Del Piero scoops web award

May 24, 2000
Juventus Official Site

Alessandro Del Piero has been voted your player of the season in a poll conducted by www.juventus.com. The 25-year-old took 28% of the vote. The result is proof both of Del Piero's value to Juventus and his place in the fans' affections. Despite the media hype surrounding his lack of goals, Del Piero returned from a serious knee injury to play a key role in Carlo Ancelotti's side. And let's not forget the eight penalties he converted before finally scoring from open play on the penultimate weekend of the season. Euro 2000 beckons for Alex and we wish him every success.

Edgar Davids was a very close second with 72,252 votes, or 27.1% of the total vote. Not a bad return for a player who was afflicted by a serious eye problem at the start of the season. Davids has answered all the doubts that surfaced at the time of his transfer from Milan to become Juventus' midfield lynchpin. And with those goggles of his, the Dutch international offers both perpetual motion and a rare sartorial touch.

Zinedine Zidane came in at third. The 27-year-old earned 26.2% of your votes after another impressive campaign. By his own admission, Zidane struggled with the pace of games towards the end of the season, but his attacking inspiration makes him one of Europe's finest inside forwards. Now he will be hoping for a better European Championship than the last one, when he failed to ignite in England after a successful final term at Bordeaux.

What can you say about Filippo Inzaghi? The arch-poacher has been linked with a move away from Juventus after failing to convert several good chances in the final-day defeat at Perugia. Yet Inzaghi was the club's top scorer with 15 League goals. A statistic which 28,401 of you took into account when choosing Pippo as your player of the year.

Fifth place went to Edwin Van der Sar, who conceded fewer goals than any other Serie A keeper in his debut season. Meanwhile Antonio Conte had to be content with sixth. Skipper and club stalwart, nobody epitomises Juve's team spirit better than the 30-year-old midfielder.

This is how the voting went:

Alessandro Del Piero 28% (74,515)
Edgar Davids 27.1% (72,252)
Zinedine Zidane 26.2% (69,907)
Filippo Inzaghi 10.7% (28,401)
Edwin Van der Sar 4% (10,783)
Antonio Conte 4% (10,535)
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