticca watch on as Alessandro Del Piero (centre) signs with the A-League club. Source: The Daily Telegraph
LURING the greatest name in A-League history was sealed in two key moments; an hour-long video conference in Italian during which Alessandro Del Piero was told he could become the David Beckham of Australian soccer, and a midnight walk with the player's two key advisers in Turin.
It can also be revealed that the genesis of Del Piero's signing was first sown last July, when then Optus executive Tony Pignata and player agent Lou Sticca had a casual meal in a Lygon St restaurant in Melbourne and the name popped up as a potentially defining recruit for the A-League.
When Pignata was made Sydney FC's new chief executive in June, Sticca again mentioned Del Piero as a target, although the Sky Blues already had Nicky Carle and Brett Emerton on their books.
"And then it all aligned," Pignata said, as Carle's sudden defection to United Arab Emirates side Baniyas left the door ajar.
But to then get Del Piero's signature, an extraordinary sequence of meetings and trips - none involving the player directly - was held before history was made.
In Pignata's own words, here is how it transpired:
Tuesday, August 28: "Lou had met Alessandro's brother and manager Stefano Del Piero at Juventus' last game (in May) and mentioned Australia as an option. They didn't dismiss it, so the idea was planted.
"We couldn't do anything at the time because of our roster, but when Nicky Carle announced he was going to Abu Dhabi I had a meeting with (Sydney FC chairman) Scott Barlow about potential recruitment, and Alessandro Del Piero was top of the list. He and the board were really supportive.
"That Tuesday I got a call from Lou who said, 'Get on a plane, they want to see you'. I had a chat to Scott and he was very excited, and said 'If you need to go, then go'.
"I had a bit of a rethink, I didn't want to travel all the way there to be told he would sign elsewhere, so I decided it would be best to speak to them via video conference.
"I flew to Melbourne where I met Lou. We had one hour to really sell it. Lou and I prepared for about three hours, we had a plan of attack.
"Lou drove it, he knew exactly what would push their buttons.
"We had a video conference at 6pm with Stefano Del Piero and Dario Tosetti, who is the chairman of Alessandro Del Piero's personal business. We had a white board, we spoke in their native tongue of Italian which was a good selling point as well.
"Being what Beckham was for (the United States') Major League Soccer in Australia was the nuts and bolts of our pitch, and what Sydney could do.
"They listened to us for an hour, and told us they wanted another conference at 9pm. That meeting was totally different, there was far more detail and we actually negotiated dollars and wrote a contract that we emailed to them. I was on the phone to Scott the whole time, saying 'This is what they want. what do you think?' The role Scott played in delivering this deal was enormous.
"They said 'Thank you, let's reconvene on Thursday at 6pm'.
"On the Wednesday, we sent the Prime Minister's letter, and that just showed how serious we were. They were very, very touched by that."
Thursday, August 30: "Lou and I were really, really nervous. We had come so far, the support on social media was phenomenal. On the Thursday night they were still very keen, and said 'We'd like to see you Monday'."
Friday, August 31: Pignata was in the Sydney FC office until 2am Saturday preparing documents for the Del Piero deal.
Sunday, September 2: Pignata and Sticca fly to Milan via Melbourne, aware that Sion (Switzerland), Celtic (Scotland) and Olympiakos (Greece) were also chasing Del Piero.
Monday, September 3: "Lou and I talked throughout the flight. I had prepared myself for the worst - I had to. We arrived in Milan, then drove to Turin.
"We got to the hotel around 3.30pm on Monday, and had a message that Stefano and Dario wanted to meet at 5pm. So after a 30-hour flight, we only had time for a quick shower and change and we went to meet them. We were just running on adrenaline.
"We went to their office and Alessandro was there, we spoke briefly, he was very warm and down to Earth. Then he left and we had a meeting with Stefano and Dario. They were very interested in the 'projecto', which is how we referred to it.
"Then we went for dinner around 9pm. (The four dined at an upmarket Turin restaurant, eating pasta and drinking mineral water)."
"We finished up about midnight, and took a half-hour walk back to the hotel. This was really crucial, looking back on it. Lou spoke with Dario, I spoke with Stefano, and we really bonded.
"It was just us, walking though the cobblestone streets of Turin with light drizzle falling, and we spoke about our children and families. There was no talk of money, it was just getting to know each other more personally.
"That really built the trust between us and that was key, because they had to trust that we could deliver what we were saying."
Tuesday, September 4: "We had another meeting with them, and they were upfront and told us they had a late offer from Liverpool. By that stage we knew Sion, Celtic and Olympiakos had dropped off. The Italian media were all over it, we left for the hotel at 6pm and I told the reporters: "Liverpool is a big club, but Australia is a beautiful country'.
"I received a text at 1am saying "We want to meet you at 11am'."
Wednesday, September 5: We were waiting in their office, Dario walked in and said, 'Congratulations, Alessandro is coming to Sydney'. Lou and I were over the moon - we couldn't high-five, but when he left the room we gave each other a massive hug.
"Then Alessandro came in and gave us a hug, and said 'Grazie, grazie'."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...up-for-sydney-fc/story-fndb5nmd-1226471369108
