ADP ... holds no fear for Perth Glory's physical style. Source: AAP
So Alessandro Del Piero is in for a kicking against Perth Glory at ANZ Stadium this afternoon.
The talk this week has been about how the Sydney FC superstar has a $2 million target on his shins and the likes of Glory hard man Jacob Burns will be gunning for him.
At times, the Glory play direct and are physical, yes. With players such as Michael Thwaite and Burns, they like to impose themselves. That's all true.
They will test Sydney's hunger for the battle and there is nothing wrong with that.
But am I worried about Del Piero? Come on.
This is a guy who will walk out for his 800th game of top-flight football. He has been the star player in Turin derbies, with Torino fans baying for his blood.
I'm sure he's quaking in his boots about the prospect of facing Perth Glory.
This is a guy who has regularly come up against Gennaro Gattuso and Marco Materazzi in Serie A. These are hard-nut defenders who make the Glory look like choirboys.
In the Champions League, he duelled with Pepe - a defender known by some as the butcher of Real Madrid. They don't come any more intimidating that that.
If the Glory go out there to target Del Piero, it is a strategy doomed to fail because he is too smart, too savvy and too skilful. And the last thing anyone would want is to give Sydney free kicks within shouting distance of goal. Newcastle Jets can tell you how that might turn out.
And a first-up test against Wellington across the ditch is about as physical as it gets in the A-League, anyway, and Del Piero was far and away Sydney's best player in that hostile environment.
If were a Sydney fan, I'd be hoping that the improvement continues from last week because I believe the Sky Blues are one of the real challengers for the championship.
Perth are unbeaten, so this will be a good test.
However, when you look across all the teams, there is so much upside to Sydney.
Critics were quick to throw stones after their sluggish start to the season, yet it was always going to take them time to find their feet.
The midfield functioned better last week against the Wanderers, Brett Emerton and Del Piero started to get on the same page and the defence will be tighter with the return of Pascal Bosschaart, a hard nut in his own right.
I'm really excited about the shape the Sky Blues might take when Jason Culina returns in a few weeks.
It has been a horror couple of years for him, but he looks great at training and I'm expecting him to come back close to his best.
Culina was the best player in the A-League before his injury and his rapier like passes should open more avenues to goal for Del Piero.
Brisbane Roar remain the benchmark and their dissection of Melbourne Victory a few weeks ago was breathtaking.
However, Sydney can at least rival the champions for creativity once all the major pieces are in place.
Still, the beauty of football is you can play it so many ways.
Perth are the hard-nosed, full-bore, no-prisoners team in the A-League. It's an attitude that took them to last season's grand final.
Sydney know Del Piero will stand tall in the furnace - it's up to his teammates to rise up alongside him.
Watch Del Piero and the Sky Blues host Perth Glory on Sunday 28 October at 5pm (EDT) on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 1HD.
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