Bad Form Almost Made Me Quit, Admits Del Piero
Thursday 24th May 2001
Alessandro Del Piero has admitted his poor form early in the season nearly prompted him to quit Juventus, but he is now looking forward to helping the Turin giants qualify for the Champions' League. "I am glad that the hard times are over," he said.
The golden boy of the Delle Alpi suffered a Euro 2000 hangover as Juve crashed out of Europe and let Roma surge clear at the top of Serie A. That sparked suggestions from Del Piero that he needed a new challenge.
But he said on Friday: "I let the transfer issue fester because I was having problems getting into perfect shape. I never meant to leave Juventus, though.
"I only wanted to discuss my position with the club and now I have regained my good performances. I wish I could have played better in the first half of this season, but I'm grateful I can do it now.
"Juventus are playing very well and we are still aiming to be in the top three at the end of the season," he added.
But Del Piero also believes Juventus can do better as they look like missing out on the Scudetto for a third successive season.
Third-placed Juve, who lost out on the title on the final day of last season with a 1-0 defeat in Perugia, trail leaders Roma by six points with just three games left.
"I still have a little hope of catching them, but we have to win all three matches," he said.
"But we have to learn from our mistakes. Last year we lost the Scudetto because of the rain in Perugia, this year we look like losing because Roma were strong but also because we have not been perfect."
