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This is the place
for you to read the curious and funny things that happen to the Alex and
Italian squad outside the pitch.
Together with team-mate Filippo
Inzaghi and players from Parma, Del Piero headed to Rome in February 25,
2001, for a friendly match against Argentina. The two Juve players, however,
had their luggage stolen! Del Piero got to have his bags back, but Inzaghi
had even cash stolen.
After investigations from
the Italian police, the truth was discovered. The company that took care
of the luggage from the footballers who passed through the Turin Airport,
Caselle, had seven employees who stole the players' bags. The group had
already collected other football objects, such as a Juventus jersey from
Inzaghi and a Milan jersey from Shevchenko, jerseys from the Slovenia and
the Netherlands national teams, jerseys from Lazio, Roma and Torino, apart
from cameras, video cameras and cell phones.
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In
most of times, fans experience a good relationship with Alex. Women are
an expressive part of the public that attends the Italy training sessions
wherever they are, and surely most of them go to see the good looking Juventus
number 10. But it's not only women who like him. During the Euro 2000,
a male fan invaded the pitch during a training in Belgium and kissed Alex
on his cheeck. Alex looked calm as always, and soon the police took away
the fan.
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In
a poll among the Italian teenagers, 20000 have said that they preferred
Alex Del Piero to Leonardo Di Caprio as a sex symbol. Even the American
newspaper "Usa Today" published an article on this subject, previous to
the '98 World Cup, saying that "Del Piero is the new idol of the teenagers".
But what did the man himself said about this? "I don't understand the sex-symbol
thing. 'What you do today counts. Never mind yesterday or what may be tomorrow.
People have a short memory.''
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During
the France World Cup, the azzurri had a lot of comfort at their seat, the
Chateau de la Tour. It had been transformed in an hotel after being the
house of a very rich Parisien banker. The property had golf and tennis
courts, and the house was surrouded by plenty of gardens. All of the 41
rooms of the Chateau had a little refrigerator and air conditioner, and
all of the players slept in single rooms except for Del Piero and Angelo
Di Livio, friends since their Padova days.
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Cesare Maldini's men couldn't
feel hungry during the 1998 world championship. This is because the delegation
had taken 1300 kilos of pasta; 300 kilos of Parmegian cheese; 80 hams,
each one with 12 kilos of weight; 10000 doses of coffee and four coffee
machines; around 100 bottles of wine; 5000 liters of mineral water; 120
liters of olive oil; 300 liters of milk with no cream; 300 liters of orange
juice; 400 kilos of cookies; 100 kilos of sugar; 35 kilos of jam; 120 kilos
of flour.
The players' menu also included
fruit, vegetables, and more fish than red meat. A meal with cheese would
never include meat, and vice versa. The players were off fry-ups, sausages
and beer, and they would be allowed just one glass of wine a day, together
with the meal.
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The Italian headquarters
in the France World Cup, located in Gouvieux (around 40 kilometers far
from Paris) had absolutely everything the players needed to dress, and
maybe even more. Check out the figures: 550 official match shirts, being
two jerseys per player and assuming they'd reach the final; more than 350
training shirts; 400 shorts; 350 pants; 350 pairs of shoes; and enough
shoestrings for one kilometer!
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In 1998, just before the
World Cup start, the azzurri prepared to go Sweden to play a friendly against
the home team. But the team had quite an unpleasant surprise on May 31:
a photographer caught the players when they were "comfortbably" hanging
out at the changing rooms. Angelo Di Livio was the first player to spot
the photographer, so he told him to get out, followed by a completely nude
Paolo Maldini. The photographer got to escape, but the players were worried
about which of Italy's many gossip magazines would publish "the naked truth"...
Del Piero didn't take part of this match, although he was present at the
stadium.
If
you know any other story and want it to appear on the website, please e-mail
me.
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