At present, Alessandro Del Piero is Sydney’s gift to the A-League. With the Sky Blues unable to find any consistent form so far this season, Del Piero’s presence has proved to be a great marketing tool for opposing clubs.
As Shaun Mooney illustrated in his statistical breakdown of the A-League’s attendences, “the Del Piero effect” has generated considerable increases in attendances at Sydney’s away games as well as games at the SFS.
Indeed, Sydney have only won two of their eight games on the road. Fans in Brisbane or Melbourne, for example, can admire Il Pinturiccio’s feints and dummies, but still walk away with three points. Win win.
You’ve got to feel for Tony Pignata and the board at Sydney FC. It wasn’t meant to be this way.
The excitement generated by Del Piero’s signing in September was palpable. Memberships and shirts sold at unprecedented rates, while Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets both scrambled for their own marquee players.
Sydney’s audacity quickly redefined the role of the marquee player.
Four months on, however, and the Harbour City club remains anchored to the bottom half of the table, with an interim coach and a string of injured players.
True, Sydney were able to scrape past Melbourne Heart at home on Sunday, but the performance did little to suggest that they are a top-six side.
Worse still, commentators are already predicting that Alessandro Del Piero’s time at Sydney may be ending soon, with ominous reports in La Gazzetta dello Sport further feeding the rumours.
Of course, for the moment they are still rumours. Del Piero has a little over a month to decide whether he will commit for another season, which is likely to be his last as a professional footballer.
It will be hard to criticise Del Piero if he does decide to leave at season’s end. The ultimate professional, he has remained jovial and approachable in his ambassadorial role, while putting in polished performances in trying circumstances.
Indeed, it was his cross that set up Rhyan Grant for the winner against Melbourne Heart on Sunday, deep into injury time.
Yet he looks tired and frustrated at his fellow players and the coaching staff. His outburst at Ali Abbas on the weekend was, one feels, a sign of his growing dissatisfaction.
When Del Piero arrived, we were assured by the club they had their own internal structures in place, which their star signing would simply have to fit into.
But considering interim coach Frank Farina has been given the freedom to bring in his own fitness coach in Anthony Crea, and football director Gary Cole was sacked midway through the season, it appears the board are still thinking on the run.
If Farina fails to make the finals, it’s likely the club will look for a replacement – their eighth coach in just nine seasons.
When former coach Ian Crook resigned in November, I wondered whether Sydney FC would have started the season better without the pre-season drama. Certainly, the pressure to perform would have been far less intense.
Now is not the time for such hypotheticals, however. With just over two months of football remaining before the finals, time is running out for Sydney to properly capitalise on their marquee man.
The signing of Joel Griffiths may help relieve some of the pressure from Del Piero. So far he has been deployed up front and in the midfield by Sydney, but his best position is as a seconda punta: the ‘second striker.’
Perhaps Griffiths will provide a better foil than Yairo Yau, who is not a natural centre forward.
While Del Piero’s individual skills are sublime to watch, it would be nice to see him play in a functioning football team. Good players always perform better as a cog in a wheel, rather than having to carry their teammates.
The contrast in the way Tony Popovic has integrated Shinji Ono into his squad at Western Sydney Wanderers could not be more stark.
Should Sydney FC fail to keep Del Piero for a second season, it would be disastrous for the club’s public image.
In any event, the longer Sydney fail to perform with Del Piero in the squad, the more the romance wears off. It would be sad to see Del Piero leave early in his contract, but who could blame him if things don’t improve?
‘Project Sydney’ is fading fast.
Emanuele
Guest
Your comment demonstrates when your wrote this you have never played at a high level,our you have a biase against older or slower players,as the game after your comment this 38 year old scored 4 goals in a match,not with pace but with skill and mastery.....having watch him train he trains a hour after everyone else....nothing takes away from legendary skill or hard work...p.s. he has scored 9 goals with a poor team...end of story
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Yes "the not quite the experts" with egg all over their face... Alessandro Del Piero's four-goal master class---inspired Sydney FC yesterday to its biggest ever A-League win, with a spectacular 7-1 thrashing of Wellington Phoenix on Saturday. That ball to Joel Griffith (I suspect any 15yr old could've delivered) was sublime to say the least for JG's first goal for SFC.. Then followed by a goal from ADP from his left foot---then a pen---then two by his right foot... Not bad for a left footer ... Technique a clear winner over searing pace.. :D
nearpost
Guest
And the winners are: 1. Real Football 2.Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football Real Football: Not quite the expert football observer and analyser yet are you. Perhaps a little less poor football analysis and a little more cultural cringe would help. You wrote, you really did: "Way too much has been made of his contributions on the park. He still has the technique, yes, but his pace has utterly gone and, frankly, he plays like his age. Sure he put in a good cross on the weekend. Big deal. An average grade footballer can put in a good cross; my U15s can put in a good cross." That "good cross" he put in - it won the game. Think about it. For the record the crosses he put in this weekend v The Nix were actually shots...and they went in!
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"That being said, ADP’s pace has now dropped to the point where his technical skills do not compensate." I hope you watched today's match, SFC v NIX? Quick thinking & technical perfection are the attributes I look for in the play-maker's role. Pace is a completely irrelevant attribute.
Michael
Guest
I remember sitting in awe when I first saw him live for the first Newcastle game. And have been blown away every time since. It is a privilege to see a player of his skill play live in my national league. On a team level, if Sydney can develop their current players to work around ADP or bring in the required talent to do so the man could control a game without having to move more than 5 meters.
Michael
Guest
Having had the pleasure to watch ADP live now 6 times, there is no doubt he is worth the money on the field. Yes he does look a little agitated now days but that is to be expected and regardless every time I am able to sit and watch this master control a football I get to go home with a big smile on my face.
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
Agree that he has brought very significant revenue into the club, but I would love to see the true (i.e. complete) financials at the end of the season. Not that that will happen of course...
jacket
Guest
Realfootball, in your original post, you put ADP was 80% publicity and 20% playing and that he only put one good cross in, that an under 15 can do, i would not expect that kind of comment from someone who has got a solid playing background and coaching in football do you? PS @Fadida I'll save you the trouble of typing a response by telling everyone that you'll be agreeing with all of Realfootball posts.
Enrico
Guest
I don't know if the Sydney Project is fading or not, but what I know is : 1 - Del Piero has a history of sticking to his word, so if he is saying that he wants to stay down under he probably will unless, of course, the club decides it doesn't want him anymore; 2 - The quality of life in Australia is very good (I lived in Melbourne for some time, and you really can't understand the difference if you never lived in Italy). His English is good enough for him not to feel totally extranged, and he has the enthusiastic support of the Italian community. So I suspect that if Sydney FC is wise enough to renew his contract and eventually to offer him some managment role, we will see him in Italy again only when he comes visiting his family. And it won't be often, because the flight is quite brutal.
Stevo
Guest
Yes but I'm not holding my breath waiting for us to win silverware. Low cost model for modest return. Well at least we'll survive while the bigger spending clubs need to go in search of more wealthy owners and sponsorship :)
Peter Care
Guest
Even Ron Read in the Herald-Sun wrote an article comparing the A-league to the big bash, and the overall tone of the article was positive towards the a-league. That would have been unheard of two seasons ago. It was a well thought-out and written piece.
Peter Care
Guest
Melbourne Heart owners expect a return on their investment. For them it's a profit making venture. That's why they run a low cost operation and are planning break even this season. As an example of their low cost, their marquee is Fred and they have no Australian Marquee. Part of their profit making plan involves developing young players and then sell them overseas at a profit.
nachos supreme
Guest
Agreed. I'm just waiting for more of the waved index finger rather than the praying hands :)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
After 8 rounds, SFC crowds: Last season: 98,988 This season: 161,008 Assume, average ticket price: $25 Total INCREASE in gate receipts this season = $1.5m Add, Merchandise: estimate $2m extra PROFIT Sponsorship: >$1m increase Media exposure/advertising: ??? estimated at several $million Ale has been a gold mine for SFC.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
David Traktovenko, who owns Sydney FC, is one of the richest men in Australia. Regardless, after 7 years of private ownership in the A-League, the League title has been won by 5 different teams That's pretty damn competitive!
Damiano
Guest
Whinging to the referrees is the standard Italian way. I've been watching Italian football all my life and this is normal. ADP isn't behaving any differently at Sydney than he did at Juve, and to be honest i don't think he complains as much as a lot of other players do in Italy. I thin its a credit to our game here in Australia how little our players complain. I remember seeing an article in which referees and umpires were interviewed from different sports and they said that players voicing their opinion to them did influence the decisions they made on the pitch, so its not a pointless exercise. As for ADP, he has been accustomed to playing for a winning team for practically all of his career. Don't quote me, but I think from memory the lowest Juve ever finished was 7th in the league the whole time he was there. Even in the dire seasons since Calciopoli and their return from Serie B they have still been in the mix up until Conte sorted them out last season and got them back to being champs again. I think he is frustrated at losing, which is fair enough.
Jon stevens
Guest
If that's SFC average crowd then ADP is already paid for. Now they just need a bit more success on the field. If they finish above mid table ill consider that ok
Bondy
Guest
Nonsense. You should concentrate on the football element daddy o.
Jon stevens
Guest
Approx 40000 shirts & an extra 4000 average attendance and they break even. Not sure where they're at but I think they'll do it easy
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
He spent half the Heart game conducting a verbal stoush with Ali Abbas rather than concentrating on the game. Even after Abbas was subbed off!!