Skip to main content

Juve under pressure to reconsider Del Piero

Del Piero, in his 19th season at the club, has had such an impact off the bench in the last two games that fans are also debating whether coach Antonio Conte will finally hand him a starting place in Sunday's match against Napoli.

Juventus are unbeaten in Serie A this season, although a series of recent draws has left them trailing leaders AC Milan by four points with nine games each to play.

Del Piero quickly changed the face of the game, scoring the second goal in Juventus's 2-0 win. He also scored and played a key role in the 2-2 draw against AC Milan on March 20 which took Juve to the Italian Cup final.

Del Piero, whose Juventus career included a season in Serie B in the wake of the "Calciopoli" scandal when the club was demoted, has won admiration for refusing to complain about his bit-part role and his future.

"There's nothing to add at the moment except that my future at the moment is Sunday evening's game against Napoli," he said.

"I don't want to miss a moment of this adventure, the objective at the moment is to keep in touch with Milan."

Defender Giorigio Chiellini added: "Alex is a great champion and always will be, and we as players can just observe and accept his choice.

"I think that the end of the season will be the time for him and the club to sit down and talk and make a decision together."

Napoli, joint fourth with 48 points, are battling to finish third which would earn them a place in next season's Champions League qualifying tournament.