Del Boy & ZZ stay at Juve
Football Italia - August 1999
While Inter were celebrating their world record �32m shopping trip for Lazio's Christian Vieri, Juventus have come up with their own coup. After months of uncertainty, they've persuaded Alex Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane to continue parading their world-class talents in the black and white stripes.
Zizou, the French World Cup winner, is still recovering from a knee operation that kept him out at the end of Juve's disappointing season. But despite the mid-season comments that he wished to leave to play in Spain in order to appease his Spanish wife, Zidane has assured the Bianconeri fans that he is staying put. At least for the time being.
Zidane said: "It is still a long term objective of mine to play for a Spanish club, but to have already spoken about it this Spring was a little premature." So the midfielder will stay for at least another season. Del Piero is locked in for a lot longer. Negotiations have been going on for months. Now he's signed a lucrative new deal that will keep him in Turin for five years. He will receive some almost �3.3m a year net rising by an extra �850,000 by the year 2004. One sticking point had been his image contract. He'll now receive �1.7m a year for that on top. That's an incredible �96,000 a week! Deals with Walt Disney, Pepsi, Adidas and Luxotica Sunglasses will add even more to his bank balance.
"Obviously the money will enable me to have an easy life but it isn't everything," said a relieved Del Piero on signing. "Now I just can't wait to get back to playing. It's just a matter of getting a new ligament used to certain stresses and movements after being out since last November.
"I hope that the club will continue to believe in me. The same goes for the fans, I don't think I'll have to win them over again. It's just a pity that certain teammates and friends have gone. I'll have to find another roommate now that Di Livio's moved to Fiorentina. It will be my second goal after getting back on the pitch..."
As for his multi-million pound contract, Del Piero is delighted that it enables him to stay with his beloved Juve. "I still believe in loyalty even if many players no longer do. I don't think I'm old-fashioned just because I'm tying myself to Juventus for a total of eleven years, on the contrary. Wearing this shirt is my one great wish and I wouldn't do it if I didn't know that the club wants it too - they've shown they want to invest in me."
Carlo Ancelotti was equally delighted with the outcome of talks, saying that Del Piero is "Juve's best new buy" as he misses most of last season with a serious knee injury. Pleased with Zidane's decision too, the Coach has also been full of praise for new Serbian striker Darko Kovacevic. "Kovacevic will amaze everyone," said Ancelotti, "he is a perfect striker and tactically complete." Ancelloti admits there were some players who got away - Perugia's Milan Rapaijc, Real Madrid's ex-Inter star Roberto Carlos and Monaco defender Djetou among them.
But with a new goalkeeper in Dutchman Edwin an Der Saar, exciting young emerging internationals Jonathan Bachini from Udinese and Bari's Gianluca Zambrotta to replace aging Angelo Peruzzi, Didier Deschamps and Angelo Di Livio, Ancelotti claims he is happy with the team he had - and that was before adding Sunday Oliseh to his squad.
The 23-year old former Nigerian international joined Ajax in1997 from FC Koln. He was part of the Nigeria team which won the 1994 Africa Cup and the Olympic title in Atlanta in 1996 but quit the national side after last year's World Cup Finals, saying he wanted to make room for younger players.
Roma thought they had tied up a deal for the player who once plied his trade with Reggiana in Serie A, but Juve's �8.6m bid sealed it. Oliseh comes into the Juve midfield as a direct replacement for Didier Deschamps who joined ex-teammate Gianluca Vialli at Chelsea. Juventus now seem to possess a younger, more competitive and hungry squad. With Kovacevic up front, Del Piero and Zidane fully fit again, Pippo Inzaghi also staying, and French World Cup striker Thierry Henry challenging they will be a match for anyone - whether or not they resurrect the Nicholas Anelka deal after Lazio's pull-out. The players - superstars included - had to cut their holidays short. All bar Zidane, who needed an extra week's rest after his May 12 cartilage operation, resumed training on July 1 in preparation for their involvement in the third round of the Intertoto Cup. The indignity was forced upon them ater failing to secure a guaranteed place in the UEFA Cup when they lost to Udinese on the away goals rule in an Italian play-off.
Their opponents will be Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt of Romania. "It's not so bad," says Ancelotti. "We will be ready with great humility and great enthusiasm." Juve will be one of nine sides playing in Europe this season. The top four sides in Serie A - Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Parma - take their place in the Champion' League. Play-off winners Udines and Bologna join Roma in the UEFA Cup. Juventus are joined by Perugia on the Intertoto route after Inter declined the backdoor approach to Europe along with Bari and Venezia.
