What i have noticed since i joined this forum is that there are a lot of Del Piero haters. Its quite funny how in italy he is favorite player but here nobody really likes him. Why is this guys. Everyone says he played bad against bayern, but i saw him making good passes and pretty decent shots for a guy who just came back from injury.
YEs but for totti there is reason. He disgraces our nation by spitting on him.the most disgusting act in soccer. I am now officially a totti hater after that and his attitude is just horrendus. BTW people in Italy hate him to. They all love Gilardino and Del Piero
With respect to Del Piero, I think the problem is that he was anointed as a star at a very young age, took the place of the incredibly popular Roberto Baggio, and has simply never come through on the biggest stages - World Cups and European Championships. He's had a wonderful career at Juventus, which I certainly appreciate (only twice in his career with Juve have they finished lower than 2nd in the league, once when he was injured and missed most of the season, and last year). But the tremendous hype which has surrounded him since he was very young, combined with his failure to lift the Azzurri to any significant success, has hurt his image among many fans of the Italian game.
Well put, Sue. When Juve win the Scudetto this year, how many will that be for Del Piero? While he hasn't done that hot for Italia, he has won just about everything for Juve.
Del Piero is going to win his 7th this year and I do believe he was brought to stardom at a younge age, but just imagine if he never got hurt. At one point before he got hurt not even 2 men could mark. There was even a point 2 years ago in his big year(champ final) that not even 2 men could mark him. I do believe he has not shown up for big games, but i do understand when he plays amazing no one gives him credit. Like against mexico he saved us from humiliation, and if you remember in the 6 games of qualifying for euro 2004 he scored 5 times. Against Sweden he was playing amazing and the whole fate of that game depended totally on him and trap takes him off. Yea Milan and France were disasters but dont tell me he has not shown up. I truly believe that if he wins champs league and scudetto he will go down as one of the best Italian players we ever saw. And if he makes it to world cup 2006 i think he will win because lippi knows how to play him right.
That statement" To whom much is given, much is expected" seems appropriate here. Totti, ADP, and others will always have lofty expectations placed on them because of the sheer brilliance with which they can play. ADP and Juve have lots of expectations, its natural for a team and a player of such a magnitude. If the criticism is fair or unfari, thats a different story for a different thread. I love ADP. With pavel Nedved he is my favorite player and I have always loved seeing any game he has been a part of. But the fact is he is expected to produce wonders and if he falls short, people get upset.
I used to like Del Piero, now i hate him... I think it was just that he kicked out my favorite player Baggio off of Juve and then performed bad at every single tournament that he participated in(except a decent showing at WC 2002)...But, I think that if Del Piero had not have gotten that big injury against Udinese a few years ago, he would've become one of the elite players of the world (He was a big player but never elite). It was the injury that slowed him down and injuries that are slowing him down today...
Hate is such an emotional word for describing one of our own. Alex has not lived up to extremely high international expectations (i.e. the next Baggio), but at home he is one of the best liked players in Serie A. He is not ill-mannered. He is not ill-tempered. He is not a selfish individual. He has never embarassed himself or his country with ill-advised behavior. The only transgression he is guilty of, is not fulfilling our fan-imposed prophecy of leading the Azzurri to the championship of an international tournament. When you consider some of the knuckle heads that we're suiting up right now, I'd take the class and character of Del Piero every time.
His problem is just that he hasn't been as good as his reputation for the last 4 years. Whatever I may think of Totti, Francesco has shown what he can do domestically. He has the talent, he has the ability, if he can just stop being such a headcase, he'd be great. But del Piero hasn't show those flashes even domestically. Oh, he's not a bad player, of course. He's just not the del Piero he was supposed to be. He's in his own shadow.
LOL You meant many juve fans love del piero. You have to understand that though being the most supported team, juventus is basically "hated" by all the other fans. Thus the majority of italian fans dislike Juve and often tend to support any other team playing vs them (talking about serie a not about international competitions). Del piero receives the same treatment in italy that you have seen here. Even worst. With ppl widely guessing why is he still part of the NT. Why? Nicephoras explained it pretty well.
Yes nicephoras put it in to good words but what has Totti done for Italy. Yeah sure Delp has screwed up some games but when has Totti ever shown up big. He basically proved to me against Norway that when a team bases the whole formation around one player it wont suceed. So totti doesnt do anything starts acting lik a baby and spits and kicks a guy in the knee. Del Piero has had his big games people are just to fascinated with Totti to realize that Del PIero is better
Sardus Pater explained it best... Everyone that is not a Juve fan HATES Juve and all of it's players and everytime they play another team in the Serie A, that other team immediately becomes your favorite team...(last week Messina was my favorite team)...And like i said, we hate their players....I can't stand Nedved's stupid hairdo and always yell at the TV Screen "Get a Haircut"....I think Trezeguet is GAY...And most of all, i respect what he's done for Juve and contributions he made for Italian soccer, But I STRONGLY DISLIKE the SYMBOL of Juve...Alessandro Del Piero...But all this doesn't Apply in European Competition because i want all Italian teams to do good in Europe.
It was the injury that killed his abilities. If you re-watch all the goals and assists he made prior to his career devastating injury, he was a hell of a player. Today against Siena what impressed me alot was not the goals but the great long assists he made for the Juve players going forward. The guy is probably one of the most inconsistent players in the world, but his skill is undeniable.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas. Its undeniable that the injury hurt his career immeasurably. Its equally undeniable that he hasn't been the same player since, despite his hype remaining at largely pre-injury levels. He hasn't done enough to justify his hitherto automatic status for the Italian national team. Er - no. Totti has not played well for Italy for 4 years, this is true. However, Totti has played very well domestically. It is impossible to dispute that his SerieA form has been better than del Piero's, on a team that's not as talented as Juve. And I ********ing hate Roma, too.
Do you think that Totti's classical Roman face, his long hair, and his celebrity girlfriend might have something to do with football fans' fixation with him? Often debates about the status of individual players in the beautiful game degenerate into popularity contests.
Very true, I guesse since hes such an icon that people really dont take time to realize the player that he really is. But for me in my personal opinion I think the only good attribute to him is his pass. Hes a very lazy player who never runs to get the ball like Zidane does, his shot is good but never really accurate because he shoots it with to much power. Totti is a good player but I do not think he is Italy material. I think Cassanno would be Italy material if he would just make his attitude better. This guy is supposed to be the next roby baggio and he is doing nothing to prove it. This is why i think so highly of Del PIero because no matter what people say when BAggio left Juve i truly think Del Piero filled in his boots nicely. He is the only Juve player who has played only for the Old Lady and even though hell never be what he was he is still an amazing person and player, and he stays true to his club and nation. Like they say, a knight never leaves his lady.
Who do you suggest we play in place of Cassano and Totti. Like it or not they are two of the better players at Italy's disposal, attitude aside. Then again there is also the fact that making the national team can be more of a popularity contest than anything at times. Also I think Italy needs a strong finisher up top, not someone who is good at passing. Del Piero is not a bad player, when he was younger he was quite potent. I pretty much agree with nicephoras and sueb. Also if he continued his club performances I would say he probably could earn a spot back in Italy's 11. Still, with more promising young alternatives and some pretty disapointing games + injuries, I don't know. There is one thing for sure, Del Piero definitely is of better character than the likes of Totti, Cassano, and Vieri. I like Del Piero's character much more but unfortunately I don't think it will be enough as he is getting older.