Blog: Del Piero, 250 not out
Alessandro Del Piero scored his 250th goal in a Juventus shirt, so Susy Campanale salutes a true living legend
It probably says something about my age and the amount of time I?ve been watching Serie A that I remember seeing Alex Del Piero?s first goal. Oddly enough, that too was in a 4-0 victory over the similarly-named Reggiana (they were from Emilia Romagna and very different to Calabria?s Reggina, who were thrashed by that same scoreline for his 250th strike).
I recall thinking, ?This kid?s pretty good,? as the short, skinny 19-year-old burst into the same team as Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli. 15 years and two months later, he?s still there with the same black and white shirt.
I jumped out of my seat and positively squealed when he scored possibly the greatest goal I have ever seen, that famous volley with the outside of his foot to complete Juve?s comeback from 2-0 down to beat Fiorentina 3-2. I smiled every time he curled that ball into the far top corner in a goal ?alla Del Piero? that looked for all the world as if it were remote controlled. I stayed up at some ungodly hour to watch as he won the Intercontinental Cup in Japan with the only goal of the game against River Plate.
I watched in horror as he went in for a pointless stoppage-time challenge and struck his left knee against an Udinese player?s hip, snapping the anterior and posterior ligaments. ?Imagine the knee is your trousers, held up by a belt and braces. Well, I broke both of them,? he explained during that nine-month lay-off and agonisingly long road to rediscovering his form.
I stood in a bar in Italy defending this immense talent as patrons bayed for blood after another particularly shocking miss in Euro 2000. I was moved as he found his career path in the worst possible moment of his life, scoring a sensational goal against Bari just days after his father?s death. I saw him captain Juventus on their Serie B debut in sunny Rimini and earn a standing ovation from the Bernabeu.
And now here I am, proud to say I was watching when Del Piero shook the snow from his hair before confidently burying a penalty in a 4-0 victory over Reggina. You could not find a better example of a great player, a good man and an honourable representative of club colours. Congratulations, Alessandro. Here?s to the next 250.
(Channel4)
