Del Piero determined to fulfil early promise

May 20, 2002
Daily Soccer

ROME - Alessandro Del Piero hopes it will be fourth time lucky when he represents Italy in the 2002 World Cup.

The Juventus striker is participating in his fourth major tournament with the 'Azzurri' but in the first three failed to live up to his billing as the great hope of Italian football.

Since his Juve debut against Foggia in 1993 Del Piero has bagged 85 goals in Serie A and 32 in European tournaments, his 10 in the 1997-8 season setting a Champions League record.

That same season he scored 21 goals in Serie A - his best tally although this year's total of 16 was the second best for Del Piero, still only 27.

His fourth Scudetto - won earlier this month - can be added to nine other trophies, the most notable the 1995-6 Champions League when he featured in Lippi's famous 'tridente' attack alongside Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli.

Surprisingly Juve ditched those strikers immediately after the European conquest but there was no danger of them getting rid of Del Piero.

The November after Juve's Champions League title, Del Piero's goal against River Plate of Argentina crowned them as unofficial world club champions with victory in Tokyo in the Intercontinental Cup.

These victories were landmarks for Juve whose only previous victories in those competitions in 1985 will forever be tarnished by the memories of the Heysel disaster at the European Cup Final that claimed 39 lives, mainly Juve fans.

Del Piero, then just 10 years old, watched the 1-0 victory over Liverpool but admits he was not mature enough to understand the magnitude of the tragedy.

Although a lifelong Juve fan Del Piero started out at the university town of Padua for local favourites Padova. He made 14 Serie B appearances for his first club, the first as a 16-year-old.

Quickly snapped up by Juve he then continued his development at Turin and has remained loyal to that club ever since.

But success continues to elude him with Italy for whom he made his debut in Salerno in 1995 in the 4-1 victory over Estonia.

His first opportunity came in Euro 96 in England under coach Arrigo Sacchi but injury ensured he failed to live up to the great expectations as the Italians were eliminated in the first round.

Two years later Del Piero tasted the World Cup atmosphere for the first time but again failed to sparkle as Italy exited in the last eight on penalties to France.
Del Piero had to cope with cries of 'mette Baggio' (put on Baggio) from Italian supporters as fans urged coach Cesare Maldini to replace Del Piero with Roberto Baggio.

In Euro 2000 Del Piero was eclipsed by AS Roma skipper Francesco Totti who was the inspiration behind the Italy team - now coached by Dino Zoff - that came within a whisker of the title.

Brought on as a second-half substitute Del Piero squandered two chances to kill the game with Italy leading 1-0. France came back to win and Del Piero was the ready-made scapegoat.

Now - this time under coach Giovanni Trapattoni - he again gets his chance but perhaps with Totti now carrying the burden of expectation Del Piero will benefit from the lower profile.

Del Piero survived an intense media campaign for Trapattoni to pick Baggio, many saying that the Juve striker should be the player to make way.

He allowed Totti to claim the number 10 jersey traditionally awarded to the team's star player with Del Piero settling for the number seven.

"In Japan the number seven is lucky," said Del Piero.

"It's also the number with which I began my career with San Vendemiano. My first ever coach Umberto Prestia gave it to me when I played with the kids. The number seven is in my memory, in my past."
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