There’s more to France than just Zidane, says Del Piero
July 08, 2006
DUISBURG: Alessandro Del Piero has expressed his deep admiration for former Juventus teammate Zinedine Zidane, but said it would be a mistake for Italy to concentrate solely on nullifying the threat of the France playmaker in Sunday’s World Cup final.
“He has performed magnificently so far and I hope that ends on Sunday,” said 31-year-old Del Piero of the Real Madrid midfield maestro who will retire from football after the Berlin showpiece.
“Him and me have a great relationship and I have fond memories of when we played in the European matches together for Juventus. He’s the absolute number one. From a player’s point of view, I don’t know what else you can say about Zizou that hasn’t been said already,” he said.
“How do we stop him? With the same spirit we have shown up until now, we can overcome any problem. But France have other dangerous players who can hurt you in an instant. We have to make sure we keep an eye on everybody,” he added.
Del Piero, who scored Italy’s second goal in the last seconds of their 2-0 extra-time semifinal win over hosts Germany after coming off the bench, is relishing the prospect of facing France, even though he will probably be among the substitutes again. “It’s a fantastic challenge, it doesn’t get any better than France,” said the Juventus striker. “They are a team full of winners, above all Zizou,” he added.
Del Piero admitted that he hasn’t found it easy being a substitute having made just one start for the Azzurri, against Australia in the second round. Del Piero has added motivation for wanting to beat France on Sunday having missed two golden opportunities to score against them in the final of Euro 2000. Italy were leading 1-0 when Del Piero spurned his chances, and France came back to win 2-1 thanks to David Trezeguet’s golden goal. Those who blamed him for Italy’s defeat six years ago hurt Del Piero. “I said some strong things at the time and I don’t regret it,” he said.
“He has performed magnificently so far and I hope that ends on Sunday,” said 31-year-old Del Piero of the Real Madrid midfield maestro who will retire from football after the Berlin showpiece.
“Him and me have a great relationship and I have fond memories of when we played in the European matches together for Juventus. He’s the absolute number one. From a player’s point of view, I don’t know what else you can say about Zizou that hasn’t been said already,” he said.
“How do we stop him? With the same spirit we have shown up until now, we can overcome any problem. But France have other dangerous players who can hurt you in an instant. We have to make sure we keep an eye on everybody,” he added.
Del Piero, who scored Italy’s second goal in the last seconds of their 2-0 extra-time semifinal win over hosts Germany after coming off the bench, is relishing the prospect of facing France, even though he will probably be among the substitutes again. “It’s a fantastic challenge, it doesn’t get any better than France,” said the Juventus striker. “They are a team full of winners, above all Zizou,” he added.
Del Piero admitted that he hasn’t found it easy being a substitute having made just one start for the Azzurri, against Australia in the second round. Del Piero has added motivation for wanting to beat France on Sunday having missed two golden opportunities to score against them in the final of Euro 2000. Italy were leading 1-0 when Del Piero spurned his chances, and France came back to win 2-1 thanks to David Trezeguet’s golden goal. Those who blamed him for Italy’s defeat six years ago hurt Del Piero. “I said some strong things at the time and I don’t regret it,” he said.
