Il Capitano Alessandro Del Piero (40 Viewers)
- Thread starter Chxta
- Start date
It's amazing, very very well written. I wish it was more. I'm certainly going to buy his book. I mean compare it with the bullshit the likes of Zlatan (typical footballers/athletes) come up with in their autobiographies; no player speaks his mind as good as he does.
After nearly twenty years wearing the black-and-white jersey-which Italians either love or hate, but which in any case divides them-I didn't imagine so many teams would consider placing bets on someone who until a day earlier had been an opponent and the captain of the rival team of all teams.
Managers, coaches and colleagues made me feel really flattered. Probably they were hoping to take advantage of any feeling of revenge I might have had against Juventus, but I've never felt that. You don't erase the past, or at least I don't. I've always said I'd never play for another Italian team, despite my deep respect for the other clubs. I kept to that.
At first, in the early period as a player free from any contract, I evaluated offers on the basis of the competitive level of the championships involved and the possibility of participating in the main international events (the UEFA Champions League or the Libertadores, since going to South America was one of the opportunities I'd been offered).
Basically I was still reasoning with the mentality of the 'old' Alessandro Del Piero. I still hadn't realised I'd already moved beyond that level of the video game: it had ended with that unforgettable day at the Juventus stadium and the most spontaneous, sincere and amazing tribute ever from the black-and-white supporters.
I hadn't yet realised that I actually wanted something different. Not something more: that wasn't possible. I've been privileged in winning everything, both at club level and with the Italian national team in 2006, when we won the World Cup in Germany. For twenty years I raced along at 300 kilometres an hour, with a single obsession: to achieve perfection, which in sport means to win. And I left with a win.
What else could possibly give me those same feelings again? What could stand up to comparison without bringing on endless attacks of nostalgia? I would never have wanted to keep on playing and keep looking back instead of looking ahead as I'd always done. Better to stop. And so, while I was on holiday and trying to reorganise my thoughts after the flood of emotions that had overwhelmed me, I realised there was nothing more I could have.
He IS amazing. I always thought I'd really really like him to talk frankly and directly about his last season at Juve. He'd always shown, indirectly, that he expected much more from the board and the coach but he never seemed willing to put an end to the speculations so a part of me always wished for such day to come but after I read this article, I realized I never want him to speak up about the things that upset him during his last season at Juve. Not anymore. I want him to stay positive like this, all the time, looking ahead, being the classiest athlete I have seen on the screen. This is the Alessandro Del Piero I know.
After nearly twenty years wearing the black-and-white jersey-which Italians either love or hate, but which in any case divides them-I didn't imagine so many teams would consider placing bets on someone who until a day earlier had been an opponent and the captain of the rival team of all teams.
Managers, coaches and colleagues made me feel really flattered. Probably they were hoping to take advantage of any feeling of revenge I might have had against Juventus, but I've never felt that. You don't erase the past, or at least I don't. I've always said I'd never play for another Italian team, despite my deep respect for the other clubs. I kept to that.
At first, in the early period as a player free from any contract, I evaluated offers on the basis of the competitive level of the championships involved and the possibility of participating in the main international events (the UEFA Champions League or the Libertadores, since going to South America was one of the opportunities I'd been offered).
Basically I was still reasoning with the mentality of the 'old' Alessandro Del Piero. I still hadn't realised I'd already moved beyond that level of the video game: it had ended with that unforgettable day at the Juventus stadium and the most spontaneous, sincere and amazing tribute ever from the black-and-white supporters.
I hadn't yet realised that I actually wanted something different. Not something more: that wasn't possible. I've been privileged in winning everything, both at club level and with the Italian national team in 2006, when we won the World Cup in Germany. For twenty years I raced along at 300 kilometres an hour, with a single obsession: to achieve perfection, which in sport means to win. And I left with a win.
What else could possibly give me those same feelings again? What could stand up to comparison without bringing on endless attacks of nostalgia? I would never have wanted to keep on playing and keep looking back instead of looking ahead as I'd always done. Better to stop. And so, while I was on holiday and trying to reorganise my thoughts after the flood of emotions that had overwhelmed me, I realised there was nothing more I could have.
He IS amazing. I always thought I'd really really like him to talk frankly and directly about his last season at Juve. He'd always shown, indirectly, that he expected much more from the board and the coach but he never seemed willing to put an end to the speculations so a part of me always wished for such day to come but after I read this article, I realized I never want him to speak up about the things that upset him during his last season at Juve. Not anymore. I want him to stay positive like this, all the time, looking ahead, being the classiest athlete I have seen on the screen. This is the Alessandro Del Piero I know.
