www.goalnetwork.com - WEEKLY COMMENTARY FROM JOE McGINNISS - 28 Mar 00

subject: Spanish Risk v Italian Fear

"In Italy, on the other hand, for the past two years the entire populace has seemed engaged in an almost Jonestown-like act of mass self delusion, convincing itself that the Crown Prince of Calcio, Alessandro Del Piero of Juventus, indeed wears a full and lustrous wardrobe of royal attire, while in fact he’s clad only in tatters, and no longer fit even to clean the boots of most of his teammates. Yes, he suffered a horrendous knee injury that sidelined him for most of last season, but his form was gone long before he was flown to Colorado for his surgery.
It disappeared, in fact, (just to inject a note of controversy) at almost exactly the same time as major muscles began to appear all over his body, causing ex-Roma mentor Zdenek Zeman to name him as one of Italy’s most notable abusers of the body-building drug creatine. Whatever the cause, it is a fact that Del Piero has yet to score in either a European championship or a World Cup. But far more astonishing, his last non-penalty kick goal in Serie A came almost two years ago, at just about the time his biceps started bulging.
This season, among all Juventus players to have appeared in at least ten matches, Del Piero has the worst composite rating on the team, as compiled by La Gazzetta dello Sport. The craven Italian sporting press can and does turn fact into fairy tale on a regular basis to assure readers that their beloved “Alex” is back in peak form, yet even they cannot fudge the numbers. Del Piero’s 5.79 stands out like a scarlet letter, far overshadowing the number 10 on the back of his jersey. Needless to say, he’s also got by a shamefully wide margin the lowest rating of anyone who plays regularly for the national team, but like so many other facts in Italy, that one is simply not mentioned out loud.
The Del Piero dog and pony show has, in fact, grown so grotesque recently that no matter how badly he is playing, the Juventus coach is not permitted to substitute for him. During the first five matches of the season, Del Piero sat out 78 minutes, as well he should have. But then the law was laid down: for the money they were paying, neither Agnelli, nor Del Piero’s private sponsors wanted to see him languish on the bench. Or - worse yet - to have pay-TV viewers all over Italy see the sorry sight he would be in such circumstances. Unsurprisingly, the same imperative dictates that no matter how much he might resemble a totem pole throughout the ninety minutes of a match, he must always be selected for the national team.
And Del Piero will be easy enough to recognize: the guy in the Italy shirt whom you’ll see either standing still, passing directly to his closest opponent, or falling down from tripping over the ball, and then complaining bitterly that he was fouled."

I personally could not care less about Del Piero, or what he has supposedly done for Juve .... quite frankly, I think the Inzaghi bros. or Totti should start tommorow .... not Del Piero. Mr. McGinniss does make a rather efficient point, the fact that for the money he is payed, REGARDLESS OF HIS ASSISTS or PENALTIES or whatever else he has "in spirit" done, the bottom line is, he has NOT performed remotely as well as Totti or Simone or Filipo or Vieri, or any other of the players who have made the Italian team, now or ever. Because he is on the team ... other players like Paramatti (Bologna), Macellari (Cagliari), Brocchi (Verona), Baronio (Reggina), Iachini (Venezia) who have been performing way better than Del Piero, have been left off of the Italian squad. Fiore of Udinese was almost left off and had Vieri been healthy, who knows which Italian player would have been sacrificed for Del Piero's sake. He should have been left off to sulk at home.

This is not an attack on the Juventus or Del Piero supporters, it a statement of opinion. Any of you who disagree with what has been stated above, can either respond in a clear, consise, MATURE and INTELLIGENT manner, OR SHUT UP!

Good ..... now ..... cue the backlash

I agree with the article, except for the stuff about creatine, if he says that he just doesn't realize what creatine does to you, it improves your condition, doesn't make it worse. And he was good before the injure, so I don't know what he is talking about, after injury it is another story, I just think he lost the speed and mobility he once had.

Even if the article is a bit too negative, the essence is true. However, in the last 2 months, his form is picking up and he is one of the better players at Juve. But not close to what he should be with that contract. The money burnt him, can't be himself no more. If it were for him alone, it would already be tragic, but it also pulls fown the whole italian squad, as in a team that plays a rather defensive game, the no.10 is the most important player, and the last good match Italy played was when Totti wore that number (second hald at Denmark, 1 year ago).

you guys are all ****heads.......just give him a fair go.......next season, we will surely see Del Piero back to nearly his best.....all he needs is one goal from open play to get things going......as much as u try to say it isnt woody, i know this post was just a bit more Juve-Del Piero bashing to make u fans of other serie a clubs feel better.....and you practically dug yourself into a hole by saying Del Piero is a shadow of his former self.......it looks like that shadow is leading Juve to the title, and ****ting on the abilities of other players in the process......dont get me wrong, totti is a great player.......but he doesn't have the influence of Del Piero, who, even when he is not on his best form, can turn a game with a brilliant assist......major evidence of this is the form of Juventus as a whole over the past two seasons....98/99 Season (first place while DP was there, seventh place when he was injured).....99/00 season (juve back to the top of serie A)....

JUST TELLING IT LIKE IT IS......

I was in the Stade de France for the Italy V. France quarterfinal in 1998. I understand that France has one hell of a defense, but it was painfully obvious that Del Piero had NOTHING back then. He looked like a little boy among men. The Italy attack broke down every time he was involved in the play. I belive this was before his knee injury and he had absolutely nothing, zero, nada, zilch to give for Italy back then. I see from the posts that he has not improved much.

On the topic of creatine, it doesn't necessarily improve your condition... what creatine does is (i) provides additional energy to muscles, (ii) enhances protein synthesis and (iii) the reason most people take it, it maximizes your muscle volume... some people maintain their athleticisim while taking creatine, while others may get too big and too stocky.... honestly, I don't see any reason a striker like del Piero would want to take creatine (unless he wants to impress his girlfriend)... maybe central defenders like Jaap Stam or Sol Campbell take it so they have the size and strength to fight off opposing strikers, but del Piero?

Honestly, it doesn't make any sense for del Piero to take creatine.... either way, he has sucked a$$ really bad the last year or so, I know he's been injured... but seriously, he is one of the most over-rated players in the world.

JuveGoose ..... First of all ... I am an FC Barcelona fan ..... I could care less about Juventus. Secondly .... you Juventus fans seem to have this affixiation w/ Del Piero and his assists .... well ... WHAT ELSE DOES HE DO?? Does he score?? Doe she take on three defenders and school them? Does his every move warrant the full attention of the defense? How are his free kicks?? The reason why I posted this article is becuase it is true. Look at Bergkamp, Ronaldo, Van Nistelroy, Inzaghi (take your pick) ... all of these strikers demand to be triple and quadruple teamed because they can hurt you in so many ways .... and Del Piero?? He hasnt scored a goal in two years. Well before his knee injury. The reason Juve are doin so well ... Davids, Zidane, Inzaghi, Van Der Sar, Tacchinardi, their defense ... how has Del Piero helped them??

BTW .... Italy lost today .... 2 - 0 .... WHAT DID DEL PIERO DO??

I expected more responses ... where are all of the Juve fans?? Wait .... maybe they think I am right. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

The sad part is Juve had Vieri and sold him to Atletico Madrid for almost nothing,imagine if they would of kept him.

i was right, u guys are all ****heads.......as for that ****head thats suggesting Van Nistel**** is better than Del Piero, u just make me laugh.......and for your information Woody, Italy conceded both goals after Del Piero had been taken off, totti didn't have any impact on the game either; Italy's problem is with the midfield-too many young players-bring back Albertini, Conte and Di Livio..the true Italian midfield.....and Zambrotta, if u had any credibility left you just blew it....Del Piero has more than twice the assists of any other player in Serie A, and Crespo doesn't even make the list (Fuser is the best Parma player on the list, second to Del Piero); plus, if u dont concede goals, you cant lose......it doesnt matter that Juve doesnt score much, but they dont concede much either, so it equals out......

p.s woody, you mentioned bergkamp, i believe he once did play for a little Italian team called Inter......did nothing though, thats why he's in england

p.p.s i think i responded to most of the idiotic comments on this post.....ill check back tomorrow to see if i missed anything.....bye for now u wankers

delpiero not a football superstar.
He is a media superstar.

Becks, as far as I know creatine will not necessarily make you stocky, it just gives you energy before you start your exercise so you can exercise longer etc. therefore help you to build mass and improve your cardiovascular stamina. What muscles are developed depends on what muscles you train, so for example I would expect a football player to develop his lower body strenght.

I heard it also increases your sex drive(this is what Mark McGwire said!), so it is also possible Del Piero is too preoccupied with other things to concentrate on football....

juvegoose:

I've figured it out...The problem is that Del Piero is NOT TRYING to score. Scoring goals is beneath him... it's a mundane task for inferior players like Shevchenko, Van Nistelroy, Jardel, Rivaldo, Shearer, Batistuta, etc. The truly talented, elite, world class strikers Like Del Piero cannot waste their time on mere goals. They must devote their efforts to true works of footballing art like flopping to the pitch at the threat of the slightest contact and rolling 6-8 times before popping up in stride with arms properly spread in the universal sign for "I'm being persecuted" and immediately finding the ref with a piercing look and yelling the Italian equivalent of "Where's the ***$#ng call..."

Juvegoose:
Juventus has the best midfield in the world, they have no less than 3 (three) of the Top 10 midfielders in the world (Zidane, Davids, Tacchinardi).
They have a fantastic goalkeeper and a great defense.
If they had similar talent up front (e.g. Vieri, Batistuta or Crespo), they'd maybe be the best team of all time. Juve scored very little this year - the reason why they are top is because they hardly get any goals.
And about that assist stuff: Look at Crespo. Last game he did not score, but he had 3 assists, but scores a damn lot. He is known as a scorer, but he can assist too. Del Piero can't score - so guess who is more valuable.

And if you say that del Piero is more valuable than Crespo....hahaha!!!!!

hey this is getting beyond a joke......one more example.......any of you remember a pretty good Atletico Madrid player by the name of Kiko.......well about 15 months ago, he was seriously injured and came back to soccer about four months ago.......now he cannot make the first team, let alone score goals, yet before the injury he was a member of the spanish national side.........i think u people arent giving Del Piero a fair go - he had knee ligament surgery, he thinks twice about going for balls he would have gone for a few years back, once he gets his confidence back, then you can talk about his form - as Zoff said, he should take one season to get most of his form back....if Juve win the scudetto, its a bonus......but if Juve dont, they can hope that DP finds his goal scoring touch next season....for now, me and the other Juve fans are happy enough with the assists he's creating..as ive said before, even if u dont score many goals, if u dont concede any you cant lose, so its not a great problem that he isnt scoring goals, because the defence is helping out heaps.....but as long as he sets them up for FI and DK im happy.....

p.s zambrotta, Juventus have said that they would like to keep Del Piero for ever, so obviously they, who know much more about soccer than you do, see value in the player

Okay ...... Kiko is one thing ..... but Del Piero hasnt scored in TWO years. K?? TWO!! His knee surgery was LAST Year .... meaning that he did not score BEFORE his knee surgery. You R defending someone who has NEVER SCORED A GOAL IN EURO 2000 OR IN THE WORLD CUP! NEVER! HOW DOES HE DESERVE TO BE THE HIGHEST PAID PLAYER IN EUROPE??

Second of all ...... about them not letting Del Piero go .... they said that with Baggio, Vieri and ..... what's that guys name ..... ummmm .... oh yeah .... Marcello Lippi. So please .... do not be so confident that Del Piero will be there forever.

Third .... If I recall corectly .... Berkgamp scored the goal of WC 98 (v Argentina) .... HOW MANY HAS DEL PIERO SCORED AGAIN??? ZERO?? Alright then.

Fourth ..... regarding Italy's game .... if Del Piero is so great then why didn't he SCORE or SETUP a goal before he was taken off??? Gee .. I wonder why they took him off in the first place???

Any other comebacks?? Why are you the only Juventus fan defending him??

Well first of all I must say that I'm not a Juve supporter. In fact (as you can probably tell from my nick) I support Fiorentina...(and Milan too http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif). Anyway I think the problem began a few years ago (before France 98) when Del Piero was really a star then. He scored goals in the WC qualifiers and so there was all this hype around him for the WC. Since then however, he has been on a decline (who knows for how long) and hasn't been scoring many goals. Ok so he hasn't got much to brag about (cept his hair a few years ago http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif) but I still like him (NO I am NOT a Juve supporter http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif). I mean if he deserves to get dropped and Totti started (or whoever) then by all means drop him. Btw Totti is a real superstar!!! ...for now http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif (no I don't support Roma either). What I would like to see is Del Piero getting back his form and him and Totti fighting for the same position/number on the team. No I did not mean your typical Romario-Edmundo fight... http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif I meant in terms of their form and all that. That way the team gains and not one single player.
Anyway like I said, I hope DP gains back his form (and goalscoring abilities) but for the moment Totti should definitely be in the team.

Hey...just a question.....
Does anyone remember a guy named Schillaci (spelling?) from Italy. He played in WC'90 and was the top scorer. What ever happened to him? I haven't heard about him since. But then again I've only started following football recently so.... Who does he play for? Or rather does he still play? What's his first name btw?

Greetings from the man called BatiGOL!!!

Schillacci was just a one hit wonder,his carrer wasnt as great as his performance in 1990,actually ,i think after 2 months that the world cup was over they cut schillacci out of the squad and Juventus transfered to Milan(Im not sure,its so long ago).He finished his career in japan but i dont know what hes doing now.

His first name is Salvatore or as like the italians used to call him "Toto"

Toto is the abrevation of Salvatore. Like Cicco is for Francesco.