La Stampa 06/08/99 : Interview with Alessandro Del Piero
"A perfect evening, as I imagined. I couldn't think of anything better. There were not setbacks, from the physical point of view everything went well. The playing stuff can happen or not, it's not important, even though the details are always well accepted."
THE TRUE DEL PIERO WAS MORE WITH THE ASSIST TO INZAGHI THAN WITH THE GOAL.
"They are moments that give you more self-confidence. I did the right thing by dribbling the goalkeeper in the logical way and giving the ball to Inzaghi as I was supposed to do."
BEFORE ENTERING ON THE FIELD, YOU BROUGHT YOUR HAND ON YOUR HEART WHILE THE FANS WERE CALLING YOUR NAME AS IF TO SAY THAT YOUR HEART WAS BEATING FAST. WERE YOU VERY EMOTIONAL?
"I was feeling a strange emotion, something completely different from my debut in Serie A or in an European Cup."
EVERYBODY WAS NICE WITH YOU, FERRARA GAVE YOU THE CAPTAIN'S ARMBAND. WILL IT BE ALSO IN THE FUTURE?
"Ciro was extremely nice, but, just like Ancelotti said, he is Conte's second in command and will continue to be."
DID YOU EVER DOUBT OF YOUR PHYISICAL FORM?
"Even though everybody was saying that I was fine, I still had some doubts. It was nice to feel that nothing was wrong."
IS DEL PIERO IN AN HURRY?
"After nine months, yes. But I didn't risk anything, the doctors were reassuring. The fever tried to stop me, but my desire to play was stronger than the virus."
EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU WANTED TO PROVE THAT YOU WOULDN'T FEAR ANYTHING.
"I played the way I was supposed to. The fear of the tackles was already overcome. The game was rough from the first minute and I played accordingly."
SOMEONE TRIED TO CHALLENGE YOUR FEAR WITH ROUGH TACKLES.
"Fortunately, he hit the good knee. Even though it was a special game for me, it couldn't be for the opponents who rightly didn't give me any special consideration."
DID YOUR RETURN AS A PLAYER CHANGE ANYTHING?
"No. The goal is to be prepared for the full 90 minutes for the season opener. For now I have a limited autonomy, at the end of the game I was beat. I expect a lot from myself, but I'm happy to have achieved something important."
WILL DEL PIERO BE JUVE'S BEST BUY?
"Only time will tell."
TUESDAY, AGAINST RENNES, IT WILL BE ZIDANE'S TURN. WITH ITS STARTS BACK, WHAT CAN JUVE ACHIEVE?
"Wednesday's second half gave a lot of positive results. I saw a concrete team, strong, feeling fine about playing official games in a delicate situation such as during training camp."
AT THE END OF THE MATCH, A ROSTSELMASH PLAYER ASKED YOU FOR YOUR JERSEY, BUT YOU REFUSED.
"I told him that I was sorry, but how could I give him something that I'll treasure for the rest of my life?"
Interview by Fabio Vergnano (La Stampa 06/08/99)
