Manchester United may never have another man who wears the number 11 shirt with such distinction. But there is a man in Italy whose achievements deserve similar adulation…
Ryan Giggs – the 38-year-old sprightly midfielder who still orchestrates games for Manchester United is one special player.
In this day and age to spend more than 20 years with a club at the highest level, with player loyalty often so rare, he will go down in the record books.
Not only has he been loyal but his performances have remained consistent, as one of the outstanding players of his generation.
Is he one of a kind? There are very few like him that’s for sure. One player like him, who deserves to have the spotlight on his incredible achievements is Alessandro Del Piero.
Del Piero is a Juventus legend whose consistency in Serie A is almost unrivalled over the past 20 years.
Last night he scored the second goal in Juventus’ 2-0 win over Inter Milan, confirming his status as Juventus’ evergreen star.
I first remember watching him in the mid-nineties, when Channel 4 still had the rights to Italian football in the UK, seeing him introduced as Juventus’ heir to the legendary Roberto Baggio, who left the club in 1995.
Del Piero of course played alongside Baggio for two years, first joining the Turin club in 1993. While most people assume Del Piero is a one-club man, he is not quite.
He may have been at Juventus for almost two entire decades, but before that he spent his development years at Serie B club Padova, where Demetrio Albertini also launched his career.
At Juventus he was an instant success, scoring a hat-trick on his first start, and like Giggs he is one of modern day football’s most decorated players.
Del Piero has seven league titles- and is gunning for an eighth this year, a Champions League winner, and – this is where he gets one up on Giggs – a World Cup Winner.
He played a showpiece role in 2006, scoring in the semi-final against Germany, and converting in the decisive penalty shoot-out against France. Before that the success of his international career had been questioned, with – rightly or wrongly – him suffering much of the blame for missed chances in Italy’s Euro 2000 final against France. He is currently Italy’s fourth all-time leading scorer.
His exploits in the mid-to-late-90s with Juventus were among his most successful, teaming up with Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli in 1996 to win the Champions League. He also had the privilege of playing alongside the greatest midfielder of his generation, Zinedine Zidane.
It was during this era that Del Piero came face to face many times with Ryan Giggs, as Manchester United and Juventus clashed on several occasions, often with Juventus coming out on top.
One game in 1997 stands out, which United won 3-2 at Old Trafford with Giggs and Del Piero both scoring- displaying their burgeoning talents in an entertaining back and forth game. It is a testament to both players that they are still cutting it at the top level, and superb for fans to see. Only last year he was given a standing ovation at Old Trafford after being reunited with his old foes after being invited to play in Gary Neville’s testimonial.
The greatest influence on Del Piero’s career is without a doubt Marcello Lippi, the manager who coached Del Piero to the Champions League in 1996 and the World Cup 10 years later.
After the 2006 World Cup, he proved his loyalty in Turin by choosing to stay with Juventus despite their enforced relegation to Serie B after the match-fixing scandal. Now 37, one year younger than Giggs, he is reaching a turning point in his long career.
He had said in 2008 that he intended to stay with Juventus until he was 40, but this ideal appears to be coming to an end, with player and club announcing their intentions to part ways at the end of the season back at the end of last year.
Having played 45 games last season, this year he has performed in under 20, so he is choosing to prolong his career elsewhere, after more than 500 appearances and more than 200 goals. Less appearances than Giggs (600 plus), but more goals – the United veteran has 163.
There will be no shortage of suitors for the free agent this summer with Arsenal linked, but Manchester United could certainly do worse than add the modern day legend to their attack too.
How does Del Piero rate against other players of his generation? Where should he play next season?
image: © _bianconero
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