Alessandro Del Piero

Alessandro Del Piero (born 9 November 1974 in Conegliano) is an Italian former football player. He has played for Juventus from 1993 to 2012, Sydney FC from 2012 to 2014 and Delhi Dynamos in 2014 as a striker. He was the captain of the Juventus team since 2001. He stopped playing for the national team in 2006.

Alessandro Del Piero

Del Piero with Sydney FC in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Alessandro Del Piero
Date of birth	(1974-11-09) 9 November 1974
Place of birth	Conegliano, Italy
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1982–1988	San Vendemiano
1988–1993	Padova
1993–1994	Juventus
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1993	Padova	14	(1)
1993–2012	Juventus	513	(500)
2012–2014	Sydney FC	48	(24)
2014	Delhi Dynamos	10	(1)
Total		585	(234)
National team
1991	Italy U17	3	(1)
1992–1993	Italy U18	14	(12)
1993–1996	Italy U21	12	(3)
1995–2008	Italy	91	(27)
Honours Italy FIFA World Cup Winner Germany 2006 UEFA European Championship Runner-up Belgium-Netherlands 2000
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:48, 9 December 2014 (UTC)

Del Piero is considered among the best talents that Italian football has ever witnessed. In 2004, he was included in the FIFA 100, a list of 125 greatest living players. In 1999, he was listed 77th in the list of the best players of the 20th century published by World Soccer magazine. He is one of five Italian players to score over 300 goals (312 as pf 6 November 2010) along with Filippo Inzaghi (315), Roberto Baggio (318), Giuseppe Meazza (338) and Silvio Piola (364).

Childhood and early career

Del Piero is the son of Gino, an electrician, and Bruna, a housekeeper. He regularly played football in the backyard with two friends, Nelso and Pierpaolo as a child. All three dreamed of becoming footballers, but only Del Piero would eventually manage to do so. Alessandro's older brother, Stefano, briefly played professional football for Sampdoria before injury struck him. The family lived in the hamlet of Saccon near San Vendemiano. While growing up, Del Piero's family did not have much money for travelling abroad, so he was considering being a truck driver in order to see the world.

Del Piero played for the local youth team of San Vendemiano since the age of 7. He used to play as a goalkeeper because he could play a lot more football that way. His mother thought it would be better for him if he played as a goalkeeper, since he would not have to run and the possibility of him getting injured was less likely. His brother told their mother that Alex was better at attacking and Del Piero switched position.

It was while playing with his local side of San Vendemiano in 1988 that Del Piero was first spotted by scouts. He left home at the age of 13 to play in the youth side of Padova Calcio.

Club career statistics

Club statistics			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1991/92	Padova	Serie B	4	0	0	0	-		4	0
1992/93			10	1	0	0	-		10	1
1993/94	Juventus	Serie A	11	5	1	0	2	0	14	5
1994/95			29	8	10	1	11	1	50	10
1995/96			29	6	2	1	11	6	42	13
1996/97			22	8	4	0	6	4	32	12
1997/98			32	21	4	1	10	10	46	32
1998/99			8	2	1	0	4	0	13	2
1999/00			34	9	2	1	9	2	45	12
2000/01			25	9	2	0	6	0	33	9
2001/02			32	16	4	1	10	4	46	21
2002/03			24	16	0	0	13	5	37	21
2003/04			22	8	4	3	4	3	30	14
2004/05			30	14	1	0	10	3	41	17
2005/06			33	12	4	5	7	3	44	20
2006/07		Serie B	35	20	2	3	-		37	23
2007/08		Serie A	37	21	4	3	-		41	24
2008/09			31	13	3	2	9	6	43	21
2009/10
Country	Italy		448	189	48	21	112	47	608	257
Total			448	189	48	21	112	47	608	257

International career statistics

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1995	7	0
1996	4	2
1997	6	4
1998	8	3
1999	2	0
2000	13	4
2001	6	3
2002	11	5
2003	4	2
2004	6	1
2005	4	0
2006	9	2
2007	5	0
2008	6	0
Total	91	26

References

• National Football Teams
• Statistics from RSSSF