Padova 1991–1993: Early career and debut Del Piero began his rise to professional football in 1981, in the ranks of San Vendemiano. In 1988, Del Piero was first spotted by scouts, and he left home at the young age of 13 to play with the youth side of
Padova. The
following season, on 22 November 1992, he scored his first professional goal in a 5–0 victory over
Ternana. In 1993, thanks to
Giampiero Boniperti, Del Piero was bought by
Juventus for five
billion lire, with an overlap of 150 million lire per season.
Juventus 1993–1998: Early domestic and European success In 1993, Del Piero transferred to
Juventus and played for the Torinese club for 19 seasons until being released in the summer of 2012. Although manager
Giovanni Trapattoni insisted that he trained with the senior team, he initially played with the
Primavera squad, which was coached by
Antonello Cuccureddu, helping the Juventus Youth team to win both the
1994 Torneo di Viareggio, and the 1994
U-20 championship. Del Piero made his
Serie A debut against
Foggia on 12 September 1993 under Trapattoni, as a substitute, and he scored his first goal in his next game against
Reggiana on 19 September, after coming off the bench once again. On his full debut for Juventus, he netted a
hat-trick against
Parma. After his promising performances, Del Piero began to be deployed with more continuity, and he managed 14 appearances for Juventus that season between
youth matches, league matches, the
Coppa Italia, and the
UEFA Cup, scoring 5 goals, which all came in
Serie A, as Juventus finished the season in second place in the league. The
1994–95 Serie A season saw
Marcello Lippi take over as Juventus manager, as well as the introduction of a new team of directors, made up of Giraudo,
Roberto Bettega, and
Luciano Moggi; Del Piero played a more prominent role for the club that season following
Roberto Baggio's injury in November against
Padova. Del Piero temporarily took his place in the first team alongside
Gianluca Vialli and
Fabrizio Ravanelli, flourishing at the opportunity given to him, and Juventus went on to claim their first
scudetto in nine years. Del Piero scored 8 goals in Serie A that season, including a match-winning chipped volley against
Fiorentina. Del Piero was also able to achieve a rare double, and he captured the
1994–95 Coppa Italia with Juventus, defeating their season rivals
Parma in the final, although they were defeated by Parma in the
1995 UEFA Cup Final. During this time, Del Piero earned the nickname
Pinturicchio due to the similarity between his own technical and tactical characteristics, and Baggio's creative style of play. This nickname arose when former president
Gianni Agnelli compared the emerging talent Del Piero to the renaissance artist Pinturicchio, who was the student of the great Italian renaissance artist
Raphael (
Raffaello), a nickname he had used to describe Baggio, to emphasise his elegance on the ball. With the Turin club, Del Piero won the Serie A eight times, although the 2005 and 2006 titles were revoked due to Juventus's involvement in the
2006 Italian football scandal. For the
1995–96 season, Del Piero was awarded Baggio's No. 10
squad number, which had also previously belonged to
Michel Platini, following his departure to
A.C. Milan. Del Piero scored 6 goals and provided 10 assists in Serie A, although Juventus finished the season in second place behind Milan. Del Piero did manage to capture the
Supercoppa Italiana in 1995, over Parma, setting up Vialli's only goal of the match. The following season, Del Piero followed these victories up with the
1996 UEFA Super Cup and the
1996 Intercontinental Cup, scoring goals in both finals, and being named Man of the Match in the latter final; he also won the
Bravo Award (as the best U-23 player in European Competitions), and placed 4th in the
1996 Ballon d'Or for the second consecutive year. Del Piero also captured his second
Serie A title with Juventus that season, and helped lead Juventus to their second consecutive
Champions League final, although he was unable to start the match due to injury. During the group stage, en route to the final, he helped Juventus to qualify for the quarter-finals a match early, scoring a goal in Juventus's 1–0 win over
Manchester United at
Old Trafford, on 20 November 1996; this was the first time that an Italian team had defeated Manchester United at their home ground. In the
1997 UEFA Champions League Final, he came off the bench to score a goal with a back-heel, which was unable to prevent Juventus from losing 3–1 to
Borussia Dortmund. Due to his performances throughout the calendar year, Del Piero received nominations for both the
1997 FIFA World Player of the Year, finishing sixth and the
1997 Ballon d'Or. Del Piero began the following campaign strongly by winning the
1997 Supercoppa Italiana, forming a strong offensive unit with Juventus teammates
Zinedine Zidane in midfield, and newcomer
Filippo Inzaghi upfront. The
1997–98 Serie A campaign was his best season yet, as he scored a joint career best of 21 goals in Serie A, and finished top scorer in the
1997–98 UEFA Champions League with 10 goals, one of which included a freekick and
a hat-trick against
Monaco in the semi-finals. With these goals, he helped Juventus to reach their third consecutive
Champions League final, although Del Piero was not fully fit for the match, and Juventus were once again defeated, falling 1–0 to
Real Madrid from a strike by
Predrag Mijatović on 20 May. Domestic success, however, was achieved that season, after a tight battle with
Inter Milan, as Juventus celebrated its 25th Serie A title over their Italian rivals, with Del Piero scoring a memorable and decisive individual match-winning goal during the controversial
Derby d'Italia match. Del Piero also managed a goal in the
1997–98 Coppa Italia that season, helping Juventus to the semi-finals, and finishing the season with a career best of 32 goals in all competitions. Del Piero was awarded the
Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award for his performances, and he was also nominated for the
1998 Ballon d'Or. During this time, he was nicknamed by the fans as
Il Fenomeno Vero ("The Real Phenomenon"), in comparison with the Brazilian striker
Ronaldo, who was nicknamed
Il Fenomeno ("The Phenom") by supporters of rivals Inter Milan.
1998–2001: Injury struggles Juventus began the
1998–99 Serie A with a 2–1 defeat in the
1998 Supercoppa Italiana at the hands of
Lazio, although Del Piero was able to score from a penalty. On 8 November 1998, Del Piero picked up a serious knee injury in the final minutes of a 2–2 draw with
Udinese; this kept him out of action for the remainder of the season, as he managed only 2 goals. The club struggled without him, finishing the league season in a disappointing sixth place. Juventus did manage to reach the semi-finals of the
1998–99 UEFA Champions League, losing out to eventual champions Manchester United. Due to his dramatic weight gain and physical development during this period, as well as the club's success during the mid to late 90s, Del Piero, along with several other Juventus players and staff members, was claimed of being involved in illegal performance-enhancing drug abuse; During the next season under new manager
Carlo Ancelotti, Del Piero primarily served as an assist-man, providing 14 assists in Serie A, the most in the league that season, and 20 in all competitions. He faced criticism, however, for his inability to score in open play following his injury the previous season, as only one of his 9 Serie A goals that season was in open play (a header against Parma), with the rest coming from penalties. Del Piero helped Juventus to capture the
1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup that season, which allowed Juventus to qualify for the
UEFA Cup; overall, he scored 12 goals in all competitions, as Juventus narrowly missed out on the
Serie A title. In 2000, Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salaries, bonuses, and advertising revenue. The following season saw Juventus suffer another disappointing defeat losing out on the
2000–01 Serie A title once again, this time to
Roma. Juventus and Del Piero began the season strongly, and Del Piero scored the winner on his season debut against
Napoli on 30 September, although he later suffered another injury and fell out of form, failing to score. On 18 February 2001, Del Piero broke his goal drought, scoring in an away win over
Bari. Del Piero celebrated the goal by dedicating it to his father, who had recently died. Del Piero refound his form towards the end of the season, although he was unable to help Juventus capture the Serie A title, despite scoring a goal in a 2–2 draw against Roma.
2001–2004: New successes Del Piero was named Juventus captain upon Lippi's return to Juventus, and he formed a formidable offensive partnership with French striker
David Trezeguet, who joined in 2000, and Czech playmaker
Pavel Nedvěd, who arrived in 2001. Del Piero scored 16 goals and provided several assists, as Juventus were crowned
Serie A champions for a 26th time on 5 May 2002, the last match day of the season; Juventus won the title over Roma and Inter Milan by a single point, after a 2–0 away victory over Udinese, with goals from
top-scorer Trezeguet and Del Piero. Del Piero managed 21 goals in all competitions, also scoring his 100th and 101st goals for Juventus that season, against
Venezia, on 26 August 2001. Del Piero also helped Juventus reach the
Coppa Italia final that season, although Juventus were defeated by Parma. Juventus's title success in 2002 enabled the club to automatically qualify for the
UEFA Champions League the following season. Juventus began the 2002–03 season by winning the
2002 Supercoppa Italiana over Parma, with Del Piero scoring two goals, and Juventus were also able to successfully defend their
Serie A title. In the UEFA Champions League, Juventus were placed in Group E alongside
Newcastle United,
Dynamo Kyiv, and
Feyenoord. Del Piero opened up his account in European competitions that season when he scored his side's second goal in a 5–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv on 24 September, after combining with Nedvěd and
Mauro Camoranesi. On the next matchday, Juventus played host to Newcastle on 1 October and Del Piero hit a brace to help his club maintain the top spot in their group. Juventus advanced to the second group stage where the club managed to progress, along with
Manchester United, on goal differential over
FC Basel and
Deportivo de La Coruña. Juventus then saw off
Barcelona in the quarter-finals through an extra time goal by
Marcelo Zalayeta, and faced Spanish opposition again in the likes of defending champions
Real Madrid in the semi-finals. The triumvirate attacking partnership proved wonders for Juventus, as the team overturned a 2–1 first leg deficit to record a 4–3 aggregate win as all three attacking stars netted in a 3–1 home win in the second leg. Juventus faced Italian rivals
AC Milan in the
2003 UEFA Champions League Final in Manchester on 28 May. After a goalless 120 minutes, the tie went to a penalty shoot-out, where Del Piero finished his spot-kick, but it wasn't enough, as Juventus fell 3–2 in the shoot-out. The following season saw Juventus start strongly, winning the
2003 Supercoppa Italiana over Milan on penalties, although Juventus were knocked out in the round of 16 in the
2003–04 UEFA Champions League, and finished the
2003–04 Serie A season in a disappointing third place. The club did manage to reach the
2004 Coppa Italia Final, only to be defeated by Lazio. Lippi left Juventus at the end of the season to take charge of the Italy national team. Despite his limited playing time, Del Piero still managed to score 14 goals, as Juventus won their
28th league title, due to his overhead assist to teammate David Trezeguet, which proved decisive in a match against Milan at the
San Siro. Del Piero also helped Juventus to reach the quarter-finals of the
2004–05 UEFA Champions League, only losing out to eventual champions
Liverpool. Several journalists and coaches believed that Del Piero was back to his best form in the
2005–06 Serie A, as he managed 12 goals in Serie A, and 20 goals in all competitions, helping Juventus to defend the Serie A title. His role at Juventus changed during his second season under Capello, who preferred to use him as an immediate-impact substitute. Due to his lack of playing time, Del Piero's relationship with Capello was often strained. On 10 January 2006, Del Piero became the all-time leading goalscorer for Juventus when he scored three times in a Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina, taking his total goal tally for the club to 185. The previous record holder was
Giampiero Boniperti, with 182 goals. Del Piero also finished the season as the top scorer of the
Coppa Italia, with 5 goals. Del Piero equalled
José Altafini's Serie A record of six goals as a substitute after scoring in the final minute of Juventus' final game of the 2005–06 season, before Juventus were forcibly relegated due to the
Calciopoli scandal, also having their two most recent Serie A titles revoked. While many key players such as
Fabio Cannavaro,
Emerson,
Gianluca Zambrotta,
Patrick Vieira,
Zlatan Ibrahimović, and
Lilian Thuram left, Del Piero chose to stay and help the club gain promotion. during the 2006–07 Serie B season Del Piero's first appearance after the
2006 FIFA World Cup triumph was in a
Coppa Italia match against
Cesena on 23 August 2006. As Juventus played in the Serie B for the 2006–07 season, the Coppa Italia campaign became increasingly important for the club in order to achieve a
UEFA Cup spot. Having been on vacation beforehand, Del Piero started on the bench. Juventus and Cesena were locked on 1–1 when Del Piero entered in the 74th minute and after nine seconds, he scored the winning goal for Juventus. Del Piero then came on as a substitute in the 61st minute during Juventus's next Coppa Italia match on 27 August, against Napoli. Once again Juventus came from behind, as Del Piero scored twice to give his team the lead. The match eventually went to penalties; although Del Piero scored his spot-kick, Napoli won 5–4 in the
penalty shoot-out. Despite starting the season with a nine-point penalty from the match-fixing scandal, Juventus gained promotion to Serie A as Serie B champions; Del Piero finished the league campaign as the top scorer of the
2006–07 Serie B season, with 20 goals. During the season, Del Piero also managed his 200th goal with Juventus on 28 October 2006, in a 1–0 league victory over
Frosinone.
2007–2011: Return to Serie A and post-Calciopoli struggles Following Juventus's return to Serie A, Del Piero was locked in months of fractious negotiations over the signing of a new contract with Juventus' new management. After successfully negotiating a new contract till 30 June 2010, he was greeted with news of the birth of his first child. This was quite a staggering turnaround in his fortunes, as only two weeks earlier, he was dropped by
Claudio Ranieri for the Serie A match with Fiorentina, and was then axed from
Roberto Donadoni's
Italy squad for the games with
Georgia and
South Africa. On 15 December 2007, Del Piero scored two goals away at Lazio and was named to two consecutive Serie A teams of the week. In February 2008, he scored the winning goal for Juventus from a free-kick in a 1–0 Serie A home victory over Roma. On 6 April 2008, he set a new appearance record for Juventus, overtaking
Gaetano Scirea's previous tally of 552 matches in all competitions. In April, he registered seven goals in five Serie A matches, including a hat-trick in a 0–4 away win over
Atalanta. On the final weekend of the
2007–08 season, Del Piero scored a brace against
Sampdoria in a 3–3 draw. These two goals were crucial, as it took him to 21 goals for the season, thus winning him the
Capocannonieri prize in Serie A for the first time in his illustrious career, beating the likes of teammate David Trezeguet (20 goals) and
Marco Borriello (19 goals), also matching his highest seasonal tally in Serie A since the 1997–98 season. He became only the second Italian ever to win consecutive
Capocannoniere titles in two different leagues – former Juventus and
1982 World Cup hero
Paolo Rossi being the other. (Coincidentally, Rossi also won the
Capocannoniere titles like Del Piero – first in Serie B and then in Serie A). On 26 July, Del Piero was awarded the Scirea Award. Juventus finished the 2007–08 Serie A season in third place, which allowed them to qualify for the
UEFA Champions League the following season. Before the season, Juventus manager
Claudio Ranieri remarked that Del Piero would have as good a season, or an even better one, than the previous term. In August 2008, Del Piero announced that he would try to keep playing professional football with Juventus until he turned 40. Juventus were drawn into the same Champions League group as
Real Madrid, and
UEFA Cup winners
Zenit Saint Petersburg. Del Piero marked Juventus's return to the competition with a match-winning free kick to seal a home win against Zenit. On 21 October, Del Piero netted a notable goal as Juventus defeated Real Madrid 2–1 in Turin, scoring with a first-time, curling strike from distance, in the fifth minute of play. On 5 November 2008, Juventus and Real Madrid squared off at
Santiago Bernabéu in the
Champions League. The Italians won 0–2, their first away win against Madrid since 1962, and Del Piero was a key performer, scoring both goals, and drawing praise from Ranieri, as well as Real Madrid's coach
Bernd Schuster. As he left the pitch after being substituted, fans from both sides gave him a standing ovation. Juventus's Champions League campaign ended in disappointment, as they were eliminated by
Chelsea in the second round. Despite converting a penalty in the second leg in Turin, Del Piero was unable to prevent Juventus from losing 3–2 on aggregate. On 29 November 2008, Del Piero scored his 250th goal for Juventus from a penalty, in a 4–0 home win over
Reggina. In the league, Juventus were mostly challenging Milan for second place and an automatic Champions League spot. Most notably, Del Piero inspired Juventus to a 3–0 win over
Siena in their penultimate game of the season, scoring a brace and setting up
Claudio Marchisio for the youngster's third goal of the season to end their run of seven winless matches in Serie A. Juventus then went on to defeat Lazio 2–0 and clinch the second place spot in
Serie A over Milan, determined by their head-to-head record. in the
2008–09 Serie A season On 17 July 2009, Del Piero extended his contract with Juventus by one more year until 30 June 2011 in Pinzolo while training for pre-season, thus practically ensuring that he would retire at the club with which he started his professional career. During his renewal, he said: "I am happy at Juventus and we are competitive. I want to keep playing for as long as I can and I'm certain that for at least two more years I will be at the top level." On 14 February 2010, Del Piero marked his 445th Serie A appearance, breaking the all-time club record previously held by Boniperti, with a brace in a 3–2 win against
Genoa. Del Piero finished the season as the all-time top scorer for Juventus, having scored over 250 goals in all competitions with the club, and having also made over 600 appearances in official matches for Juventus, breaking Scirea's appearance record. On 14 March 2010, Del Piero recorded his 300th and 301st career goals during a 3–3 draw with Siena, with the first two goals coming in the second and seventh minutes. On 30 October 2010, he recorded his 179th Serie A goal, helping his side to a 2–1 win at Milan, breaking the record of club legend
Giampiero Boniperti as Juventus's top scorer in Serie A, and further cementing his status as the most prolific goalscorer in Juventus history. On 5 February 2011, with his substitution against
Cagliari, Alessandro Del Piero became the most capped Juventus player, edging out former Juventus legend Giampiero Boniperti. Del Piero was the third most capped active player in the Serie A at the time, behind
Javier Zanetti and
Francesco Totti, respectively. On 5 May 2011, he signed a new one-year contract to stay at the
Juventus Arena. His previous deal was due to expire on 30 June 2011. On 24 May 2011, Del Piero and Juventus played against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a friendly match being former
England defender
Gary Neville's testimonial match. Del Piero was substituted after 65 minutes to a standing ovation from the United supporters.
2011–2012: Champion again in final season with Juventus Juventus confirmed on 18 October 2011 that the
2011–12 Serie A would be Del Piero's last season with the club. The 2011–12 season under new manager
Antonio Conte, his former Juventus teammate, saw Del Piero being used sparingly, and mainly as a substitute, because of the summer arrival of forward
Mirko Vučinić from Roma. In the club's opening match of the season against Parma on 11 September, he assisted
Simone Pepe's goal in an eventual 4–1 home win. Del Piero scored his first goal in the new
Juventus Stadium on 24 January 2012, in a 3–0 win over Roma in the quarter-finals of the
Coppa Italia. Later in the season, Del Piero stated that he was surprised at Juventus president
Andrea Agnelli's announcement regarding the club's decision not to offer him a new contract. In the second leg of Juventus's clash with Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, Del Piero finished off a brilliant move by Juventus as they secured a 2–2 draw to progress to the final with a 4–3 aggregate win. On 25 March, Del Piero helped Juventus defeat Inter Milan by scoring the second goal of the match in a 2–0 victory, his first goal of the Serie A season. In Juventus' match against Lazio on 11 April, Del Piero replaced Vučinić in the second half, making his 700th appearance for Juventus, and then went on to score from a free kick to earn his side a 2–1 victory; the result also enabled Juventus to return to the top of the Serie A table. On 13 May, Del Piero started Juventus's final league game of the season against
Atalanta, marking the occasion and the victory of their 28th Serie A title by scoring a goal. Twenty-seven minutes into the match, Del Piero picked the ball up at the edge of the penalty box and placed a shot past
Giorgio Frezzolini to make the score 2–0, helping Juventus to go undefeated in Serie A that season. He was substituted off after 59 minutes to an emotional response from both sets of players and supporters, as he made a lap of honour around the pitch. This was Alessandro Del Piero's final Serie A appearance for Juventus. Del Piero's final match for Juventus was in the
Coppa Italia Final on 20 May against Napoli, which ended in a 2–0 victory to the Neapolitans. Del Piero was substituted in the 67th minute for Vučinić as his Juventus career came to an end; he received a standing ovation from both the Juventus and Napoli fans. Following the game, he confirmed that after his 19-year spell with Juventus, he did not plan to retire. He then left the club and became a free agent. In total, Del Piero made a club record of 705 appearances for Juventus across all competitions, scoring a record 290 goals, and providing 134 assists in all competitions throughout his career with the club; he also scored 188 goals and provided 108 assists in 478 Serie A appearances with the Turin club, making him the
third–highest assist provider of all time in Serie A history, after Totti and Roberto Baggio. In addition to these records, Del Piero is also Juventus's top scorer and second highest appearance holder in the
UEFA Champions League, behind only Buffon, with 44 goals in 92 appearances; he is also the top scorer and appearance holder for Juventus in
European Competitions, with 50 goals in 125 appearances, in
International competitions, with 54 goals in 131 appearances, and in the
Supercoppa Italiana, with 3 goals in 6 appearances. He is the club's top-scorer in
Serie B, with 21 goals, and the club's second highest scorer in the
Coppa Italia, with 25 goals, behind
Pietro Anastasi. Alongside
Giuseppe Signori and
Alberto Gilardino, Del Piero is also the
ninth highest all-time goalscorer in Serie A, and he is currently the joint all-time top scorer in the Supercoppa Italiana, alongside
Samuel Eto'o,
Andriy Shevchenko, and
Carlos Tevez. As of May 2025, he is the joint nineteenth highest
UEFA Champions League all-time goalscorer, with 42 goals. Del Piero refused the board's offer to retire the No. 10 shirt in his honour, saying: "I've really had so much that I would never want it to be retired, this way, every child can dream one day of wearing it." On 30 June, Del Piero wrote an open letter to the Juventus fans thanking them for almost two decades of support, stating: "Above all what remains is the fans, you who are Juventus. That jersey that I loved and will always love, that I desired and respected ... From tomorrow I will no longer be a Juventus player, but I will always be one of you. Now a new adventure begins and I am as fired up as I was 19 summers ago."
Sydney FC On 5 September 2012, Del Piero signed a two-year deal with
Sydney FC. He was paid approximately AU$3.5 million for each of his first two seasons, and therefore became the highest-paid footballer to ever play in Australia. Del Piero had been linked to
Liverpool prior to signing for Sydney, but later revealed due to his memories of
Heysel he would not have been able to move to the club. Upon signing for Sydney FC, Del Piero said: "It's a special day for me. I am happy to announce that I just signed for two years for Sydney FC. This is a very big moment for me because I want to continue my career in a new part of the world where I can make a major contribution and help grow the game I love." After the announcement of the transfer to Sydney FC, Juventus wished good luck to their former captain.
Francesco Totti and
Filippo Inzaghi said they were saddened by his departure. Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow said: "The signing of Alessandro Del Piero is a big moment for this club and, we believe, a historic moment for football in Australia, I wouldn't like to go into the details of the contract, but this does represent the largest professional sporting contract in Australian history and the numbers that have been discussed aren't too far off the mark."
Football Federation Australia chief executive
Ben Buckley said that this signing would be crucial for the growth of Australian Football, both economically and technically.
FIFA President
Sepp Blatter sent his best wishes to Del Piero and his new club. On 6 October 2012, Del Piero made his
A-League debut with Sydney FC in a 2–0 away loss against
Wellington Phoenix. Del Piero scored his first goal for the club from a free-kick in 3–2 loss to
Newcastle Jets on 13 October, in his first home game for Sydney. The match against Newcastle featured hero-cam, which allowed the viewer to track Del Piero's movements with one camera throughout the game. On 20 October, Del Piero scored the winning goal against
Western Sydney Wanderers FC (1–0), making history with the first goal in the first
Sydney Derby. On 19 January 2013, Del Piero scored four goals and also provided one assist in Sydney's 7–1 win against Wellington Phoenix; this was the first time he had scored more than three goals in a single match, and after being substituted, the fans gave him a standing ovation. On 10 February, Del Piero broke the club's record for most goals in a single season, scoring his eleventh goal of the season in a 2–1 home win over
Brisbane Roar. Despite his record-breaking tally of 14 goals in 24 appearances, Del Piero was unable to help Sydney qualify for the play-offs at the end of the season. On 21 February, Del Piero renewed his contract until 2014. Del Piero was named Sydney's captain for their 2013–14 season. On 11 October 2013, Del Piero scored the opening goal of the
2013–14 A-League season, the game-winner in a 2–0 victory over Newcastle Jets, also setting up
Joel Chianese's goal. Alessandro went on to score 10 goals in total for Sydney FC in the 2013–14 season, which earned him the Sydney FC Golden Boot; he helped the club qualify for the finals series, setting up both of his team's goals in the final match of the regular season on 13 April 2014, a 2–1 home win over
Perth Glory, before being released of his contract at Sydney FC. His final match with Sydney came in a 2–1 loss to
Melbourne Victory in an
Elimination final at
Docklands Stadium on 18 April, courtesy of
Gui Finkler's injury time winner. On Sunday 10 August 2014, Del Piero captained the
Hyundai A-League All Stars against his club of almost 20 years, Juventus, in Sydney, in front of over 55,000 people at
ANZ Stadium. Del Piero was substituted off at the 63rd minute of the match for
David Williams, to a standing ovation. In April 2015, Del Piero was named to Sydney FC's team of the decade and to the
AFC team of the decade.
Delhi Dynamos On 23 August 2014, it was reported that
Delhi Dynamos, an Indian side that was set to play in the inaugural
Indian Super League season, was in talks with Del Piero. His brother, Stefano Del Piero said, "During the last (few) weeks, we have received inquiries from several teams, not only from India but also from other countries. There is a lot of interest in Alessandro." On 28 August 2014, he officially signed for the
Delhi-based outfit, signing a four-month deal. He reportedly is the highest paid player in the history of Indian football. Del Piero made his debut for the Delhi Dynamos on 14 October in a 0–0 draw against
Pune City, a side which featured his former Juventus teammate
David Trezeguet. On 9 December, Del Piero scored his first and only Delhi Dynamos goal, netting directly from a free kick, in a 2–2 draw against
Chennaiyin. Del Piero made 10 appearances throughout the season as Delhi finished in fifth place, failing to reach the play-offs by a single point.
Retirement In October 2015, after almost a year without a club, Del Piero officially communicated his retirement from professional football, also stating his intention to pursue a coaching career. == International career ==