++ [ originally posted by Dan ] ++
He steps it up for one game this season, albeit important, and that makes up for a whole sorry 5 years? Nope.
Hmm, sometimes I wonder what the hell is going on. Although I understand Dan's point of view since he's just trying to be a wise, critical follower of football. Sometimes he's maybe a little bit more cynical than most people are used to and that causes the sometimes "hostile reactions".
Anyway, back to the matter itself. You said he's had a sorry five years? Let's see. He's scored 61 goals in Serie A in the last five seasons (and led Juve to 2 scudetti). Are those "sorry years"? I know what you mean in a sense that DP has always been like a rollercoaster or at least after his injury but to say that he's basically sucked for the last five years is just a lie.
Anyway, the talk about DP will never go away - I've already accepted that. Sometimes it's frustrating to read these posts but hey, what wouldn't you do for the sake of your passion?
DP is "not back" (I hate that term), he's not "the greatest player alive" (concretely, not emotionally) but he has proven that he can deliver at the biggest stage and that he's an asset to Juve.
EDIT: Dan, you say people have fallen in love to DP and they can't see the big picture. I think you've fallen in love to Zalayeta since you're praising him in every friggin' post.

He's not THAT great, you know. That one goal and some good plays in the last minutes of the game doesn't make him a Juve starting line-up material. In fact, whenever he has started, he's been average.