Alessandro Del Piero Biography

Alessandro Del Piero, born in Conegliano, province of Treviso, Italy on 9 November 1974, is an Italian former footballer who was playing between 1990 and 2012. He used to play in the forward position. He began his sporting career in the youth team of Calcio Padova, a club he joined in 1988 and with which he made his professional debut three years later.

After two seasons with the Padova team, he was transferred to Juventus F.C. in 1993, where he remained until 2012. With the Turin club, he won twelve titles at the national level (six Serie A, one

, one

, four

) and four at international level (one

, one

, one Intercontinental Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup).

He holds the record of being the player with the most matches played and the most goals scored in the Juventus shirt, and he ranks ninth in the

scoring chart with 188 goals and twelfth in the UEFA Champions League with 44 goals. In September 2012 he was signed by Sydney Football Club for two seasons. His last team was Delhi Dynamos, with whom he retired in 2014.

He played with the Italian national football team in four European Championships and three World Cups, his best achievement being the title obtained in the 2006

after beating the French team 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out in the final.

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All You Need to Know About Alessandro Del Piero Biography

Del Piero scored 27 goals in 91 matches, placing him fifth in the Italian team's scoring chart. In the 1996-1997 Champions League, he was awarded best youth player and in 2000 he was acknowledged as the highest-paid footballer in the world.

In 2004 he was included in the list of FIFA 100 Footballers drawn up by former footballer Pelé at the request of FIFA. He has also won several individual titles such as the Golden Shoe Award, the Bravo Trophy and the Pallone d'Argento, among others.

He was nicknamed Pinturicchio by Gianni Agnelli, and from a young age, he was noted as one of the greatest talents of his generation and is considered among the best players in the history of Italian football.

Alessandro Del Piero Information

In this section of Alessandro Del Piero biography, it is time to share some general information about him such as

Alessandro Del Piero nationality

, so stay tuned.

Alessandro Del Piero Bio

• Full Name: Alessandro Del Piero

• Nickname: Pinturicchio

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Alessandro Del Piero Physical Stats

• Weight: 74 Kg

• Height: 1.74 m

• Eye Color: Light Brown

• Hair Color: Dark brown

Alessandro Del Piero Football Information

• Position: Striker

• Jersey Number: 10

• Professional Debut: 1991

Alessandro Del Piero Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 9 November 1974

• Birth Place: Conegliano, Italy

• Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

• Nationality: Italian

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Alessandro Del Piero childhood

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Alessandro Del Piero Early Life

Alessandro is the second child in his family. He was born on 9 November 1974, nine years after his older brother Stefano. The footballer's mother, Bruna, is a housewife; his father, Gino, worked as an electrician for a long time, who passed away in 2001. Del Piero also lived with his brother Stefano, who has been his agent since 2007, and two sisters with Romanian citizenship.

Inspired by the famous players of the 1980s, Marco van Basten and Michel Platini, Alessandro used to play football in his parents' backyard with his friends Nelso, Pierpaolo and Giovanni Paolo. They all dreamed of becoming professional footballers. Stefano Del Piero managed to fulfil his dream as well: he played for Sampdoria until he ended his career due to a serious injury.

Del Piero's family lived in a simple farmhouse in San Vendemiano. Alongside football, travelling remained another of young Alessandro's passions. Considering his chances for a successful sports career close to zero, he thought of the being a trucker, which somehow could make up for the desire to travel because of the lack of money in the family.

However, Del Piero Junior was in no hurry to give up football. His first team was the local San Vendemiano, with which both Alessandro and his parents still have many memories. It was his mother who introduced the seven-year-old Alessandro to his first coach, Umberto Presto. At the time, he was playing in the goalkeeper position, which was also due to his mother's choice, who felt that it would be more likely for her son to protect himself from possible injury. Stefano once told his mother, "Can't you see Alex's skills in the attack?" After that, Alex began to play in attack.

Alessandro Del Piero Profile

Del Piero began his career in an amateur club in his hometown. In 1990, he moved to

, where they were not initially very impressed with him. Del Piero made his Serie B debut for Padova in the 1991/92 season at the age of 16. From then on he bounced between the professional team and the youth team Allievi nazionali.

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Juventus

As an 18-year-old, he moved to Juventus Turin in the summer of 1993. There he trained with the professional team and was used frequently by coach Giovanni Trapattoni. At that time, there were three top strikers in the Juventus squad, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Baggio.

He made his Serie A debut on 12 September 1993 in a 1-1 draw away at Foggia Calcio as a substitute for Ravanelli in the 74th minute. A week later he scored his first goal in a 4-0 win over AC Reggiana. In the 1993/94 season, he also played for the Primavera youth team and won the Italian championship with them.

In the summer of 1994, Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo took over the management and Marcello Lippi became head coach. There was an intention to send Del Piero to AC Parma for a year to gain match experience, but that was dropped. In the 1994/95 season, he finally became a regular player and won his first Seria A title with

, also the first for the club in nine years.

When the fixed numbering of players was introduced for the 1995/96 season, Del Piero was given the number 10, which had been worn by Omar Sívori or Michel Platini before him. With six goals in eleven Champions League matches, he contributed to his team's triumph in the Champions League that season. Later, he also scored his team's goal in the final against

to win the Intercontinental Cup. Del Piero was named best player of the Intercontinental Cup final.

In the 1997/98 season, he won the Scudetto again with Juventus and played probably the most successful season of his career. He scored 21 goals in 32 league games and also 10 goals in 10 Champions League matches, in which they only lost to Real Madrid in the final.

On 8 November 1998, he suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee in a match against Udinese Calcio and was out of action for nine months. Since this serious injury, Del Piero has often been accused of having lost strength. It was not until the 2002/03 season that he was able to return to his pre-injury performances.

The 1998/99 season was disappointing for Del Piero and Juventus, with the team finishing sixth in the table, mainly due to his and Filippo Inzaghi's injuries, and Lippi resigned during the season and was succeeded by Carlo Ancelotti. The following two seasons (1999/00 and 2000/01) were mixed, with Juve narrowly missing out on the league title and being eliminated early from the Champions League; in the 2000/01 season, Juventus Turin was eliminated from the group stage of the Champions League against

.

However, it was not until Lippi returned as manager for the 2001/02 season that Del Piero and the team found their way back to success. He scored 16 goals in both the 2001/02 and 2002/03 seasons to win the league. In 2003, the team again reached the Champions League final, losing on penalties to AC Milan.

In the summer of 2004, Fabio Capello took over as Juventus coach and led the team to two Serie A wins (2004/05 and 2005/06). However, these were revoked after the verdict on the Italian football scandal in 2005/06. Del Piero no longer had a starting place under Capello, who relied on the other two star strikers David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Del Piero scored 14 and twelve goals respectively as a substitute in the two seasons.

Del Piero played the 2006/07 season with Juve in Serie B. After the forced relegation due to the scandal, he was the first player to openly declare his loyalty to his club and promised the fans that he would remain loyal to Juve no matter which league they played in the next season. "A cavalier does not leave his lady" ("Un cavaliere non lascia mai la sua signora") were his words. Team coach Didier Deschamps, resigned shortly before the end of the season after a dispute with the board. Del Piero captained the team again and led them to win Serie B and direct promotion. With 20 goals in 35 games, he also became the top scorer in the second-highest Italian division.

Del Piero had a fairly average start to the 2007/08 season, with the newly signed Vincenzo Iaquinta, in particular, challenging him for his regular place. On 16 October 2007, after protracted negotiations, Del Piero extended his contract, which had expired in 2008, until 30 June 2010, after which he was a regular until the end of the season. With his 21 goals for the season, he helped Juve to third place in Serie A and secured the title of top scorer ahead of his strike partner Trezeguet.

In May 2011, Del Piero extended his contract with Juventus Turin for another year until June 2012. In the 2011/12 season, he played 23 more games, 19 of them as a substitute, and won the Italian championship again with his club. He played his 698th and last competitive match for Juve in the Coppa Italia final against

on 20 May 2012.

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Sydney FC

On 5 September 2012, he signed a two-year contract with

. This signing was not only to strengthen the team but also to make the

more attractive and popular. In his first season for Sydney, the team was defeated 3-1 by Queensland Roar on the last matchday of the season and missed out on a place in the Elimination Finals. As a result, they finished below expectations in the lower table, although Del Piero actually finished fourth in the goalscoring charts with 14 goals.

In the 2013/14 season, Del Piero was the new captain of the team. At the end of the season on 28 April 2014, he announced the end of his spell as a footballer in Australia.

Delhi Dynamos FC

On 20 August 2014, Indian club Delhi Dynamos FC signed Del Piero, for whom he was a world-renowned player. Every team in the

is required to have such a player in their squad. He played his first Indian Super League match of 2014 on Matchday 1, 14 October, against FC Pune City, when he was substituted for Morten Skoubo in the 38th minute. This was when he came up against David Trezeguet, his long-time teammate at Juventus Turin.

Del Piero went on to play in nine of the 13 other matches, scoring one goal. The Delhi Dynamos finished the season in fifth place, failing to qualify for the play-offs. Del Piero's involvement with Delhi ended after the season. He retired from playing in October 2015.

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Italy National Team

After scoring 13 goals in 17 U-17 and U-18 internationals, Alessandro Del Piero made his debut for the U-21 national team under Cesare Maldini on 20 January 1993. He made his senior debut two years later, on 25 March 1995, in a 4-1 win over Estonia. He scored his first international goal on 15 November 1995 against Latvia.

Del Piero played in various World Cups and European Championships from the 1996 European Championship onwards.

At the 2000 European Football Championship, he reached the final with

, which they only lost to France in extra time with a golden goal.

At the 2002 World Cup, the 2004 European Championship and the 2006 World Cup, he did not have a regular place and was often only a substitute, which did not prevent him from scoring important goals. For example, the equaliser against Mexico in the 2002 World Cup, which enabled the Squadra Azzurra to progress and which he immediately dedicated to his father, who had died shortly before, or his decisive goal in the semi-final of the 2006 World Cup against Germany.

For the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Del Piero was faced with the same problem as in 2002. Although Francesco Totti had broken his fibula and tibia in a match against FC Empoli three and a half months before the start of the World Cup, Del Piero was again only in the second row. Marcello Lippi preferred to rely on the unfit Totti for the first few games. In addition, Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino were two other top strikers in the Azzurri ranks who were difficult to get past. Nevertheless, Lippi knew from many years together at Juventus Turin of Del Piero's strengths that he would be ready whenever he needed him. 

For the round of 16 against Australia, Del Piero was allowed to start, as Totti's performances had been inconsistent, but he failed to convince and was once again benched. He did not play in the quarter-final against Ukraine, but in the semi-final against Germany, he was substituted in the 104th minute and scored in the 120th minute to send Italy into the final against France, where he was substituted in the 86th minute and scored the decisive goal in the penalty shoot-out to give Italy a 5-3 victory.

Following the World Cup, he returned to the national team after a short break. In the European Championship qualifier game against Georgia, however, he was sent to the stands by the new coach Roberto Donadoni, officially for "tactical reasons". His teammates in the national team sided with Del Piero, who declared that he wanted to continue to assert himself there. Donadoni, however, nominated him only rarely.

After Del Piero's strong performances in the second half of the 2007/08 season and his goal-scoring success, Donadoni finally called him into the squad for the 2008 European Championship in

and

. The striker played in three of the four matches at the tournament and was narrowly beaten in the quarter-finals by Spain. Del Piero played his last international match on 10 September 2008 in a 2-0 win over Georgia.

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Style of Play

Being a versatile and creative striker, he is mostly used to being positioned as a second striker, behind a centre forward (a role he can also assume), and can also play in an attacking midfield.

Endowed with a great sense of goal, he is known for his composure during penalties that he very rarely misses and for his qualities as a free-kick shooter, of which he is one of the greatest specialists of his generation together with David Beckham as well as Juninho.

He is also endowed with a good vision of the game. Being an excellent passer, he is also known for his technical qualities and dribbling skills which have made the difference on many occasions.

Reception

Alessandro Del Piero is widely regarded by many pundits and football fans around the world to be amongst the best strikers of his generation and one of the best Italian footballers ever.

Goal Celebration

Del Piero often celebrated his goals by rushing to the sideline next to the fans with his arms out-stretched and sticking out his tongue, similarly to Michael Jordan, also often jumping into the air with a lifted fist towards the sky, or falling on his knees while shouting to the audience passionately.

In a 2008 UEFA Champions League game against Zenit, Del Piero also conducted a back-flip goal celebration, and after scoring on several occasions, he also looked to the sky to devote a goal to his deceased father, as in when he scored versus

in the 2000-01 season, and

at the 2002 World Cup.

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Alessandro Del Piero outside Football

After retiring from professional football, he has been a Sky Sports pundit. Previously, in 2014, he was appointed global ambassador of the 2015 Asian Cup. He also participates in former footballers' tournaments, such as the Star Sixes, and has been the owner of a Los Angeles amateur club, the LA 10, since summer 2018.

Outside of football, in 2013 he founded, along with actor Patrick Dempsey, the Dempsey/Del Piero Racing car team, which debuted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series championship that same year.

In 2006, he was a torchbearer carrying the Olympic flame at the 20th Winter Olympic Games. A friend of musicians Noel and Liam Gallagher, in 2007 he appeared in a cameo in the video clip for Oasis' Lord Don't Slow Me Down; in the same year, he appeared with other fellow footballers in the film The Coach in the Ball 2. In 2014 he appeared in an episode of the Australian series Bondi Rescue. Stay tuned to read more about Alessandro Del Piero biography and his

Alessandro Del Piero religion

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Alessandro Del Piero Personal Life

In this section of

Alessandro Del Piero biography

, we want to take a deeper look into his personal life and share some info about his family, stay tuned.

Family, Children and Relationships

Alessandro Del Piero was born in Conegliano in the Italian region of Veneto and grew up in San Vendemiano not far from his birthplace. His father Gino worked as an electrician for the state-owned electricity supplier Enel.

On 12 June 2005, Del Piero married Sonia Amoruso, the sister of his former Juventus partner Nicola Amoruso, whom the footballer had been dating since 1999. On 22 October 2007, Sonia gave birth to son Tobias at St. Anna's Hospital in Turin, daughter Dorothea on 4 May 2009 and second son Sasha on 28 December 2010.

Sandro and Sonia had been living in a civil partnership for quite some time even before the wedding. The wedding itself was attended solely by close relatives; the media were not allowed to attend the wedding celebration. Soon after the wedding, Del Piero announced to his teammates that he was getting married and, not forgetting his teammates, also celebrated the occasion with his teammates.

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Philanthropy

On 29 May 1998, he donated his number 10 shirt for auction, which was sold for 5.2 million lire which went to the "Children in Emergency Foundation" founded by Mino Damato for the construction of a school and a home for abandoned children and those with AIDS.

He has used his fame and money to promote and support cancer research. As a symbol of recognition, he received the "Believe in Research" award from the Italian Association for Cancer Research in November 2006. In May 2008, he played a golf tournament organised by Gianluca Vialli to raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research.

In November 2008, together with Gennaro Gattuso and Javier Zanetti, he was an ambassador for the initiative "A goal for research", promoted by the Italian Association for Cancer Research in collaboration with Lega Calcio and Telecom Italia Mobile, where all the matches played in Serie A and Serie B on 7 and 8 August was dedicated to supporting research into this disease.

On April 1, 2011, the project 'Ale10friendsforJapan' was launched, which consisted of creating a website to sell shirts to help people affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The initiative ended on 13 September 2011 with a collection of USD 303,880.

Legal Issues

We have not so far heard anything about Alessandro Del Piero legal issues on media.

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Alessandro Del Piero Career Statistics

In this section of

Alessandro Del Piero biography

, it is time to take a look at his career stats, both on the club and international level. Stay tuned to read more about Alessandro Del Piero biography and his career stats.

Club

During his playing days for 4 different clubs between 1991 and 2014, Alessandro Del Piero has played a total of 777 matches in all competitions and also scored 316 goals for them. Of all these, 705 matches and 290 goals were with Juventus.

International

Del Piero has played a total of 91 matches for Italy, scoring 27 goals in a 13 years career between 1995 and 2008. His best year with Italy was 2002 where he managed to score 5 goals in 11 matches.

Alessandro Del Piero Honors

He has won many titles during his career at club and international level, like Serie A, Coppa Italia, UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup.

Del Piero has also won many individual awards including Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year, Golden Foot Award and Juventus Greatest XI of All Time.

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