Il Capitano Alessandro Del Piero (234 Viewers)
- Thread starter Chxta
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Player of the Week: Del Piero (Juventus) Monday 28 February, 2005
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Those who question why Alessandro Del Piero is so highly rated have been given the answer they have been looking for. His performance in Week 26 against Siena verged on the awesome as the Juventus captain rediscovered his old touch by netting twice in the 3-0 victory.
Although there was nothing too difficult about the way he slotted home his penalty, his back-heeled goal was an illustration of his sublime, if admittedly underused, natural footballing talent. Even his harshest critics will have to concede that his display against the ‘other’ Bianconeri was something special.
There were already signs of Alex’s re-birth at Messina during the 0-0 draw in Week 25. Having been recently dropped to the bench, the No 10 was his side’s best player during a difficult game at the Stadio San Filippo. Yet after receiving praise for that display, criticism duly followed the Real Madrid defeat after Alex, along with the majority of his teammates, failed to shine.
The big question now is can Del Piero uphold the kind of form that destroyed Siena for a sustained period? After all, he netted two against the same Tuscan minnows in the first half of the season, which also led to adulation that the ‘old’ Alex had finally returned. A muscle strain and some infuriatingly inconsistent displays only followed.
Juventus could certainly do with the Italian international at his very best right now. It is no secret that their squad is nowhere near as packed with the quality of the Milan one, or possibly even Inter’s array of players. After all, had boss Fabio Capello not been without Pavel Nedved for the last month, then we possibly would not have seen Juve fielded with a trident attack against both Udinese and Siena.
Del Piero now has a massive opportunity to finally prove that he’s not finished on the big stage. The club face Roma and Real Madrid next, two games that must be won if the outfit are too keep alive their hopes of a Scudetto and Champions’ League double.
With David Trezeguet having scored just once since his return from injury and recently suffering with illness, Del Piero has made it tough for Capello to again drop him from the side in favour of the Frenchman.
Alex certainly won’t be lacking from any motivation. He’s firstly had to endure the humiliation of continually being substituted by Capello. The Coach then dropped him to the bench for a number of games which raised doubts over the player’s long-term future in Turin. Rumours of a summer exit simply gathered pace after the club signed Adrian Mutu, a possible direct replacement or a transfer pawn to offer Roma for Antonio Cassano – the new Golden Boy of Italian football, a tag which once belonged to the former Padova youngster.
This has undoubtedly been the player’s most difficult season in Turin since he returned from a career-threatening knee injury in the summer of 1999. But Del Piero has taken the flack he’s received with the dignity and the professionalism that few men in his position would have shown. He knows what he can offer Juventus and he’s now finally showing it.
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Those who question why Alessandro Del Piero is so highly rated have been given the answer they have been looking for. His performance in Week 26 against Siena verged on the awesome as the Juventus captain rediscovered his old touch by netting twice in the 3-0 victory.
Although there was nothing too difficult about the way he slotted home his penalty, his back-heeled goal was an illustration of his sublime, if admittedly underused, natural footballing talent. Even his harshest critics will have to concede that his display against the ‘other’ Bianconeri was something special.
There were already signs of Alex’s re-birth at Messina during the 0-0 draw in Week 25. Having been recently dropped to the bench, the No 10 was his side’s best player during a difficult game at the Stadio San Filippo. Yet after receiving praise for that display, criticism duly followed the Real Madrid defeat after Alex, along with the majority of his teammates, failed to shine.
The big question now is can Del Piero uphold the kind of form that destroyed Siena for a sustained period? After all, he netted two against the same Tuscan minnows in the first half of the season, which also led to adulation that the ‘old’ Alex had finally returned. A muscle strain and some infuriatingly inconsistent displays only followed.
Juventus could certainly do with the Italian international at his very best right now. It is no secret that their squad is nowhere near as packed with the quality of the Milan one, or possibly even Inter’s array of players. After all, had boss Fabio Capello not been without Pavel Nedved for the last month, then we possibly would not have seen Juve fielded with a trident attack against both Udinese and Siena.
Del Piero now has a massive opportunity to finally prove that he’s not finished on the big stage. The club face Roma and Real Madrid next, two games that must be won if the outfit are too keep alive their hopes of a Scudetto and Champions’ League double.
With David Trezeguet having scored just once since his return from injury and recently suffering with illness, Del Piero has made it tough for Capello to again drop him from the side in favour of the Frenchman.
Alex certainly won’t be lacking from any motivation. He’s firstly had to endure the humiliation of continually being substituted by Capello. The Coach then dropped him to the bench for a number of games which raised doubts over the player’s long-term future in Turin. Rumours of a summer exit simply gathered pace after the club signed Adrian Mutu, a possible direct replacement or a transfer pawn to offer Roma for Antonio Cassano – the new Golden Boy of Italian football, a tag which once belonged to the former Padova youngster.
This has undoubtedly been the player’s most difficult season in Turin since he returned from a career-threatening knee injury in the summer of 1999. But Del Piero has taken the flack he’s received with the dignity and the professionalism that few men in his position would have shown. He knows what he can offer Juventus and he’s now finally showing it.
I don't care where we stand at this point in the season. Mark my words, at the end of this season we won't have a trophy. DP rocked last night and Zlatan absolutely sucked. We should play with a trident and Zlatan should finally start playing well, because he's been an outrage for the past few weeks and we need him.
I disagree. Every single thread is about Del Piero. So why not make an official Del Piero thread, so we could talk about something else as well? I'm tired of huge Del Piero discussions in match threads. So if you're going to discuss Del Piero's position in the team, please do it here. Of course you can say you think Del Piero has to start in match threads, but if you're planning or bashing or praising him, please do it here.
