Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero has been a success on and off the park. Source: Getty Images
IT is almost three months since Alessandro Del Piero landed in Sydney and sparked a frenzy that is still a long way from subsiding.
Adoring fans simply can't get enough of the Italy and Juventus legend while there is barely space to put a microphone under his nose whenever he appears before the media.
Despite turning 38 and being in the last throes of his illustrious career, Del Piero has delivered on all fronts - on and off the field - and lived up to the hype and exposure since linking with Sydney FC. No one can say he has turned up just for a holiday or to add to his superannuation fund.
He might have missed two games because of injury but the eight matches, the 674 minutes he has spent on the field, the five goals he has scored, the innate skills and wizardry he has displayed, and the public relations gold that have come wrapped with it, are testament to the biggest marquee success story in the eight-season history of the A-League.
All of which makes it a surprise to learn that the Sky Blues have yet to move on activating the second year of Del Piero's two-year, $4 million contract.
Even though he was diplomacy personified when The Weekend Australian asked him this week whether he wanted to stay, it is understood he is very keen to play on in Sydney and that his management has become frustrated over the time being taken by the club to provide an answer.
"We have been talking. We are waiting for what (the club) decides ... they wait for me. Everybody is waiting," Del Piero said on Tuesday. "We have discussed things. We have a good relationship, but at the moment we have to think day by day. First we have to make a good position on the (A-League) standings, then we can talk with tranquillity and calm about next season. We have time to decide the future."
So why the wait?
Sydney FC chief executive Tony Pignata suggested the situation regarding the appointment of a coach for the Sky Blues following the resignation five weeks ago of Ian Crook was a priority for the Sydney board. But now Frank Farina is in place there is no excuse. Surely, the Sydney board needs no reminding of what Del Piero has done, not just for the club but the A-League. From the moment he signed, the Sydney brand became known worldwide.
Sales of the Sydney shirt with Del Piero's name on the back were so heavy that new stock has had to be continually ordered.
Club membership sales went through the roof. Television ratings have sky rocketed.
Consider what Sydney will be throwing away if it does the unthinkable - there is the proposed friendly against Juventus in Turin next year, a possible tour of Asia where Del Piero is extremely popular and Sydney's games being shown live in Italy.
Throw in the fact he has delivered on the park - often looking two classes above any other player - and surely the decision to get him back next season is a no-brainer. Given the Sky Blues' poor season so far, the board should also ask itself what would their crowds be like now if there was no Del Piero? They would struggle to get to 8000.
But, Del Piero's initial signing aside, Sydney FC has never been renowned for making smart business or administrative sense.
The conga line of owners, chairmen, chief executives and coaches going out the door has been a constant in the club's seven-year history. Yes, one can understand the board hedging on forking out another $2m for a player who will be 39 next November.
It is a gamble. He has missed two games this season because of hamstring issues and has copped some heavy punishment in some games, leaving him looking every bit his age.
However, you only have to see his professionalism, the way he stays behind at training while his teammates have long gone, to understand what makes him tick.
He will not let himself down mentally or physically because Del Piero is a winner.
Let's hope that mentality rubs off on the board.
No comments:
Post a Comment