Sydney FC superstar Alessandro Del Piero has put the Hyundai A-League on notice that his best is still to come.
If Sydney FC’s first three opponents thought stopping Alessandro Del Piero was hard enough, the rest of the Hyundai A-League is on notice, with the Italian superstar adamant his best is still to come.
Del Piero has made a sensational start to the season for the Sky Blues, scoring twice in just three matches and has easily been their most impressive player.
The 37-year-old is content with the way he is playing but believes he can be even better once he reaches peak fitness.
Speaking ahead of his 800th professional match against the Perth Glory this weekend, Del Piero is confident he has plenty more to give.
“I’m not 100 per cent, definitely,” Del Piero told the large media contingent after training on Wednesday.
“But I’m feeling good because I’m training every day and this is important.
“After five weeks, I think I’m happy to be in this healthy condition.
“I hope to do my best in two or three weeks.
“I’m getting to know my teammates more day by day. We won our first game (last weekend) so it’s a good start.”
The Sky Blues opening win came in the local derby against the Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night, with Del Piero winning and converting a penalty in the 1-0 victory.
But it wasn’t without controversy, with Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic claiming afterwards Del Piero’s star-power was drawing favourable calls from the referees.
“No, absolutely not,” the 2006 World Cup-winner said.
“For sure, no. Unfortunately, not. (But) I don’t want to speak about referees.
“I never spoke in Italy about referees because if you spoke about them sometimes you’re sent off. It was lucky for us … It’s normal.”
Del Piero, who played for more than two decades in Italy with Padova and Juventus and 91 times for the national team, said he could never have imagined as a teenager how his career would pan out.
Asked about playing his milestone 800th game in Australia, he said: “I’m happy it will happen here.
“(800 games) is a long time. I’m happy to be here and I broke a lot of records in Italy. Now I start here.
“When I played my first game, I was really happy … It was enough. I was 18 and I didn’t know what would happen with the future.
“I had a lot of dreams and a lot of them have happened so I’m lucky for that.”
