Alessandrodelpiero.com the official website

183 steps to enter the History

Two seasons, lived together with Fabio Capello, the new Juventus coach and with my new team- mates Jonathan Zebina, Fabio Cannavaro, Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Emerson and Patrick Veira. I remember very well 14 goals I scored in the Championship of 2004-05 seasons and three goals, scored in Champions League, that, unfortunately, didn’t have a happy ending for us, we dropped out in the quarter final, having lost to Liverpool. But above all I remember one of my assists, the one performed in scissors kick at San Siro against Milan. It was used at most by Trezeguet, who scored the goal that brought us scudetto in the match against Ancelotti’s team.

Some days after the great celebration of the 28th scudetto, on the 12th of June 2005 I got married in the small church on the hills of Turin. That was exactly what you would call very intimate ceremony: all together just 20 guests including the priest,  only close friends and relatives. Nobody knew about the wedding date, or almost nobody. Sonia and I decided to be absolutely discreet , not because we wanted to leave someone out, but because we wanted  to have this moment only and totally for us.  And it was exactly how we wanted it to be.

Wearing the wedding band and after the wonderful honeymoon, I got to the beginning of 2005-06 season, the season of the World Championship in Germany… I have never had any doubts, that one day the World Championship would be my event, and honestly after two goals and seven assists in the qualification matches, I had a feeling that it would be our Championship. It didn’t come out of the blue, it was a great season, both for the team, that won the 28th scudetto and for my personal very important targets reached.

 I remember well the cold night at Delle Alpi Stadium, warmed up by my hat trick, that let me enter and remain in the History of my team. Yes, 183 (plus another 2) steps into the history, to leave behind the legendary Boniperti and to become the best ever scorer of Juventus. Out of all numbers, out of all the records established, I consider this one to be among the most important . All the goals that were scored later on and all the goals that are still to be scored,  have only one purpose: to complicate the life of the guy, who one day might start thinking of ousting me in this table.

 I remember well all the 20 goals, scored in 2005-06 season, and among those also the penalty against Inter at San Siro, that was absolutely necessary to win the scudetto in the last match away and then, celebration with my ‘tongue stuck out’  ritual, already enough well-known, but that became the symbol of that season.. Don’t ask me why did I stick the tongue out, it just came like that, but let’s say that by now I get used to like this way of rejoicing…. Talking about celebrations, the one in Bari, on the 14th of May, 2006, for the 29th scudetto, was the most strange, contradictory , suffered and angry in my whole career. We already knew that the world was crumbling all around us, but we also knew that we earned the celebration, sweating hard to win on the pitch. And it has to be really clear: my team- mates and I won those scudetti, playing and fighting for them on the pitch. Full stop.

That’s why I remember and will never forget these two fundamental periods of my career, two targets reached , two achievements nobody can ever take away. That’s exactly what is dear to me in those two seasons. That’s it.  I’ve said it all.

The rest are the days that changed our lives, the days we became the World Champion.