His perception may have changed recently, but Alessandro del Piero’s magic does not just lie in the number of goals that he has accumulated or the frequency with which he has scored them. It lies in the manner in which he made them, for he certainly seemed to have turned goal scoring into a different kind of an art altogether, writes ANIKET MISHRA
Alessandro del Piero! This name causes a strange shiver of expectation and delight for anyone associated with football, especially in Italy and more precisely in the business town of Turin. My fellow journalist here, who hails from the aforementioned, exclaims he always feels it himself — a cold sensation running down the spine- and the ring of spectators swayed with it as corn waves in a sudden breeze on a summer day. One could watch the tremor encircle the whole field of play; it was like an electric shock. And when the figure of the hero emerges from the dugout, the public, no matter where it is, roared in welcome.
Of course he is blest with supreme natural gifts, and an alert and receptive mind, physique that is still strong, supple and perfectly coordinated and, as a result, a lightning quickness in conception and execution that no one has ever quite equaled. His extraordinary quickness of eye and mind allow him to do things utterly impractical for others. He can play against the best of defences in Serie A and the A league and never have to hurry his touch; his passing has been marvellous and even the not so frequent runs from back of the field have been a joy to watch over the years.
looking back, del Piero, has definitely been one of Italy’s most potent gift to football. His magic does not just lie in the number of goals that he has accumulated or the frequency with which he has scored them. It lies in the manner in which he made them, for he certainly seemed, rather like another great from the same era — Totti, to make goal scoring into a different art.
Contemporaries describe the perfection of his play — Diego Maradona once said, “Here he is, he is different, he likes to play, he feels it in his soul; between he and Zidane, I stay with him”. Marcelo lippi described how “del Piero is a champion with extraordinary technical ability and wonderful characteristics. When he is selected he never disappoints. He is an example to us all. He has great skills and intuitions that few other players have; He is a captain in the real sense of the word”. Alone, of all his peers, he seemed at ease pulling his team trough the lower division when being plummeted in to that in 2006-07.
It’s perplexing then how since his last appearance here in the inaugural Indian Super league though, his perception and the way people and the media alike have been talking about him has changed out of all recognition. In what was the 14th fixture for the Dynamos and 10th for the Italian maestro, he finally scored, a curling free kick from outside the area, almost reminiscent of his strikes from what was fondly referred to as the ‘del Piero’ zone during Juventus’ Champions league winning campaign in 1995-96. There was much joy, hype, applause and attention seeking, neither of which was unexpected. As Kipling had mentioned, we treat those two imposters- triumph and disaster, the same- with melodrama! And so people went berserk here in the capital- and they could not have been too different from the ones who were dismayed and questioned his presence on the pitch.
Makes me wonder that perhaps we should be willing to look upon him as a character actor, as a legend who is helping football develop in a country where the professional set-up is still nascent to say the least. We might not be able to look back with much joy at his performances here but in all honesty, in all the years that we have seen him play, he has given us enough joy for us to pardon him for this.
For him to stay relaxed and encourage the masses around every time he steps on to the field, it’s exemplary.
In a career studded with achievements, here are some of his biggest successes:
With 345 goals, he featured second in the list of all-time top scorers in Italian football, only behind only Silvio Piola whose record stands at a staggering figure of 390
He won the Italian Footballer of the Year Award twice, first in 1998 and then a decade later in 2008
In March 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pele as part of centenary celebrations of the game’s governing body
At the turn of the millennium, he was the world’s highest-paid football player cumulative of salary, bonuses, and advertising revenue
Del Piero’s top national team honours include winning the World Cup in 2006 and reaching the EURO final in 2000
Having netted 27 goals in 91 matches played, he is joint 4th along with Roberto Baggio, in the Italian national team top-scorer ranking, behind Silvio Piola(30), Giuseppe Meazza(33), and luigi Riva(35)
He played for Serie A outfit Juventus for 19 seasons (11 as captain), and holds the club records for most goals (290) and appearances (705)
He twice netted the maximum goals in a Champions league campaign, 6 in 1995-96 and 10 in 1997-98
He is the only player to have topped the scoring charts in Serie B and Serie A in consecutive seasons- Serie B in 2006-07 (20 goals) and Serie A in 2007-08 (21 goals)
He won a record 8 Serie A titles, in the following seasons: 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2005-06 & 2011-12 and also finished Runners-up 5 times, in 1993-94, 1995-96, 1999-00, 1996-97, 2000-01 and 2008-09