Alessandro Del Piero
Encyclopedia
Alessandro Del Piero Ufficiale OMRI
(born 9 November 1974 in Conegliano
, Veneto
) is an Italian
World Cup
-winning footballer who plays for Serie A
club Juventus
, of which he is also club captain.
Del Piero was named in the FIFA 100
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé
as a part of FIFA
's centenary celebrations. Del Piero was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll
. In the year 2000, Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salary, bonuses and advertising revenue.
Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct he has also won the Golden Foot award
, which pertains to personality and playing ability.
Del Piero usually plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield
and the strikers, known in Italy as the "trequartista" position. Del Piero's playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just "goal poaching." His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded.
Del Piero has become famous over the years for scoring from a special "Del Piero Zone"("Gol alla Del Piero"), approaching from the left flank and curling a precise lob into the far top corner of the goal.
Del Piero holds the all-time goalscoring record at Juventus
. On 6 April 2008, Alessandro Del Piero became the all-time highest-capped Juventus player, ahead of Juve legend Gaetano Scirea
. As of May 2010, he is in eighth place in the UEFA Champions League
all-time goalscorer records and joint fourth with Roberto Baggio
within the Italian national team records.
Alessandro's older brother, Stefano, briefly played professional football for Sampdoria before injury struck him. The family lived in the hamlet of Saccon – a rural home in San Vendemiano
. While growing up Del Piero's family did not have much money for travelling abroad, so he considered being a lorry driver in order to see the world.
While playing for the local youth team of San Vendemiano since the age of 7, Del Piero used to play as a goalkeeper because he could play a lot more football that way. His mother thought it would be better for him if he played as a goalkeeper, since he would not sweat and the possibility of him getting injured was less likely. His brother Stefano told their mother: "Don't you see that Alex is good in the attack?" and Del Piero switched position.
It was while playing with his local side of San Vendemiano in 1988 that Del Piero was first spotted by scouts — he left home at the young age of 13 to play in the youth side of Padova Calcio.
, and has been there ever since. Del Piero made his Serie A
debut against Foggia
in September 1993, scored his first goal in his next game against Reggiana after appearing as a substitute, and then grabbed a hat-trick
against Parma
on his first start. Juventus claimed their first Scudetto in eight years in his first season and success continued to follow.
With the Turin club, he won the Serie A championship seven times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006), the Champions League
(1996), and the Intercontinental Cup
(1996). His best season was in 1997–98
, when he scored 21 goals in Serie A and finished top scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals, which included a peach of a freekick against Monaco in the semi finals. His goal in the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final
was unable to prevent Juventus from going down 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund.
Del Piero struggled for form at the beginning of the 1998–99 season
, whilst doping allegations were aimed at Juventus (they were later found innocent). In October he picked up a serious knee injury in the 2–2 draw with Udinese
. This kept him out of action for the remainder of the season. Juventus struggled without him and limped home to a lowly 6th place in the league.
During this time, Del Piero earned the nickname Il Pinturicchio, in reference to a comment by former president Gianni Agnelli
when he compared the emerging Del Piero to the renaissance artist Pinturicchio
. He's also been nicknamed by the fans "Il Fenomeno Vero" meaning "The Real Phenomenon", in a sort of comparison with Ronaldo
, who was nicknamed "Il Fenomeno" by rival supporters of Internazionale.
One of Del Piero's greatest strengths as a footballer is his versatility, which allows him to play in a variety of attacking positions. While he started his club career playing as an out-and-out striker, he settled into a deeper role as a support-striker. He has also been positioned as a playmaker in the central slot behind the forwards. Under Marcello Lippi
's reign as Juventus coach Del Piero played in the "trident-attack" formation along with veterans Gianluca Vialli
and Fabrizio Ravanelli
. After that, he took a role in a combination with Zinédine Zidane
behind Filippo Inzaghi
. As Juve's playing style changed in Lippi's second stint with Juventus starting 2001, Del Piero partnered with Zidane's replacement Pavel Nedvěd
in midfield and David Trézéguet
upfront.
After Euro 2004, Marcello Lippi
was replaced by Fabio Capello
as Juventus coach. Capello was not convinced of Del Piero's abilities and frequently benched him in favor of the new signing Zlatan Ibrahimović
, much to the disappointment of many fans. But Del Piero still managed to score 14 goals as Juventus won their 28th league title, thanks to his spectacular overhead assist to teammate David Trezeguet which proved decisive in a crucial match against AC Milan at the San Siro.
Experts agree that Del Piero was back to his best in the 2005–06 season
having scored 20 goals in all competitions. However, his role at Juventus changed in the following season, as coach Fabio Capello
preferred to use him as a substitute for an "immediate impact", as Capello put it. Del Piero never had a calm relation with Fabio Capello though, evident from the quote on his official site "If Capello had stayed as coach of Juventus, I would have left Juventus".
In 2006 Del Piero equalled José Altafini
's Serie A record of 6 goals as a substitute after scoring in the final minute of Juventus's final game of the 2005–06 season. On 10 January 2006 Del Piero became the all time leading goalscorer for Juventus when he scored three times in a Coppa Italia
match against Fiorentina and took his total goals for the club to 185. The previous record holder was Giampiero Boniperti
, who scored 182 goals for the club. Del Piero scored the last goal for Juventus the 2005–06 season before Juve were forcibly relegated due to the infamous Calciopoli scandal.
and their last two Scudetti were revoked (see 2006 Italian football scandal). Del Piero announced that he would stay to captain the team in Serie B. He underlined that players should stick with the team, explaining that “The Agnelli
family deserve this, as do the fans and the new directors". While many key players such as Zlatan Ibrahimović
, Fabio Cannavaro
and Lilian Thuram
left Turin, he chose to stay and help Juve regain promotion.
Del Piero's first appearance after the World Cup
's triumph was in the Coppa Italia
match against Cesena
on 23 August 2006. Since Juventus played in Serie B for the 2006–07 season, the Coppa Italia campaign became increasingly important for the club in order to achieve a UEFA Cup
spot. Having been on vacation beforehand, Del Piero started on the bench. Juventus and Cesena were locked on 1–1 when Del Piero entered in the 74th minute and after 9 seconds scored the winning goal for Juventus.
Del Piero then came in as a substitute at the 61st minute for Juve's next Coppa Italia
match on 27 August vs. S.S.C. Napoli
. Again Juventus were behind, but Del Piero scored twice to give Juve the lead. In the end the match went to penalties. Del Piero scored but Napoli eventually won 5–4 in the shoot-out
.
Following this, Alex was locked in months of fractious negotiations over the signing of a new contract with Juventus' new management. After successfully negotiating a new contract till 30 June 2010, Alex was greeted with news of the birth of his first child, Tobias Del Piero. This was quite a staggering turnaround in his fortunes, as only two weeks earlier he was dropped by Claudio Ranieri
for the Serie A match with ACF Fiorentina
and was then axed from Roberto Donadoni
’s Italy squad for the games with Georgia
and South Africa
.
In February 2008, he scored the winning goal for Juventus in a Serie A victory at home to AS Roma (1–0). He scored two goals away at Lazio
and was named to two consecutive Serie A teams of the week. On 6 April 2008 he set a new appearance record for Juventus, overtaking Gaetano Scirea
's previous tally of 552 matches in all competitions. In April, he registered seven goals in five Serie A
matches, including a hat-trick in a 4–0 away win over Atalanta
.
On the final weekend of the 2007/2008 season Del Piero scored a brace against Sampdoria in a 3–3 draw. These two goals were crucial as it took him to 21 goals for the season, thus winning him the Capocannonieri prize in Serie A for the first time in his illustrious career, beating the likes of David Trezeguet
(20 goals) and Marco Borriello
(19 goals) and matching his highest tally for a top-flight season since 1997/98.
On 17 May 2008, in the final round of the 2007–08 season against Sampdoria, Del Piero scored his 20th and 21st goals, thus becoming the Capocannoniere
and clinching his long overdue first Serie A golden boot. Thus, he became only the second Italian ever to win consecutive Capocannoniere titles in two different leagues – former Juventus and 1982 FIFA World Cup
hero Paolo Rossi
being the other one (coincidentally Rossi too won the Capocannoniere titles like Alessandro first in Serie B
and then in Serie A
). On 26 July 2008, Del Piero was awarded the Scirea Award.
and Arsenal F.C.
in the Emirates Cup
, and played a friendly versus Manchester United at Old Trafford
. Juventus' coach Claudio Ranieri
remarked that Del Piero would have as good a season, or an even better one, than the previous term. In August 2008, Del Piero announced that he would try to keep playing professional football with Juventus until he is 40 years old.
With Juventus back in the Champions League, they were drawn into the same group as former winners Real Madrid
and UEFA Cup
winners Zenit St. Petersburg. Del Piero marked their return with a brilliant match-winning free kick to seal a home win against Zenit. On 21 October, he scored a wonderful first-time strike from distance as Juve defeated Real Madrid in Turin. On 21 October, he scored in Juve's Champions League match at home against Spanish club. In the fifth minute, from open play, Del Piero swerved the ball in the far corner of the goal with a freekick like shot, giving Casillas no chance, with Amauri
scoring the second in the first few minutes of the second half.
On 5 November 2008, Juventus and Real Madrid squared off at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League. The Italians won 2–0 (their first away win against Madrid since 1962), and Del Piero was a key performer, scoring both the goals and being praised by both Claudio Ranieri
and Madrid coach Bernd Schuster
. As he left the pitch after being substituted, fans from both sides gave him a standing ovation. However, Juventus' 2009 UEFA Champions League
campaign ended in disappointment as they were eliminated by Chelsea
in the 2nd round. Despite converting a penalty in the second leg in Turin, Del Piero was unable to prevent Juventus from losing 3–2 on aggregate.
In the league, Juventus were mostly challenging Milan
for second place and an automatic Champions League place. Most notably, Del Piero inspired the Bianconeri to a 3–0 win over Siena
in their penultimate game of the season, scoring a brace and setting up Claudio Marchisio
for the youngster's third goal of the season to end their run of seven winless matches in the Serie A
. Juve won 2–0 over Lazio
to finish second ahead of Milan (based on their head-to-head record).
On 17 July 2009, Alessandro extended his contract with Juventus by 1 more year until 30 June 2011 in Pinzolo
while training for pre-season, thus practically ensuring that he would retire at the club with which he started his professional career. During his renewal, he said “I am happy at Juventus and we are competitive. I want to keep playing for as long as I can and I’m certain that for at least two more years I will be at the top level.” He marked his 445th Serie A appearance, breaking the all-time club record, with a brace against Genoa on 14 February 2010. He is also currently the all-time top scorer for Juventus, having scored more than 250 goals in all competitions. He has also made over 600 appearances in official matches for the club, breaking the record of Gaetano Scirea
who had 552 appearances for Juventus.
On 14 March 2010, Alessandro recorded his 300th and 301st career goal during a 3–3 draw with Siena with the first two goals at the second and seventh minute. On 30 October 2010, Alessandro recorded his 179th Serie A goal, breaking the record of club legend Giampiero Boniperti as Juventus' top scorer in Serie A and further cementing his status as the most prolific goalscorer in Juventus history.
On 5 February 2011, with his substitution against Cagliari
, Alessandro Del Piero became the most capped Juventus player, edging out former Juventus legend Giampiero Boniperti
. Del Piero remains the third most capped player in the Serie A
behind Javier Zanetti
and Francesco Totti
respectively.
On 5 May 2011, he signed a new 1-year contract in the Juventus Arena
. His previous deal was due to expire on 30 June 2011.
On 24 May 2011, Del Piero and Juventus played against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a friendly match being former England defender Gary Neville's testimonial match. Del Piero was substituted after 65 minutes to a standing ovation from the Manchester United supporters.
Juventus confirmed on 18 October 2011 that season 2011–12
would be Del Piero's last with the club.
Del Piero is currently Italy's fourth all-time leading scorer. His tournament debut was Euro 96, but made his only appearance in the first half of a match against Russia before being substituted at halftime. Del Piero competed with fan favorite Roberto Baggio
for a spot on the 1998 FIFA World Cup
final roster while struggling to recover from injury suffered during the 1998 Champions League
final with Juventus. He also missed two gilt-edged chances in Italy's 2–1 loss to France
in the Euro 2000
final.
He returned to the international scene in the 2002 FIFA World Cup
, after a season in Serie A in which Juventus won the Scudetto. Del Piero scored the decisive goal against Hungary
, which sealed the Azzurri's qualification for the finals. He instantly scored with a header against Mexico
after coming on as a substitute, a goal which saved Italy from the ignominy of a first round exit. The goal sent Italy through to the second round, where they were eliminated by a golden goal in a controversial match against South Korea.
Del Piero began the 2006 World Cup
on the bench, appearing in two out of three group stage matches, and made his first start of the competition in a 1–0 round-of-16 win over Australia on 26 June. On 4 July, Del Piero entered as a substitute near the end of regulation and scored Italy's second goal in a 2–0 semifinal win over host Germany
. In the final
against France, which ended 1–1 after extra time, Del Piero scored a penalty in the shootout as Italy won the tournament for the fourth time. He admitted afterwards that winning the World Cup was his childhood dream.
As of 2008, Del Piero has captained Italy seven times (including Euro 2008) . He also regularly wore the number 10, but later gave it to Francesco Totti
and switched to the number 7, as it was the first number he wore at the start of his career. Even though the number 10 was vacated after Totti retired from the national team in July 2007, Del Piero denied any interest in taking back the number, saying he was satisfied with the number 7.
On May he was recalled by popular demand to Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 squad after nine-month absence from international duty, and thus became the second Italian player to participate in 7 major international tournaments (EURO 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008; World Cup 1998, 2002, 2006).
Del Piero was called up to Italy's squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 Championship in Austria
and Switzerland
. He was mostly on the substitutes' bench but started against Romania as the squad's captain. In the group match against the Dutch
, he came on for the under-performing Antonio Di Natale
and made an immediate impact, including several efforts on goal. However he could not prevent the Azzurri from a 3–0 loss. Italy qualified through the group stage in second-place behind Holland, eliminating Romania and France. In the quarter-final against Spain, Del Piero made a substitute appearance during extra-time, and with the game ending in a 0–0 draw, it was decided by a penalty shootout in which Spain won 4–2. On 20 August 2008 he won his 90th cap for Italy in friendly against Austria – only the fifth Azzurri player to reach this landmark. Despite announcing that he will carry on playing until he is 40 years old, he has not been called up since Italy's qualifier against Georgia
on 10 September 2008.
. On 14 February 2009, Amoruso's second pregnancy was announced. On 5 May 2009 their daughter Dorotea was born in Turin. On September, 12, 2010 Del Piero announced on his personal website the upcoming birth of his third child. The Del Pieros welcomed son Sasha on December, 27th of that year.
Del Piero has used his fame and money to promote and support cancer research; in recognition of this he has received from the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro a prize of "Believe in Research" during November 2006.
When the Olympic Flame
for the 2006 Winter Olympics
passed through Turin
, Del Piero was a torchbearer. He has an interest in sports outside of football (particularly basketball
) and in turn has gained fans outside of just football, sport icons such as NBA star Steve Nash
and cycling legend Eddy Merckx
have stated that they are fans of Del Piero.
As well as an interest in other sports, Del Piero also has a keen interest in music. He has even recorded some albums of his own. Along with Marco Materazzi
, Del Piero appeared on stage at a Rolling Stones
show in Milan shortly after Italy's World Cup win.
He is a good friend of musician and singer Noel Gallagher
and a fan of his former band Oasis
. Del Piero appears in the Oasis video "Lord Don't Slow Me Down
".
On 9 February 2009, it was reported that Del Piero was suing the social networking site Facebook
over a fake profile bearing his name that links to Nazi propaganda
sites. He was said to be aggrieved that the bogus account, which carries his picture, implies neo-Nazi sympathies as he did not have a Facebook profile at that time.
Besides scoring goals, Del Piero is also known for his sense of humour and is a popular guest at Italian comedy shows such as Paperissima and Striscia la notizia
. His goal celebration usually consists of him running to the touchline in front of Juve fans sticking his tongue out and has done the back-flip goal celebration on several occasions. He featured in the show La sai l'ultima di Totti, a comedy sketch created by his good friend and Roma
captain Francesco Totti
where the two of them and national teammates Milan
defender Alessandro Nesta
and Juve teammate Gianluigi Buffon
would tell jokes about one another.
On TV, Del Piero is famous not just for his matches, but also for broadcasting and advertising skills. He is under contract with German sports equipment manufacturer Adidas
,with Uliveto water, Italian car manufacturer Fiat
and Japanese motorbike company Suzuki
. In 2006 he appeared in a television commercial for the Japanese motor scooter Suzuki Burgman together with the sports agent Andreas Goller
.
Del Piero was also featured on the cover of EA Sports
' FIFA Football 2004
video game, alongside Thierry Henry
and Ronaldinho
. He was one of the two stars featured on the cover of the Italian version of PES 2010
video game, the other being Barcelona FC and Argentina
star Lionel Messi
.
|-
|1991–92||rowspan="2"|Padova
||rowspan="2"|Serie B
||4||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||4||0
|-
|1992–93||10||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||10||1
|-
|1993–94||rowspan="19"|Juventus
||rowspan="13"|Serie A
||11||5||1||0||2||0||14||5
|-
|1994–95||29||8||10||1||12||2||51||11
|-
|1995–96||29||6||3||1||11||6||43||13
|-
|1996–97||22||8||4||0||9||7||35||15
|-
|1997–98||32||21||5||1||10||10||47||32
|-
|1998–99||8||2||2||1||4||0||14||3
|-
|1999–00||34||9||2||1||9||2||45||12
|-
|2000–01||25||9||2||0||6||0||33||9
|-
|2001–02||32||16||4||1||10||4||46||21
|-
|2002–03||24||16||1||2||13||5||38||23
|-
|2003–04||22||8||5||3||4||3||31||14
|-
|2004–05||30||14||1||0||10||3||41||17
|-
|2005–06||33||12||5||5||7||3||45||20
|-
|2006–07||Serie B
||35||20||2||3||colspan="2"|–||37||23
|-
|2007–08||rowspan="5"|Serie A
||37||21||4||3||colspan="2"|–||41||24
|-
|2008–09|||31||13||3||2||9||6||43||21
|-
|2009–10
|||23||9||1||2||5||0||29||11
|-
|2010–11
|||33||8||2||0||10||3||45||11
|-
|2011–12
|||9||0||0||0||0||0||9||0
499||205||55||26||126||53||686||285
513||206||55||26||126||50||700||286
|1995||7||1
|-
|1996||4||2
|-
|1997||6||4
|-
|1998||8||3
|-
|1999||2||0
|-
|2000||13||4
|-
|2001||6||3
|-
|2002||11||5
|-
|2003||4||2
|-
|2004||6||1
|-
|2005||4||0
|-
|2006||9||2
|-
|2007||5||0
|-
|2008||6||0
|-
!Total||91||27
|}
!colspan="7"|Del Piero – goals for Italy U-17
|- style="text-align:center"
! Goal !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size:100%"
!colspan="7"|Del Piero – goals for Italy
|-
! Goal !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
Italian orders of merit
There are five orders of knighthood awarded in recognition of service to the Italian Republic. Below these sit a number of other decorations, associated and otherwise, that do not confer knighthoods...
(born 9 November 1974 in Conegliano
Conegliano
Conegliano is a town and comune of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of around 36,000 people. The remains of a castle that was built in the 10th century remain on a nearby hill...
, Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
) is an Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
-winning footballer who plays for Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
club Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, of which he is also club captain.
Del Piero was named in the FIFA 100
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
as a part of FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
's centenary celebrations. Del Piero was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll
UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll
The UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll is the popular name for an online poll conducted in 2004 by UEFA as part of their Golden Jubilee celebrations, celebrating the best European footballers from the fifty previous years. The poll, available on UEFA's website, asked respondents to pick their ten favorite...
. In the year 2000, Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salary, bonuses and advertising revenue.
Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct he has also won the Golden Foot award
Golden Foot award
The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements and for their personality...
, which pertains to personality and playing ability.
Del Piero usually plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield
Midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports pitch that lies approximately in the center. It is a term most commonly associated with football to refer to the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region, but it can be used in field hockey to describe the same area, or in...
and the strikers, known in Italy as the "trequartista" position. Del Piero's playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just "goal poaching." His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded.
Del Piero has become famous over the years for scoring from a special "Del Piero Zone"("Gol alla Del Piero"), approaching from the left flank and curling a precise lob into the far top corner of the goal.
Del Piero holds the all-time goalscoring record at Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
. On 6 April 2008, Alessandro Del Piero became the all-time highest-capped Juventus player, ahead of Juve legend Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea was an Italian football player who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all-time.Scirea is one of only five players in European football history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA...
. As of May 2010, he is in eighth place in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
all-time goalscorer records and joint fourth with Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...
within the Italian national team records.
Childhood and early career
Del Piero is the son of Gino, an electrician, and Bruna, a housekeeper. He regularly played football in the backyard with two friends, Nelso and Pierpaolo as a child. All three dreamed of becoming footballers, but only Del Piero would eventually manage to do so.Alessandro's older brother, Stefano, briefly played professional football for Sampdoria before injury struck him. The family lived in the hamlet of Saccon – a rural home in San Vendemiano
San Vendemiano
San Vendemiano is a municipality in the province of Treviso, northern Italy, 30 kilometres from Treviso.Footballer Alessandro del Piero grew up in San Vendemiano....
. While growing up Del Piero's family did not have much money for travelling abroad, so he considered being a lorry driver in order to see the world.
While playing for the local youth team of San Vendemiano since the age of 7, Del Piero used to play as a goalkeeper because he could play a lot more football that way. His mother thought it would be better for him if he played as a goalkeeper, since he would not sweat and the possibility of him getting injured was less likely. His brother Stefano told their mother: "Don't you see that Alex is good in the attack?" and Del Piero switched position.
It was while playing with his local side of San Vendemiano in 1988 that Del Piero was first spotted by scouts — he left home at the young age of 13 to play in the youth side of Padova Calcio.
Juventus
In 1993, he transferred to JuventusJuventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, and has been there ever since. Del Piero made his Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
debut against Foggia
Foggia
Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
in September 1993, scored his first goal in his next game against Reggiana after appearing as a substitute, and then grabbed a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
against Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
on his first start. Juventus claimed their first Scudetto in eight years in his first season and success continued to follow.
With the Turin club, he won the Serie A championship seven times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006), the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
(1996), and the Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
(1996). His best season was in 1997–98
Serie A 1997-98
Juventus won the title in controversial circumstances. In their match on Sunday, 26 April 1998, against eventual runners-up, Inter, Ronaldo was denied what appeared a clear penalty for Inter after being blocked by Mark Iuliano of Juventus. Had the penalty been awarded and then dispatched, the...
, when he scored 21 goals in Serie A and finished top scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals, which included a peach of a freekick against Monaco in the semi finals. His goal in the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final
1997 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1997 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match won 3-1 by Borussia Dortmund of Germany against Juventus from Italy.-Venue, date and colours:The event took place at the Olympiastadion in Munich on 28 May 1997....
was unable to prevent Juventus from going down 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund.
Del Piero struggled for form at the beginning of the 1998–99 season
Serie A 1998-99
AC Milan won their 16th Scudetto, led by coach Alberto Zaccheroni. Lazio finished second, losing the title on the last day. Inter with an often Injured or rested Ronaldo had a disastrous season, finishing in 8th position, whereas Juventus impressive start was cut short by a bad injury to Alessandro...
, whilst doping allegations were aimed at Juventus (they were later found innocent). In October he picked up a serious knee injury in the 2–2 draw with Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
. This kept him out of action for the remainder of the season. Juventus struggled without him and limped home to a lowly 6th place in the league.
During this time, Del Piero earned the nickname Il Pinturicchio, in reference to a comment by former president Gianni Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
when he compared the emerging Del Piero to the renaissance artist Pinturicchio
Pinturicchio
Bernardino di Betto, called Pintoricchio or Pinturicchio was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He acquired his nickname, Pintoricchio , because of his small stature, and he used it to sign some of his works....
. He's also been nicknamed by the fans "Il Fenomeno Vero" meaning "The Real Phenomenon", in a sort of comparison with Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
, who was nicknamed "Il Fenomeno" by rival supporters of Internazionale.
One of Del Piero's greatest strengths as a footballer is his versatility, which allows him to play in a variety of attacking positions. While he started his club career playing as an out-and-out striker, he settled into a deeper role as a support-striker. He has also been positioned as a playmaker in the central slot behind the forwards. Under Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
's reign as Juventus coach Del Piero played in the "trident-attack" formation along with veterans Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
and Fabrizio Ravanelli
Fabrizio Ravanelli
Fabrizio Ravanelli is a former international Italian football player, who won five titles with Juventus, including a Serie A championship in 1995 and a Champions League title in 1996....
. After that, he took a role in a combination with Zinédine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
behind Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan....
. As Juve's playing style changed in Lippi's second stint with Juventus starting 2001, Del Piero partnered with Zidane's replacement Pavel Nedvěd
Pavel Nedved
Pavel Nedvěd is a retired Czech football midfielder. He is one of the most successful Czech players to emerge from the newly formed Czech Republic, winning numerous accolades with Lazio and Juventus, including the last ever Cup Winners' Cup...
in midfield and David Trézéguet
David Trézéguet
David Sergio Trezeguet is a World Cup winning French international footballer who currently is a free agent after being released by Baniyas SC on 21 Nov 2011....
upfront.
After Euro 2004, Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
was replaced by Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
as Juventus coach. Capello was not convinced of Del Piero's abilities and frequently benched him in favor of the new signing Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Swedish national team for which he is captain....
, much to the disappointment of many fans. But Del Piero still managed to score 14 goals as Juventus won their 28th league title, thanks to his spectacular overhead assist to teammate David Trezeguet which proved decisive in a crucial match against AC Milan at the San Siro.
Experts agree that Del Piero was back to his best in the 2005–06 season
Serie A 2005-06
In the 2005–06 season, Serie A, the major professional football league in Italian, was contested for the second year in a row by 20 teams. The league commenced on August 28, 2005 and finished on May 14, 2006...
having scored 20 goals in all competitions. However, his role at Juventus changed in the following season, as coach Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
preferred to use him as a substitute for an "immediate impact", as Capello put it. Del Piero never had a calm relation with Fabio Capello though, evident from the quote on his official site "If Capello had stayed as coach of Juventus, I would have left Juventus".
In 2006 Del Piero equalled José Altafini
José Altafini
José João Altafini, is an Italian Brazilian former footballer. He is the joint-third highest scorer in Italian Serie A history with 216 goals. He currently holds the record for the highest no...
's Serie A record of 6 goals as a substitute after scoring in the final minute of Juventus's final game of the 2005–06 season. On 10 January 2006 Del Piero became the all time leading goalscorer for Juventus when he scored three times in a Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
match against Fiorentina and took his total goals for the club to 185. The previous record holder was Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti is an Italian former football player who played his entire career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961. He also played for the Italian national football team...
, who scored 182 goals for the club. Del Piero scored the last goal for Juventus the 2005–06 season before Juve were forcibly relegated due to the infamous Calciopoli scandal.
2006–07 season in the Serie B
Juventus were demoted to Serie BSerie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
and their last two Scudetti were revoked (see 2006 Italian football scandal). Del Piero announced that he would stay to captain the team in Serie B. He underlined that players should stick with the team, explaining that “The Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
family deserve this, as do the fans and the new directors". While many key players such as Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Swedish national team for which he is captain....
, Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro, Ufficiale OMRI is a former Italian footballer considered one of the greatest defenders of all time and was given the name "Muro di Berlino" which means The Berlin wall by Italian supporters. He spent the majority of his career in Italy...
and Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram is a retired professional football defender and is the most capped player in the history of the France national team, and one of the twenty most capped players of all time.He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both...
left Turin, he chose to stay and help Juve regain promotion.
Del Piero's first appearance after the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
's triumph was in the Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
match against Cesena
A.C. Cesena
Associazione Calcio Cesena is an Italian football club based in Cesena, Romagna. The club was formed in 1940 and won the first promotion to Serie A in 1973. Since then, the club have been in the Italian Premier League for a total of in 11 seasons, reaching the best achievement in 1976 with the 6th...
on 23 August 2006. Since Juventus played in Serie B for the 2006–07 season, the Coppa Italia campaign became increasingly important for the club in order to achieve a UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
spot. Having been on vacation beforehand, Del Piero started on the bench. Juventus and Cesena were locked on 1–1 when Del Piero entered in the 74th minute and after 9 seconds scored the winning goal for Juventus.
Del Piero then came in as a substitute at the 61st minute for Juve's next Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
match on 27 August vs. S.S.C. Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
. Again Juventus were behind, but Del Piero scored twice to give Juve the lead. In the end the match went to penalties. Del Piero scored but Napoli eventually won 5–4 in the shoot-out
Penalty shootout (football)
A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...
.
Following this, Alex was locked in months of fractious negotiations over the signing of a new contract with Juventus' new management. After successfully negotiating a new contract till 30 June 2010, Alex was greeted with news of the birth of his first child, Tobias Del Piero. This was quite a staggering turnaround in his fortunes, as only two weeks earlier he was dropped by Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri, is an Italian football manager, currently in charge as head coach of Internazionale.He has also managed many other well-known clubs in Europe, including Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus and Roma.-Early life:Ranieri attended St...
for the Serie A match with ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
and was then axed from Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni is an Italian football manager and former player, last in charge of Serie A club Cagliari.An attacking midfielder or winger known for pace and technique, he was a pillar of the powerhouse AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the pioneers of Major League...
’s Italy squad for the games with Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
and was named to two consecutive Serie A teams of the week. On 6 April 2008 he set a new appearance record for Juventus, overtaking Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea was an Italian football player who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all-time.Scirea is one of only five players in European football history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA...
's previous tally of 552 matches in all competitions. In April, he registered seven goals in five Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
matches, including a hat-trick in a 4–0 away win over Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
.
On the final weekend of the 2007/2008 season Del Piero scored a brace against Sampdoria in a 3–3 draw. These two goals were crucial as it took him to 21 goals for the season, thus winning him the Capocannonieri prize in Serie A for the first time in his illustrious career, beating the likes of David Trezeguet
David Trézéguet
David Sergio Trezeguet is a World Cup winning French international footballer who currently is a free agent after being released by Baniyas SC on 21 Nov 2011....
(20 goals) and Marco Borriello
Marco Borriello
Marco Borriello is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Roma. He has previously played for other Italian clubs, including Milan, Sampdoria, Treviso, Reggina, Empoli, Triestina, and Genoa.-Early career:...
(19 goals) and matching his highest tally for a top-flight season since 1997/98.
On 17 May 2008, in the final round of the 2007–08 season against Sampdoria, Del Piero scored his 20th and 21st goals, thus becoming the Capocannoniere
Capocannoniere
The Capocannoniere is the name given to the highest goalscorer in Italian football. The Serie A title is currently held by Antonio Di Natale.-SERIE A:...
and clinching his long overdue first Serie A golden boot. Thus, he became only the second Italian ever to win consecutive Capocannoniere titles in two different leagues – former Juventus and 1982 FIFA World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...
hero Paolo Rossi
Paolo Rossi
Paolo Rossi is an Italian former football striker. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot/top scorer honors, and the Golden Ball. After his performance at the 1982 FIFA World Cup he became a hero in the hearts of all Italians...
being the other one (coincidentally Rossi too won the Capocannoniere titles like Alessandro first in Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
and then in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
). On 26 July 2008, Del Piero was awarded the Scirea Award.
2008–09 season and beyond
During the 2008–09 summer pre-season, Juventus played Hamburger SVHamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
and Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in the Emirates Cup
Emirates Cup
The Emirates Cup is an annual two-day pre-season football tournament hosted by English Premier League club Arsenal and held at the Emirates Stadium, the club's home ground...
, and played a friendly versus Manchester United at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
. Juventus' coach Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri, is an Italian football manager, currently in charge as head coach of Internazionale.He has also managed many other well-known clubs in Europe, including Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus and Roma.-Early life:Ranieri attended St...
remarked that Del Piero would have as good a season, or an even better one, than the previous term. In August 2008, Del Piero announced that he would try to keep playing professional football with Juventus until he is 40 years old.
With Juventus back in the Champions League, they were drawn into the same group as former winners Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
and UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
winners Zenit St. Petersburg. Del Piero marked their return with a brilliant match-winning free kick to seal a home win against Zenit. On 21 October, he scored a wonderful first-time strike from distance as Juve defeated Real Madrid in Turin. On 21 October, he scored in Juve's Champions League match at home against Spanish club. In the fifth minute, from open play, Del Piero swerved the ball in the far corner of the goal with a freekick like shot, giving Casillas no chance, with Amauri
Amauri
Amauri Carvalho de Oliveira , better known as Amauri, is a Brazilian-born Italian footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Juventus.-Early career:...
scoring the second in the first few minutes of the second half.
On 5 November 2008, Juventus and Real Madrid squared off at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League. The Italians won 2–0 (their first away win against Madrid since 1962), and Del Piero was a key performer, scoring both the goals and being praised by both Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri, is an Italian football manager, currently in charge as head coach of Internazionale.He has also managed many other well-known clubs in Europe, including Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus and Roma.-Early life:Ranieri attended St...
and Madrid coach Bernd Schuster
Bernd Schuster
Bernhard Schuster is a German football manager and former player, currently unemployed. His nickname is "der Blonde Engel" .-Club career:...
. As he left the pitch after being substituted, fans from both sides gave him a standing ovation. However, Juventus' 2009 UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
campaign ended in disappointment as they were eliminated by Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in the 2nd round. Despite converting a penalty in the second leg in Turin, Del Piero was unable to prevent Juventus from losing 3–2 on aggregate.
In the league, Juventus were mostly challenging Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
for second place and an automatic Champions League place. Most notably, Del Piero inspired the Bianconeri to a 3–0 win over Siena
A.C. Siena
Associazione Calcio Siena is an Italian football club based in Siena.The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B at the end of the 2010-2011 season....
in their penultimate game of the season, scoring a brace and setting up Claudio Marchisio
Claudio Marchisio
Claudio Marchisio is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. A product of the Juventus youth system, he has spent his whole career thus far at his hometown club, with the exception of a season-long loan spell at Empoli...
for the youngster's third goal of the season to end their run of seven winless matches in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
. Juve won 2–0 over Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
to finish second ahead of Milan (based on their head-to-head record).
On 17 July 2009, Alessandro extended his contract with Juventus by 1 more year until 30 June 2011 in Pinzolo
Pinzolo
Pinzolo is a small town and comune situated in Val Rendena in Trentino in the northern Italian Alps at an altitude of 800 m.It is mainly known as a ski resort during the winter months.-External links:...
while training for pre-season, thus practically ensuring that he would retire at the club with which he started his professional career. During his renewal, he said “I am happy at Juventus and we are competitive. I want to keep playing for as long as I can and I’m certain that for at least two more years I will be at the top level.” He marked his 445th Serie A appearance, breaking the all-time club record, with a brace against Genoa on 14 February 2010. He is also currently the all-time top scorer for Juventus, having scored more than 250 goals in all competitions. He has also made over 600 appearances in official matches for the club, breaking the record of Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea was an Italian football player who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all-time.Scirea is one of only five players in European football history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA...
who had 552 appearances for Juventus.
On 14 March 2010, Alessandro recorded his 300th and 301st career goal during a 3–3 draw with Siena with the first two goals at the second and seventh minute. On 30 October 2010, Alessandro recorded his 179th Serie A goal, breaking the record of club legend Giampiero Boniperti as Juventus' top scorer in Serie A and further cementing his status as the most prolific goalscorer in Juventus history.
On 5 February 2011, with his substitution against Cagliari
Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B....
, Alessandro Del Piero became the most capped Juventus player, edging out former Juventus legend Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti is an Italian former football player who played his entire career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961. He also played for the Italian national football team...
. Del Piero remains the third most capped player in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
behind Javier Zanetti
Javier Zanetti
Javier Adelmar Zanetti is an Argentine footballer who plays for Serie A club Inter. Javier Zanetti has played for Inter since 1995, taking the captain's armband from 29 August 1999. Known for his versatility, he is adept on both the left and right wing, having played on both flanks as a fullback...
and Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
respectively.
On 5 May 2011, he signed a new 1-year contract in the Juventus Arena
Juventus Arena
Juventus Stadium is an all-seater association football stadium in the Vallette borough of Turin, Italy, and the home of Serie A club Juventus....
. His previous deal was due to expire on 30 June 2011.
On 24 May 2011, Del Piero and Juventus played against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a friendly match being former England defender Gary Neville's testimonial match. Del Piero was substituted after 65 minutes to a standing ovation from the Manchester United supporters.
Juventus confirmed on 18 October 2011 that season 2011–12
2011–12 Serie A
The 2011–12 Serie A is the eightieth season since its establishment, and the second under a league committee separate from Serie B. It began on 9 September 2011 and will end on 13 May 2012. The league was originally scheduled to start on 27 August, but this was delayed due to a strike by the players...
would be Del Piero's last with the club.
International career
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...
for a spot on the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
final roster while struggling to recover from injury suffered during the 1998 Champions League
1998 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1998 UEFA Champions League Final took place at the Amsterdam ArenA in Amsterdam on 20 May 1998. Spanish club Real Madrid defeated Italian side Juventus 1–0 to clinch their seventh European title, the sixth being in 1966.-Match details:...
final with Juventus. He also missed two gilt-edged chances in Italy's 2–1 loss to France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
in the Euro 2000
2000 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, or Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Football Championship, which is held every four years and organized by UEFA, association football's governing body in Europe....
final.
He returned to the international scene in the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, after a season in Serie A in which Juventus won the Scudetto. Del Piero scored the decisive goal against Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
, which sealed the Azzurri's qualification for the finals. He instantly scored with a header against Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
after coming on as a substitute, a goal which saved Italy from the ignominy of a first round exit. The goal sent Italy through to the second round, where they were eliminated by a golden goal in a controversial match against South Korea.
Del Piero began the 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
on the bench, appearing in two out of three group stage matches, and made his first start of the competition in a 1–0 round-of-16 win over Australia on 26 June. On 4 July, Del Piero entered as a substitute near the end of regulation and scored Italy's second goal in a 2–0 semifinal win over host Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
. In the final
2006 FIFA World Cup Final
The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin to determine the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Italy beat France on penalties after the match finished 1–1 after extra time...
against France, which ended 1–1 after extra time, Del Piero scored a penalty in the shootout as Italy won the tournament for the fourth time. He admitted afterwards that winning the World Cup was his childhood dream.
As of 2008, Del Piero has captained Italy seven times (including Euro 2008) . He also regularly wore the number 10, but later gave it to Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
and switched to the number 7, as it was the first number he wore at the start of his career. Even though the number 10 was vacated after Totti retired from the national team in July 2007, Del Piero denied any interest in taking back the number, saying he was satisfied with the number 7.
On May he was recalled by popular demand to Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 squad after nine-month absence from international duty, and thus became the second Italian player to participate in 7 major international tournaments (EURO 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008; World Cup 1998, 2002, 2006).
Del Piero was called up to Italy's squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 Championship in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He was mostly on the substitutes' bench but started against Romania as the squad's captain. In the group match against the Dutch
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
, he came on for the under-performing Antonio Di Natale
Antonio di Natale
Antonio Di Natale is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Udinese.A versatile striker with a lethal eye for goal, Di Natale can play anywhere in the front line, as a lone striker or out wide in an attacking trident. He is notable for his dribbling skills, pace and for his ability to...
and made an immediate impact, including several efforts on goal. However he could not prevent the Azzurri from a 3–0 loss. Italy qualified through the group stage in second-place behind Holland, eliminating Romania and France. In the quarter-final against Spain, Del Piero made a substitute appearance during extra-time, and with the game ending in a 0–0 draw, it was decided by a penalty shootout in which Spain won 4–2. On 20 August 2008 he won his 90th cap for Italy in friendly against Austria – only the fifth Azzurri player to reach this landmark. Despite announcing that he will carry on playing until he is 40 years old, he has not been called up since Italy's qualifier against Georgia
Georgia national football team
The Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union. The team have attempted to qualify for each major...
on 10 September 2008.
Personal life
Del Piero is married to Sonia Amoruso, and the two have been together since 1999 and married in 2005. The couple announced in July 2007 that they were expecting their first baby. On 22 October 2007, Amoruso gave birth to baby boy Tobias Del Piero at 0:20 at Sant'Anna hospital in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. On 14 February 2009, Amoruso's second pregnancy was announced. On 5 May 2009 their daughter Dorotea was born in Turin. On September, 12, 2010 Del Piero announced on his personal website the upcoming birth of his third child. The Del Pieros welcomed son Sasha on December, 27th of that year.
Del Piero has used his fame and money to promote and support cancer research; in recognition of this he has received from the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro a prize of "Believe in Research" during November 2006.
When the Olympic Flame
Olympic Flame
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
for the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
passed through Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Del Piero was a torchbearer. He has an interest in sports outside of football (particularly basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
) and in turn has gained fans outside of just football, sport icons such as NBA star Steve Nash
Steve Nash
Stephen John "Steve" Nash, OC, OBC is a South African-born Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association . Nash enjoyed a successful high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a scholarship by Santa Clara...
and cycling legend Eddy Merckx
Eddy Merckx
Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...
have stated that they are fans of Del Piero.
As well as an interest in other sports, Del Piero also has a keen interest in music. He has even recorded some albums of his own. Along with Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi , is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender, and is currently a free agent.At the beginning of his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Premier League side Everton. He spent two periods with Perugia and signed for...
, Del Piero appeared on stage at a Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
show in Milan shortly after Italy's World Cup win.
He is a good friend of musician and singer Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
and a fan of his former band Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
. Del Piero appears in the Oasis video "Lord Don't Slow Me Down
Lord Don't Slow Me Down (song)
"Lord Don't Slow Me Down" is a song by British rock band Oasis. The song was released as a download-only single on 21 October 2007 and was also released on an extremely limited 12 inch single in promotion of the release of Oasis' rockumentary of the same name, Lord Don't Slow Me Down. On 29...
".
On 9 February 2009, it was reported that Del Piero was suing the social networking site Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
over a fake profile bearing his name that links to Nazi propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
sites. He was said to be aggrieved that the bogus account, which carries his picture, implies neo-Nazi sympathies as he did not have a Facebook profile at that time.
Besides scoring goals, Del Piero is also known for his sense of humour and is a popular guest at Italian comedy shows such as Paperissima and Striscia la notizia
Striscia la notizia
Striscia la notizia is an Italian television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Its name in Italian translates as "the news slithers", a probable parody of the slighting italian journalist, submitted to politicians and overwhelmed with shame...
. His goal celebration usually consists of him running to the touchline in front of Juve fans sticking his tongue out and has done the back-flip goal celebration on several occasions. He featured in the show La sai l'ultima di Totti, a comedy sketch created by his good friend and Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
captain Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
where the two of them and national teammates Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
defender Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.-Early life:Nesta was raised in...
and Juve teammate Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
would tell jokes about one another.
On TV, Del Piero is famous not just for his matches, but also for broadcasting and advertising skills. He is under contract with German sports equipment manufacturer Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
,with Uliveto water, Italian car manufacturer Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
and Japanese motorbike company Suzuki
Suzuki
is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines...
. In 2006 he appeared in a television commercial for the Japanese motor scooter Suzuki Burgman together with the sports agent Andreas Goller
Andreas Goller
Andreas Goller is an Italian sports manager and entrepreneur.- Career :In winter season 2002/2003 the German multiple times World Champion and Olympic Medalist skier Martina Ertl became his first client in sports management field....
.
Del Piero was also featured on the cover of EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
' FIFA Football 2004
FIFA Football 2004
FIFA Football 2004, also known as FIFA Soccer 2004 in North America, is a football video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in October 2003 with the tagline "Create Brilliance"....
video game, alongside Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
and Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
. He was one of the two stars featured on the cover of the Italian version of PES 2010
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is the ninth football video game in the Pro Evolution Soccer series...
video game, the other being Barcelona FC and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
star Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
.
Career statistics
.|-
|1991–92||rowspan="2"|Padova
Calcio Padova
Calcio Padova is an Italian football club, based in Padua, Veneto. The club was founded in 1910. Padova is playing in Serie B, having last been in Serie A in 1996...
||rowspan="2"|Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
||4||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||4||0
|-
|1992–93||10||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||10||1
|-
|1993–94||rowspan="19"|Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
||rowspan="13"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||11||5||1||0||2||0||14||5
|-
|1994–95||29||8||10||1||12||2||51||11
|-
|1995–96||29||6||3||1||11||6||43||13
|-
|1996–97||22||8||4||0||9||7||35||15
|-
|1997–98||32||21||5||1||10||10||47||32
|-
|1998–99||8||2||2||1||4||0||14||3
|-
|1999–00||34||9||2||1||9||2||45||12
|-
|2000–01||25||9||2||0||6||0||33||9
|-
|2001–02||32||16||4||1||10||4||46||21
|-
|2002–03||24||16||1||2||13||5||38||23
|-
|2003–04||22||8||5||3||4||3||31||14
|-
|2004–05||30||14||1||0||10||3||41||17
|-
|2005–06||33||12||5||5||7||3||45||20
|-
|2006–07||Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
||35||20||2||3||colspan="2"|–||37||23
|-
|2007–08||rowspan="5"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||37||21||4||3||colspan="2"|–||41||24
|-
|2008–09|||31||13||3||2||9||6||43||21
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Serie A
The 2009–10 Serie A was the seventy-eighth season since its establishment. There were three promoted teams from the Serie B, replacing the three teams that were relegated following the 2008–09 season. Nike provided a new match ball - the T90 Ascente - for this season...
|||23||9||1||2||5||0||29||11
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Serie A
The 2010–11 Serie A was the 79th season since its establishment, the first under a league committee separate from Serie B. It began on 28 August 2010 and ended on 22 May 2011...
|||33||8||2||0||10||3||45||11
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Serie A
The 2011–12 Serie A is the eightieth season since its establishment, and the second under a league committee separate from Serie B. It began on 9 September 2011 and will end on 13 May 2012. The league was originally scheduled to start on 27 August, but this was delayed due to a strike by the players...
|||9||0||0||0||0||0||9||0
499||205||55||26||126||53||686||285
513||206||55||26||126||50||700||286
International statistics
|-|1995||7||1
|-
|1996||4||2
|-
|1997||6||4
|-
|1998||8||3
|-
|1999||2||0
|-
|2000||13||4
|-
|2001||6||3
|-
|2002||11||5
|-
|2003||4||2
|-
|2004||6||1
|-
|2005||4||0
|-
|2006||9||2
|-
|2007||5||0
|-
|2008||6||0
|-
!Total||91||27
|}
International goals
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size:100%"!colspan="7"|Del Piero – goals for Italy U-17
|- style="text-align:center"
! Goal !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size:100%"
!colspan="7"|Del Piero – goals for Italy
|-
! Goal !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
Club
Juventus- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
(5): 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98Serie A 1997-98Juventus won the title in controversial circumstances. In their match on Sunday, 26 April 1998, against eventual runners-up, Inter, Ronaldo was denied what appeared a clear penalty for Inter after being blocked by Mark Iuliano of Juventus. Had the penalty been awarded and then dispatched, the...
, 2001–02Serie A 2001-02In the 2001-02 season, the Serie A, the major football Italian professional league, was composed by 18 teams, for the 14th consecutive time from season 1988-89....
, 2002–03Serie A 2002-03In the 2002-03 season, the Serie A, the major football Italian professional league, was composed by 18 teams, for the 15th consecutive time from season 1988-89....
(won two more: 2004–05Serie A 2004-05In the 2004–05 season, the Serie A, the highest professional football league in Italy, was composed of 20 teams for the first time in several years....
, 2005–06Serie A 2005-06In the 2005–06 season, Serie A, the major professional football league in Italian, was contested for the second year in a row by 20 teams. The league commenced on August 28, 2005 and finished on May 14, 2006...
, taken in Calciopoli.) - Serie BSerie BSerie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
(1): 2006–2007 - Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
(4): 19951995 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 1995 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the Serie A 1994-95 winner, Parma, the Coppa Italia 1994-95 runner-up, since Juventus had won both trophies in the 1994-95 season....
, 19971997 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 1997 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the Serie A 1996-97 winner, and Vicenza, the Coppa Italia 1996-97 winner.It was the third appearance for Juventus, after the victory in 1995 and the defeat in 1990, whereas it was Vicenza's first appearance.-Match details:-References:...
, 20022002 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 2002 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the Serie A 2001-02 winner, and Parma, the Coppa Italia 2001-02 winner.It was the fifth appearance for Juventus and the fourth for Parma...
, 20032003 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 2003 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the Serie A 2002-03 winner, and Milan, the Coppa Italia 2002-03 winner.It was the sixth appearance for Juventus and the seventh for Milan .The match was played in New York, U.S.A..-Match details:-References:... - Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
(1): 1994–95Coppa Italia 1994-95The 1994–95 Coppa Italia was the 47th edition of the tournament. The final was contested between Juventus and Parma, who also met in the previous month in the 1995 UEFA Cup Final.-First leg:-Second leg:Juventus won 3–0 on aggregate.-References:*... - UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
(1): 1999 - UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
(1): 1995–96UEFA Champions League 1995-96The 1995–96 UEFA Champions League was the 41st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the fourth since its rebranding as the UEFA Champions League. The tournament was won by Juventus, who beat defending champions Ajax on penalties in the final for their first championship... - UEFA Super Cup (1): 19961996 UEFA Super CupThe 1996 UEFA Super Cup was played on 15 January 1997 and 5 February 1997 between Juventus of Italy, winner of 1995-96 UEFA Champions League and Paris Saint-Germain of France, winner of the 1995-96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup...
- Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
(1): 19961996 Intercontinental CupThe 1996 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on November 26, 1996 between Juventus, winners of the 1995-96 UEFA Champions League, and River Plate, winners of the 1996 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the National Stadium in Tokyo...
Country
Italy- UEFA Under-21 European Championship (2): 19941994 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 1994, which spanned two years , had 32 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage, France were chosen as the first hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total....
, 19961996 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 1996, which spanned two years , had 44 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage, Spain were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total.... - FIFA World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
(1): 20062006 FIFA World CupThe 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six... - UEFA European Championship, Runner-up : 2000
Individual
- ESM Team of the Year(3): 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98
- Most Valuable PlayerMost Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
Intercontinental Cup: 1996 - European Footballer of the Year Under-21Bravo AwardThe Bravo Award is an annual award which is handed out by the Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo to the most outstanding young European footballer. The first winner of the award was English Jimmy Case. Until 1992 only under-23 players participating in one of the three European club cups were eligible...
: 1996 - UEFA Champions League Topscorer: 1997-98
- Best Loved Football Player: 2001, 2008
- FIFA 100FIFA 100The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
- Golden FootGolden Foot awardThe Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements and for their personality...
to career: 2007 - Serie B - Topscorer: 2007 (20 goals)
- Scirea AwardGaetano ScireaGaetano Scirea was an Italian football player who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all-time.Scirea is one of only five players in European football history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA...
to career: 2008 - Oscar AIC – Italian Footballer ot the YearItalian Footballer of the YearThe Italian Footballer of the Year is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association given to the Italian footballer who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season. The award is part of the "Oscar del Calcio" awards event.-Winners:-By...
(2): 1998, 2008 - Oscar AIC – Top ScorerCapocannoniereThe Capocannoniere is the name given to the highest goalscorer in Italian football. The Serie A title is currently held by Antonio Di Natale.-SERIE A:...
: 2008 (21 goals) - USSI Silver BallPallone d'ArgentoThe Pallone d'Argento is an annual award instituted by the Unione Stampa Sportiva Italiana or USSI...
: 2008
Records
- Juventus All-Time Leading Scorer (281 goals)
- Juventus All-Time Leading Scorer Champions League (45)
- Juventus All-Time Leading Scorer UEFA Competitions (53)
- Juventus All-Time Leading Scorer International competitions (54)
- Juventus All-Time Leading Scorer in the Italian championships (181)
- Juventus All-Time Leading Scorer Italian Super Cup (3)
- Juventus All-Time appearances holder Serie A: (441)
- Juventus All-Time appearances holder in the UEFA club competitions: (115)
- Juventus All-Time appearances holder in international competitions: (120)
- Juventus All-Time appearances leader (653)
- Latest goal from kickoff in a FIFA World Cup match (121st minute)
- Most Participations in UEFA European Championships (4) (Tied with 5 others)
Orders
- 5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000
- Collar of Merit Sports: 2006
- 4th Class / Officer: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2006
External links
- Official site
- Alessandro Del Piero at Goal.comGoal.comGoal.com, founded in 2004 by Chicco Merighi and former Ferrari Maserati and Ralph Lauren President and CEO Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni, is a website for international football news. Goal.com represents the largest football community in the world, with 22 language versions, covering over 200...
- Career timeline, photo gallery, and detailed statistics at footballdatabase.com