Sydney FC was officially welcomed to the City of Jesolo tonight at a public presentation in the main Piazza of Jesolo where the entire team was introduced to 5000 screaming Italian football fans.
Sydney FC was officially welcomed to the City of Jesolo tonight at a public presentation in the main Piazza of Jesolo where the entire team was introduced to 5000 screaming Italian football fans.
The Sydney FC squad arrived at the public welcome under police escort as the team bus crawled through a sea of people.
One by one the entire squad, coaching and football staff were announced to the crowd, which was littered with Sydney FC shirts, some authentic and many from the market stalls in Jesolo that have been doing a roaring trade.
The largest applause of the night was obviously saved for Alessandro Del Piero, who created scenes of frenzy across the main piazza when he entered the stage to join his team mates.
Del Piero, Terry McFlynn, Brett Emerton, former AC Milan ‘keeper Zeljko Kalac and the Italian-speaking Tiago Calvano were also interviewed on stage, which was set up for a rock concert as soon as the Sydney FC team left the stage.
Sydney FC Chairman Scott Barlow presented the Jesolo Town Council with a Sydney FC “Del Piero 10” shirt signed by the entire squad as he thanked the people of Jesolo for their support and hospitality.
“The people of Jesolo have been wonderful and very warm in their support and hospitality for all of us since we arrived in Italy,” Mr Barlow said. “We are honoured to be in Jesolo and would also like to thank all of the people who have come out tonight, as well as the thousands who greeted us at the airport and came to the two Sydney FC training sessions today. I-m sure we will see more fans at training over the next three weeks and the games we will be playing on Jesolo, Padova and Reggia.
“We believe it is a privilege to have Alessandro Del Piero playing for Sydney FC and to bring the team to Italy and stay and play matches in the region where Alessandro was born and played his first professional football with Padova, is something very special for Sydney FC.”
