Alessandro Del Piero - the hero of the day

October 7, 2001
Daily Soccer

PARMA - Yesterday Italy gained a 1-0 win over Hungary and secured their spot in World Cup 2002. Alessandro Del Piero became the hero of the day; he scored in the dying minutes proving he was not giving way to Roberto Baggio. During the first half the supporters couldn't stand the strain and started to whistle and shout expressing their extreme dissatisfaction as well as calling for their favorite Roberto Baggio. But Del Piero didn't lose control over the situation and converted a free kick turning him from an outcast into a hero during a single second.

"I feel very happy now. All of us had a hard time and my goal was a kind of liberation. I dedicate it to the whole team. We needed support from our fans and their behavior is very painful for me. But everything is gone now and our team will travel to Japan and Korea," said Del Piero.

Italy international skipper Paolo Maldini also expressed his opinion: "We really deserved this victory. This happened because we kept together and the team was solid as never before. This is my last World Cup and someone may say I was playing like a boy but I really do feel like a 20-year-old guy".

Francesco Totti also deserved praising to prove once more he has really deserved the Golden ball.
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