Alex wants to be Euro star

May 23, 2000
Juventus Official Site

Alessandro Del Piero hopes to make amends for a disappointing season at this summer's European Championship. The Juventus ace spoke of his desire to make an impression at Euro 2000 as he faced the press on the first day of Italy's training camp at Coverciano on Monday. Del Piero failed to ignite the season after returning from a serious knee injury. But despite showing only glimpses of his true form, he remains a key player in Dino Zoff's squad. Now he wants to light the Azzurri touch-paper and fire Italy to success in Holland and Belgium.

"I have not had a great season and it upset me to lose out on the title on the last day," the 25-year-old revealed. "But I have great belief in myself. The games cannot come quickly enough now. For me and the other lads in the squad the wait is not much fun, with the press watching our every move."

Del Piero is still to imprint himself on a major tournament. He played at both Euro 96 in England and the 1998 World Cup in France, without contributing as he would have wished.

"Personally I am looking for a better tournament than at the last Europeans, but I can only do my talking on the pitch," admitted the forward. "I remember the build-up to France 98 when everyone was saying that I was going to be the man... well I wasn't. I learnt a lot from that experience."

He may still be only 25, but it is an older and wiser Del Piero that we will be seeing this summer. The will'-o-the-wisp who burst onto the scene in 1994/95 is now a seasoned pro.

"I have learnt to accept the bad times and to ignore the critics," confessed the Bianconero. "There's no point looking back in anger, and it's probably best to be here with the national squad as we can get the disappointments of last season out of our system. What matters is how you react to difficult situations."

If Del Piero succeeds in exorcising the demons of 1999/2000, it could be to the detriment of the rest of the competition - but just what Euro 2000 and Italy need. A new hero to follow in the footsteps of Paolo Rossi and Roberto Baggio.

Certainly Del Piero will not want for company in Dino Zoff's squad, which will be announced on 1 June. Antonio Conte, Ciro Ferrara, Filippo Inzaghi, Mark Iuliano, Gianluca Pessotto and Gianluca Zambrotta all have their fingers crossed, hoping to make the final 22.

Elsewhere, Enzo Maresca is part of Claudio Gentile's Italy Under-20 squad for the Toulon Tournament, which takes place between 25 May and 4 June. Edgar Davids, Edwin Van der Sar, Darko Kovacevic and Zinedine Zidane should also be included in their respective national squads.

Finally, Paolo Montero and Fabian O'Neill, the club's new signing from Cagliari, will be involved in Uruguay's World Cup qualifier with Chile on 3 June.
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