Alessandro del Piero ... a great advertisement for longevity in the game. Source: News Limited
The eyes of Turin and Sydney will be trained on ANZ Stadium on Sunday as the great Alessandro del Piero takes the field for an extraordinary 800th career game.
His milestone appearance will be a feature of Sydney FC's clash with Perth Glory, which will be beamed around Australia and into the country where he made his name.
Sydney FC's games are being televised in Italy for the first time, given the tremendous interest in the former Juve and Azzurri icon.
"He is different to Zinedine Zidane," Diego Maradona once said of Del Piero.
"He likes to play, he feels it in his soul. Between him and the Frenchman, I choose him."
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Perth | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Wellington | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Brisbane | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Central Coast | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Heart | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| 8 | Sydney | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 3 |
| 9 | Victory | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 3 |
| 10 | Western Sydney | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
Another Argentinian luminary, Lionel Messi, has been similarly enamoured with il Capitano's wonderful skill and poise over his 19-year Juventus career.
"He is a great player who has given everything to football, to Juventus and to Italy," Messi once said.
"To me he plays a beautiful, clean type of football, and he is a man to admire."
Del Piero will forever be regarded among the Bianconeri all-time greats following a career that spanned 704 games and 289 goals and yielded 18 trophies. Upon completing his last game with Juventus in the Coppa Italia final against Napoli five months ago, Del Piero penned an open letter to the club's faithful.
"Above all what remains is the fans, you who are Juventus," he wrote.
"That jersey that I loved and will always love, that I desired and respected. From tomorrow I will no longer be a Juventus player, but I will always be one of you."
The sentiment has carried over to Sydney FC's supporter group, The Cove, who have embraced Del Piero like few others since his arrival in Australia.
His new employers are also delighted with his impact on both sides of the pitch.
"I knew he'd be good but three games in and he's starred in all three," said Sydney chief executive Tony Pignata.
"He's adapted to the A-League quickly and he's been a revelation off the field as well."
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