Alessandro Del Piero’s knowledge and insight into his former club and team-mates is proving invaluable for the Foxtel A-League All Stars ahead of Sunday’s clash with Juventus.
The All Stars skipper won every major prize in 19 seasons at the Bianconeri but will be plotting their downfall in his first match against his former club at ANZ Stadium this Sunday.
During Thursday morning’s Foxtel A-League All Stars training session at WIN Jubilee Oval in Kogarah, the Italian legend was at various times in deep conversation with his team-mates, trying to get a message across.
And it may well have been advice on just how to attack the Italian champions and tips on how to deal with some of his former team-mates.
“He does (give advice on Juventus),” midfielder Thomas Broich said after training at Kogarah on Thursday.
“We were talking football last night during dinner quite a lot.
“He pointed out a few things that we need to be mindful of. It certainly helps to have him in the team.”
Del Piero, who hasn’t played a competitive match since April, looked sharp in a solid 90-minute hit-out.
The side spent the majority of the session working on combination play, with various crossing and shooting drills and coach Josep Gombau looks to settle on his starting XI.
It looks like Del Piero will play on the left-side of a front three against Juve, spending the majority of the session in that role.
The squad appears in great spirit and unfazed at the challenge ahead, despite Juventus’ massive 8-1 win over and Indonesian Select XI on Wednesday night.
“They are going to get ahead of themselves and we’re going to beat them,” Broich joked when asked about that result.
“I think it’s going to be even more difficult (than Manchester United last year) because this team has been playing together for quite some time and they’ve been fairly successful in recent years.
“Last year Man Utd made some significant changes and I guess the team was a bit unsettled, this year we’re playing against a well-oiled machine.”
Broich sat out most of Thursday’s session with an Achilles problem but says he’s in no doubt for Sunday’s match.
The FOXTEL A-League All Stars will meet Juventus at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on 10 August with the match to be broadcast live and exclusive on the Seven Network nationally.
