Alessandro Del Piero ( born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions.[8] Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit for Sky Sport Italia. A technically gifted and creative supporting forward who was also a free-kick specialist, Del Piero won the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award in 1998 and 2008 and received multiple nominations for the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.

DEL PIERO

TRENDING JERSEYS OF DEL PIERO

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Vintage Soccer Jersey DEL PIERO #10 Juventus Third Away 1995/96

US$41.99

Vintage Soccer Jersey DEL PIERO #10 Juventus Home 2003/04

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Vintage Soccer Jersey DEL PIERO #10 Juventus Away 2003/04

US$41.99

Del piero

Early Years

Del Piero was born in Conegliano, Veneto. His older brother, Stefano, briefly played professional football for Sampdoria before an injury curtailed his career; he later worked as his younger brother's agent.

While playing for the local youth team of San Vendemiano, Del Piero used to feature as a goalkeeper in order to gain more playing time. His mother thought it would be better for him to play in this role, as he would not sweat, and the possibility of him getting injured was less likely. His brother Stefano commented to their mother that, due to his skill, the younger Del Piero was more suited to playing in a more offensive position, and he switched to a forward role.

Club Career- Juventus from 1993-2012

1998–2001: Injury struggles

On 8 November 1998, Del Piero picked up a serious knee injury in the final minutes of a 2–2 draw with Udinese; this kept him out of action for the remainder of the season, as he managed only 2 goals. Del Piero playing for Juventus in September 1999 against Lecce During the next season under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, Del Piero primarily served as an assist-man, providing 14 assists in Serie A, the most in the league that season, and 20 in all competitions. Del Piero helped Juventus to capture the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup that season, which allowed Juventus to qualify for the UEFA Cup; overall, he scored 12 goals in all competitions, as Juventus narrowly missed out on the Serie A title. The following season saw Juventus suffer another disappointing defeat losing out on the 2000–01 Serie A title once again, this time to Roma. Juventus and Del Piero began the season strongly, and Del Piero scored the winner on his season debut against Napoli on 30 September, although he later suffered another injury and fell out of form, failing to score. On 18 February 2001, Del Piero broke his goal drought, scoring in an away win over Bari.

2001–2004: New successes

Del Piero was named Juventus captain upon Lippi's return to Juventus. Del Piero scored 16 goals and provided several assists, as Juventus were crowned Serie A champions for a 26th time on 5 May 2002, the last match day of the season; Juventus won the title over Roma and Inter Milan by a single point, after a 2–0 away victory over Udinese, with goals from top-scorer Trezeguet and Del Piero.

Juventus began the 2002–03 season by winning the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana over Parma, with Del Piero scoring two goals, and Juventus were also able to successfully defend their Serie A title.

2007-2008: Reclaiming Brilliance

In the 2007-2008 season, in Juventus' first season back in Serie A, Piero played brilliantly, helping the team to achieve the third place in the 2007-2008 Serie A and qualify for the preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League with an unbalanced and weak squad. This season, Piero scored 21 league goals and won the Serie A Golden Boot for the first time, an honour he hadn't won in his prime. He scored 24 goals in total, and his form and goal-scoring ability led Italy national team manager Roberto Donadoni to call him up for Euro 2008 On 7 April 2008, Piero surpassed the club record of legendary Juventus defender Jeremiah to become the most capped player for Juventus On 30 November, Piero scored his 250th goal for Juventus, as the club beat Regina 4-0 in a 4-0 win in the league. On 30 November, Juventus beat Regina 4:0 in the league, Piero scored his 250th goal for Juventus, continuing to set a new record for goals scored by Juventus players. Piero excelled in the group stage, helping his team to a double over Real Madrid.

2009-2012: Guardian of the Beginning

In the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons, Juventus was in a period of turmoil, with frequent managerial changes, and Pietro's athleticism gradually declined, relying more on free kicks to score.In the 2011-2012 season, Pietro was relegated to the bench but still played an important role, with several key goals at the end of the season to help Juventus progress steadily in the Coppa Italia and Serie A. The team ended up with an unbeaten record in the league, but the team was able to win a few more matches in the league, including a win over Real Madrid. The team won the league title again with an undefeated record. Piero scored five goals in league and cup matches that season against Inter Milan, AC Milan, Roma, Lazio and Atalanta. The Coppa Italia final against Napoli was Piero's last appearance for Juve, setting him at 705 appearances and 290 goals. In the quarter-final of the Coppa Italia that season, Juventus won 3:0 at home against Roma, and Piero continued his streak of 20 consecutive seasons of scoring goals. 13 May 2012, in the final round of the league at home to Atalanta, Piero scored a goal and then was replaced, and he circled around the stadium to say goodbye to the fans, who paid tribute to him with applause. Piero is regarded as Juventus' all-time best number 10.