Pinturicchio, as the Italians have nicknamed him, has been an idol for Juventus fans over the past 19 years and leads all of the club’s goal-scoring records. This includes all-time leading scorer in all competitions with 289 goals, 208 of which have occurred in the Italian championships (Serie A and B). As was noted back in October 2011, Juve president Andrea Agnelli announced that it would be ADP’s last season in a Bianconeri jersey. He leaves the club in style having brought the Scudetto to the Old Lady’s trophy cabinet for the 28th time. Now at the age of 37 and nearing the end of his career, Alex feels however that he still has a lot to give to calcio and desires to continue his legacy at another club in another league and has currently received an offer from the Montreal Impact.
It may be a perfect fit for the ex-Juve talisman as the Impact already have two former Italian internationals in the line-up namely defender Matteo Ferrari and attacker Bernardo Corradi, in addition to newly signed ex-Bologna striker Marco Di Vaio. So he would certainly have some compatriots within the squad to help him get accustomed to his potentially new home. Alex would be a great signing for Montreal seeing that it could help in the increase of ticket sales, attendance and in retail since the city boasts a large Italian population and the fans are extremely faithful to their squads. More importantly, he could be used as a role model guiding and leading the team along in its growth both on and off the pitch. However, it has been recently claimed that the Padova-native rejected the Impact’s offer and is considering a possible switch to New York or even Los Angeles. But it would be difficult to find room to shine at these clubs seeing that they already field European talents such as Thierry Henry and David Beckham respectively.
There have also been some hints dropped that Argentina club River Plate, where ex-Juve teammate David Trezeguet is currently plying his trade, is interested in adding Del Piero to their roster and this would certainly be an intriguing adventure in a South American league. More recently, reports on Sunday suggest that Alex is seriously considering a move to Spanish side Malaga as he has been offered a contract there. The decision to join the Spaniards would still allow Del Piero to stay close to Italy and play in the Champions League since Malaga have qualified for the CL preliminary round. Alex will be mauling it over for quite some time in the near future since there are many options to consider. As a Juventus supporter, it would be great to see ‘Il gran capitan’ extending his legacy as a player and then possibly as part of a technical staff member in Canada at a club like the Montreal Impact or maybe even Toronto FC. It would certainly attract not only Juventus fans, but many Italians to attend more games.
What are your thoughts?
And thats the Last Word.
