Alessandro Del Piero

[BehemothTerror]

One of my favourate non-United players growing up. The King Of Turin. 188 goals in Serie A and scoring about a goal every other game in the Champions League. He just had that aura like Henry at Arsenal that stuck fear into you when going against him because of his class. I remember back in the late 90's thinking that if we could sign any player for united we should have thrown the cheque book at him (and Salas too tbf) though I think he never quite got to level he was at before the injury issues after 1998

Think he'd still do really well in the modern game as well as he had great close control and knowledge of space.

 

[Ish]

Classy player

 

[TheReligion]

Loved him.

His partnership with Trezeguet was brilliant.

 

[Greyfog]

Loved him to bits! What a player!

 

[Redplane]

Italy had some great players during his era but for some reason Del Piero is the one who just embodied Italian footie to me.

 

[Zen86]

Favourite non-United player. He was one of those players I pretended to be when kicking the ball around the garden.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Aye, was lovely to watch. So classy. Think he did some English punditry recently too, didn't he?

 

[Fortitude]

When we were on our ascension to confirming being a world class club again after 3 decades, Juventus and Del Piero were destined to be our rite of passage.

We clashed with them a lot during the late 90's when they were the team all others were measured by and it was such a relentlessly high calibre of team and bar, that you either levelled up, or got crushed by them.

Zidane and Del Piero in tandem was just sublime and Del Piero's star was shining the brightest pre-injury, when he looked like not only Baggio's successor, but that he could go on to surpass Rivera and Meazza as the greatest #10 of them all.

Like Ronaldo, injury robbed us of what could have been when it came to Del Piero. He was still world class, but all his agility and sudden turns on a sixpence were gone and his game was modified to cater to what he has become; pre-injury, his mind and imagination were seen as his only inhibitors; post-injury, his body could no longer do what his brain used to impulsively churn out, and he himself would not push his body to the limits he did when injury and carefree.

That nonchalant disdain he had as he put teams to the sword was a sight - he was renowned for starting games on fire and scoring or assisting within 20minutes (I think he also had the fastest CL goal scored to that time vs us.) The guy was an exceptionally footballer and the pre-injury version has very few #10's in history as brilliant.

 

[Trezeguet17]

Who out of Del Piero, Totti and Baggio is rated as the best in Italy?

 

[BehemothTerror]

Who out of Del Piero, Totti and Baggio is rated as the best in Italy?

Would imagine it's Baggio, Del Piero probably had the best peak and Totti was very good and is a Roma legend. Baggio was just the definition of class and the old style Italian maestro in that period

When we were on our ascension to confirming being a world class club again after 3 decades, Juventus and Del Piero were destined to be our rite of passage.

We clashed with them a lot during the late 90's when they were the team all others were measured by and it was such a relentlessly high calibre of team and bar, that you either levelled up, or got crushed by them.

True, back then Juventus were arguably the bar every other team we're measured against. Even when we were dominating in the PL every time we played Juventus it felt like we were the underdogs. Serie A was so much more prestigious back then, Pretty different landscape to the last decade where top PL teams are considered as a gold standard and Italian teams are very much dark horses.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Absolutely loved him.

 

[diarm]

Amazing player.

I know it’s not right, but I always disliked him a bit because I loved Baggio and I thought in Italy they treated him badly in their rush to bring Del Piero through.

 

[madzo2007]

Great player. He tormented us in the 90s when we played Juve in the Champions League

He just glided across the pitch and scored some brilliant goals.

 

[whitbyviking]

Isn’t he one we missed out on? That era of Italian football was outstanding.

 

[Pascal Quiff]

Watching that video, he reminds me very much of Maradona.

 

[thebelfastboy]

Cracking player. Had a real elegance on the ball and directness to go past players with ease but also an absolute coolness in front of goal. A bit like Cantona in many ways.

Would've loved for him to sign for United but tbh he was never really leaving Italy, was he? Paper talk at the time more than anything I think.

The United & Juve Champions League matchups during that period were something else. Champions League at it's best

 

[giorno]

Don't think his injuries were exactly unlucky tbh. His muscle mass doubled over the space of the 1997 summer, and given what we know about the practices of then team doctor Agricola....

 

[FootballHQ]

Italy had some great players during his era but for some reason Del Piero is the one who just embodied Italian footie to me.

Was Baggio's heir. Think the ACL in 1999 stopped him going to say Balon D'or level but he was obviously elite in Serie A and CL for many many seasons.

International career was a bit frustrating up to 2006 (he missed a couple of one on ones in the Euro 2000 final) but then played a decent part in the World cup win so can't complain too much!

Also one of the senior pros who stayed with Juventus when they were relegated when he could've gone to Real Madrid as Capello was in charge and wanted him I think.

 

[FootballHQ]

Cracking player. Had a real elegance on the ball and directness to go past players with ease but also an absolute coolness in front of goal. A bit like Cantona in many ways.

Would've loved for him to sign for United but tbh he was never really leaving Italy, was he? Paper talk at the time more than anything I think.

The United & Juve Champions League matchups during that period were something else. Champions League at it's best

Didn't you play them in the group stages twice? First year that happened Juve had the edge home and away but then I can remember a game where they scored after about 20 seconds and then you came roaring back and won quite comfortably.

That was the seasons I first started following football so the one CL game on ITV had a mythical air about it with the music and discovering these great talked about foreign players.

Of course only one that is well remembered is the 1999 SF.

 

[devaneios]

He and Cazorla were the players whose close control more impressed my eyes, both had magnetic feet; it looked like the only ways to dispossess them were by brushing them off the ball or fouling.

 

[Peter van der Gea]

Imagine him and Batistuta as a front two

 

[frostbite]

 

[groovyalbert]

Hero growing up.

My only non-Utd kit as a kid was a knock-off Del Piero Juve home top. Wish he'd played here.

 

[Lj82]

Cracking player. Had a real elegance on the ball and directness to go past players with ease but also an absolute coolness in front of goal. A bit like Cantona in many ways.

Would've loved for him to sign for United but tbh he was never really leaving Italy, was he? Paper talk at the time more than anything I think.

The United & Juve Champions League matchups during that period were something else. Champions League at it's best

Think he had gone on record to say SAF really wanted him, but he just couldn't leave Juve

 

[B20]

He and Cazorla were the players whose close control more impressed my eyes, both had magnetic feet; it looked like the only ways to dispossess them were by brushing them off the ball or fouling.

Before Messi, he was the poster child for 'ball glued to his feet' for me. Could dribble so close to his opponents and still go whichever way with it.

 

[Oranges038]

Serie A was so stacked full of top players back then, it was great being able to watch it on C4 on Saturday's and Sunday's.

Probably one my favourite players of all time.

There was just something about the way he played the game, he had the skills, the technique, his vison and execution, everything just worked together perfectly.

This is my favourite goal of his, it just seems to defy the laws of physics.

 

[Glorio]

One of the best sights to behold in football is a number 10 who is an elite dribbler

 

[Demyanenko_square_jaw]

Don't think his injuries were exactly unlucky tbh. His muscle mass doubled over the space of the 1997 summer, and given what we know about the practices of then team doctor Agricola....

Do you think there was a case for Juve being stripped of their CL win? If i remember rightly the case covered most of the '90s. Of course a lot of it was later overturned so i'm sure it was all just a harmless misunderstanding.

It seemed like half of Serie A tested positive for nandrolone at around that time. I remember a couple of players from one of the smaller clubs claiming it was because they overate during a barbeque. They got banned for a year, but i think all of the bigger names got away with half-season bans at most...Davids, Stam, Couto, Guardiola.

 

[FaceTheMusic]

Loved Del Piero but Totti was the one for me. I travelled to Rome just to see him play.

 

[Vidyoyo]

The Italian Raul

 

[Sapo84]

Who out of Del Piero, Totti and Baggio is rated as the best in Italy?

Definitely Baggio, but depends on who you're speaking to, a Roma supporter will definitely say Totti.

There are a few reasons for that, the main being World Cup 1994, where Baggio single-handedly carried the team to the final with some of the best performances I've ever seen for the team (it was the first world cup that I really managed to watch).
Baggio also played for the biggest italian clubs, and pretty much everyone has a great opinion of him, even if his best spells were with Fiorentina, Juventus and Brescia.

Del Piero was a fantastic player, did great things for Juventus (but declined in the later years) and is respected as a person. But he didn't really accomplish much with the national team, even if he still is one of the best goalscorer of all time.
Same can be said for Totti, sublime player, did amazing things for Roma for nearly 25 years, but didn't have the same success with the national team (he scored less than 10 goals).

 

[simonhch]

Definitely Baggio, but depends on who you're speaking to, a Roma supporter will definitely say Totti.

There are a few reasons for that, the main being World Cup 1994, where Baggio single-handedly carried the team to the final with some of the best performances I've ever seen for the team (it was the first world cup that I really managed to watch).
Baggio also played for the biggest italian clubs, and pretty much everyone has a great opinion of him, even if his best spells were with Fiorentina, Juventus and Brescia.

Del Piero was a fantastic player, did great things for Juventus (but declined in the later years) and is respected as a person. But he didn't really accomplish much with the national team, even if he still is one of the best goalscorer of all time.
Same can be said for Totti, sublime player, did amazing things for Roma for nearly 25 years, but didn't have the same success with the national team (he scored less than 10 goals).

Del Piero won the World Cup with Italy in 2006.

 

[Sapo84]

Del Piero won the World Cup with Italy in 2006.

Both Del Piero and Totti won the 2006 WC, but Totti was not in peak condition (was still recovering from an injury) and Del Piero was not in the starting eleven.
They were just ok, didn't really have much of an impact.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Fantastic player.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Decent player but nowhere near as influential as Baggio or even Totti

 

[Mike Smalling]

Italy had such an iconic generation of strikers born around the mid 70's in Del Piero, Totti, Inzaghi, Vieri and Toni. There might even be more.

 

[Yagami]

One of my favourites. His partnership with Zidane was especially a delight. I think Zidane played his best stuff for Juventus in general and having Del Piero to link up with definitely played a part in that.

You guys know we tried to sign him twice? First in the 90s and then after Juve were relegated.

When someone asks me what player I always wanted to train, but never got the chance, I always say: Alessandro Del Piero.

"Manchester United representatives contacted me in August.
At first I was flattered, but I never really thought of leaving Juventus.
I've been playing 13 years in this club and I want to finish my career here. I’m sure Alex Ferguson understood my decision."
He has now been asked about the historical links with United again by Sky Sport Italia.
Del Piero said:
“Did Alex Ferguson want to take me to United? Yes he did. I can confirm that. When did he try? Before 2000 – but actually even after as well. But don’t let me say any more than that or else…”

 

[Invictus]

Who out of Del Piero, Totti and Baggio is rated as the best in Italy?

Similar to how they are rated by the broader footballing community, I'm guessing?

1. Roberto Baggio
2. Francesco Totti
3. Alessandro Del Piero

Del Piero was a wonderful player in his own right, but you have to be discerning (and maybe a bit harsh) when assessing the greats: he lost some of the subtlety in his game after 1997 (prefering a more direct, athletically-oriented approach as an archetypal second striker), and seemed to have some skillset-related shortcomings in that he didn't quite possess the passing nous, vision, flair or profoundness of Baggio and Totti (who were the true successors of Rivera, Meazza or Riva in terms of “legendary stature”). Totti was always destined to be the heir apparent trequarista, given his outrageous playmaking talent and ability to organize the offensive game (he didn't quite scale the heights that he could have, but all things considered it was still enough to edge out the more reductive Del Piero).

P.S. Roberto Mancini is a bit underrated these days. In terms of creative passing, technique, artistry and pausa (and operability as a playmaking No. 10), one might argue that he was slightly ahead of Del Piero as well.

 

[simonhch]

Both Del Piero and Totti won the 2006 WC, but Totti was not in peak condition (was still recovering from an injury) and Del Piero was not in the starting eleven.
They were just ok, didn't really have much of an impact.

I was merely responding to the notion that he “didn’t accomplish much with the national team”. He won the World Cup with them, scoring in the semi final against Germany.

I didn’t say he did more than Baggio or was a better player. I think Baggio was. But the idea Del Piero didn’t accomplish much with the NT is demonstrably wrong.

 

[devaneios]

I don't think Del Piero was a classic 10/main playmaker though. He was more a creative/"individual" striker, in the mold of R9 and Henry.