Alessandro Del Piero (Italian pronunciation: [alesˈsandro del ˈpjɛːro]; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit for Sky Sport Italia. A technically gifted and creative supporting forward who was also a free-kick specialist, he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and one of the greatest players in Juventus's history. He is currently the second highest all-time Italian top-scorer in all competitions, with 346 goals, behind only Silvio Piola, with 390 goals. In his career Del Piero scored 462 goals.
Del Piero began his career at Padova in Serie B before being signed by Italian giants Juventus in 1993. He quickly established himself as a key player, particularly in the UEFA Champions League, helping the club reach three consecutive finals from 1996 to 1998, winning the 1996 edition. During this period, he scored 20 goals in 27 Champions League appearances, finishing as the competition's top scorer in 1997–98. Del Piero later helped Juventus win back-to-back Serie A titles in 2001–02 and 2002–03, while also reaching his fourth Champions League final in the latter season. After Juventus were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 2006 due to the Calciopoli scandal, Del Piero chose to remain at the club despite the departures of several key players, and captained them back to Serie A after a single season in the second division.
Del Piero played at Juventus for 19 seasons (11 as captain) and holds the club records for most goals (290) and appearances (705). In total, he won 16 trophies at the club, including six Serie A titles, and won the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award in 1998 and 2008. After leaving the club in 2012, he also spent two seasons with Australian side Sydney FC; he retired in 2014, after a season with Delhi Dynamos FC in the Indian Super League.
At international level, Del Piero has also represented the Italy national team at three FIFA World Cups and four UEFA European Football Championships, most notably winning the 2006 World Cup, and reaching the final of UEFA Euro 2000 with Italy. He is the joint fourth highest scorer for Italy, with 27 goals. In 2004, 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. In the same year, he was also voted into the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, a list of the 50 best European players of the past 50 years. Along with six awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct, he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality as well as playing ability.
Del Piero was born in Conegliano, Veneto, 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. His older brother, Stefano, briefly played professional football for Sampdoria before an injury curtailed his career; he later worked as his younger brother's agent. 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, Del Piero used to feature as a goalkeeper in order to gain more playing time. His mother thought it would be better for him to play in this role, as he would not sweat, and the possibility of him getting injured was less likely. His brother Stefano commented to their mother that, due to his skill, the younger Del Piero was more suited to playing in a more offensive position, and he switched to a forward role.
1991–1993: Early career and debut
Del Piero began his rise to professional football in 1981, in the ranks of San Vendemiano. In 1988, Del Piero was first spotted by scouts, and he left home at the young age of 13 to play with the youth side of Padova. He joined the senior side during the 1991–92 season, at the age of 16, and at the age of 17, he made his debut in Serie B against Messina, under manager Mauro Sandreani, on 15 March 1992, coming on as a substitute for Roberto Putelli. The following season, on 22 November 1992, he scored his first professional goal in a 5–0 victory over Ternana. In 1993, thanks to Giampiero Boniperti, Del Piero was bought by Juventus for five billion lire, with an overlap of 150 million lire per season.
1993–1998: Early domestic and European success
In 1993, Del Piero transferred to Juventus and played for the Torinese club for 19 seasons until being released in the summer of 2012. Although manager Giovanni Trapattoni insisted that he trained with the senior team, he initially played with the Primavera squad, which was coached by Antonello Cuccureddu, helping the Juventus Youth team to win both the 1994 Torneo di Viareggio, and the 1994 U-20 championship. Del Piero made his Serie A debut against Foggia on 12 September 1993 under Trapattoni, as a substitute, and he scored his first goal in his next game against Reggiana on 19 September, after coming off the bench once again. On his full debut for Juventus, he netted a hat-trick against Parma. After his promising performances, Del Piero began to be deployed with more continuity, and he managed 14 appearances for Juventus that season between youth matches, league matches, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Cup, scoring 5 goals, which all came in Serie A, as Juventus finished the season in second place in the league.
The 1994–95 Serie A season saw Marcello Lippi take over as Juventus manager, as well as the introduction of a new team of directors, made up of Giraudo, Roberto Bettega, and Luciano Moggi; Del Piero played a more prominent role for the club that season following Roberto Baggio's injury in November against Padova. Del Piero temporarily took his place in the first team alongside Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli, flourishing at the opportunity given to him, and Juventus went on to claim their first scudetto in nine years. Del Piero scored 8 goals in Serie A that season, including a match-winning chipped volley against Fiorentina. Del Piero was also able to achieve a rare double, and he captured the 1994–95 Coppa Italia with Juventus, defeating their season rivals Parma in the final, although they were defeated by Parma in the 1995 UEFA Cup Final. During this time, Del Piero earned the nickname Pinturicchio due to the similarity between his own technical and tactical characteristics, and Baggio's creative style of play. This nickname arose when former president Gianni Agnelli compared the emerging talent Del Piero to the renaissance artist Pinturicchio, who was the student of the great Italian renaissance artist Raphael (Raffaello), a nickname he had used to describe Baggio, to emphasise his elegance on the ball. Del Piero placed fourth in the 1995 Ballon d'Or for his performances throughout the season. With the Turin club, Del Piero won the Serie A eight times, although the 2005 and 2006 titles were revoked due to Juventus's involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal.
For the 1995–96 season, Del Piero was awarded Baggio's No. 10 squad number, which had also previously belonged to Michel Platini, following his departure to A.C. Milan. Del Piero scored 6 goals and provided 10 assists in Serie A, although Juventus finished the season in second place behind Milan. Del Piero did manage to capture the Supercoppa Italiana in 1995, over Parma, setting up Vialli's only goal of the match. He also played a key role in helping Juventus to win the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League, scoring 6 goals in the competition, and finishing as the second highest scorer of the tournament.
The following season, Del Piero followed these victories up with the 1996 UEFA Super Cup and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup, scoring goals in both finals, and being named Man of the Match in the latter final; he also won the Bravo Award (as the best U-23 player in European Competitions), and placed 4th in the 1996 Ballon d'Or for the second consecutive year. Del Piero also captured his second Serie A title with Juventus that season, and helped lead Juventus to their second consecutive Champions League final, although he was unable to start the match due to injury. During the group stage, en route to the final, he helped Juventus to qualify for the quarter-finals a match early, scoring a goal in Juventus's 1–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, on 20 November 1996; this was the first time that an Italian team had defeated Manchester United at their home ground. In the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final, he came off the bench to score a goal with a back-heel, which was unable to prevent Juventus from losing 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund. Due to his performances throughout the calendar year, Del Piero received nominations for both the 1997 FIFA World Player of the Year, finishing sixth and the 1997 Ballon d'Or.