Del Piero remembers

December 11, 1999
Juventus Official Site

Marcello Lippi and Alessandro Del Piero nearly missed each other. Which would have meant that a great alliance, that brought so many successes for Juve may never have happened. It is Alex himself who lets us in on this fact. “The year Lippi arrived I was supposed to be heading for Parma. But I had no wish to go there and the club, then Lippi himself, backed my decision.” There then followed many successes, difficult years and many goodbyes. There are even those who claim that Lippi’s move to Inter, was merely as an enticement for Alex to move to the Milanese club. But Del Piero denies the rumour. “I never thought I’d end up in the blue and black of Inter, though it’s nice to know that Moratti thinks highly of me. But that’s it.”

Now for Del Piero the moment has come to confront - as an adversary- Lippi with whom he had so many successes, some disappointments (the two Champions League finals lost) and to whom he is tied by mutual respect, friendship and memories. “Apart from seeing Lippi again, there will a number of ex-team-mates with whom - a couple of years back- we shared so many victories and alongside whom we battled for the Scudetto. This should be enough to make it clear what this match represents for us. We’ll have to wait till the kick-off to see who  wants the victory most.”

Del Piero also has a thought for Ronaldo. Del Piero knows all too well what it means to sit on the sidelines. “I know it must be tough for him, especially during these important matches, when all one can do is sit and watch. I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Del Piero meanwhile is still on the hunt for his first goal from open play since his operation. The last was against Inter at the Delle Alpi last October 25th, in a match that Juve won 1-0. But Alex is concentrated on this Sunday’s match. “It won’t be a tight, tactical encounter. It will be an open game. It’s impossible to think of simply going out to contain them, because apart from the three points, the result Sunday will give an important psychological signal for the rest of our season. The table doesn’t count for much at this stage, because it will be very balanced till the end.”
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