Sydney FC coach Frank Farina expects Alessandro Del Piero to make a decision shortly on whether he remains in the A-League.
A heart-breaking loss to Melbourne Victory in Friday night’s elimination final could mean the end of Del Piero’s time with the Sky Blues.
Brazilian Gui Finkler struck the decisive blow with an injury-time goal to steal a 2-1 victory at Etihad Stadium.
The Italian great said after the game he wanted to stay in the harbour city, but added he was looking forward to a rest after his second season in the A-League.
Farina said he expected a decision to be made – by either Del Piero or the Sydney FC board – to come sooner rather than later.
“Discussions have to be had and I think it will be relatively quick now,” he said.
“We’ve got to respect him and see what he wants to do.”
“He’s been fantastic for Australian football, both on the field and off the field, and for Sydney as a city and a club.”
Del Piero wasn’t at his best in Sydney FC’s loss, though still managed to light up the tense clash with neat touches and sharp control.
He was neatly marked by Nick Ansell and like the rest of the team, looked to be steeling himself for extra-time.
Instead, Sydney now have five months of off-season planning.
Farina said the Del Piero decision needed to come before so the rest of his rebuilding plans can take shape.
“The football club will always move forward irrespective of whether one player stays or goes,” he said.
Farina insisted he had a contract for next season but it was “still to be discussed” with the club.
“The last few years have been pretty lean and I think we’ve made positive progress,” he said.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
He's been fabulous for the HAL but at the moment looks leg weary. Sure, he can jinx, drop the shoulder and fool players at will but on Friday night he just seemed to be slower than what I've seen him so far. Might be time for SFC to spend ADP's wages on other players/facilities.
asanchez
Roar Guru
The headline of this piece tells you exactly what's wrong at Sydney FC! Who cares what Del Piero wants or says!! First of all, the club needs to make the decision if they actually want to keep him or not... My take on it, yes he's a great name in World Football, he's had some great highlights in the A-league, been awesome for the league in worldwide terms & for marketing, and he's great when he's on the ball for them. But the guy is now 40YO, he's commanding $3.5m AUD a season, is a liability when Sydney doesn't have the ball, and is now on 1 leg, why would Sydney FC keep ADP?? He could play next season & contribute, but how many games would he play? 10-12 games max? For me, unless he takes a massive paycut and plays for $750k-$1m next season, what's the point in Sydney FC keeping him around?? Their overall squad isn't good enough in A-league terms and the cash they could save on ADP would come in very handy in other areas. I'm not even a Sydney FC fan, but if ADP stays I can't see this ending well...
JonJax
Guest
ADP retained in a combined player- coach capacity. Farina can walk.
Bondy
Guest
He was poorly serviced on Friday night ,but again made more time on the ball that any other player on the pitch. I feel he feels he's had enough, I hope I'm wrong he's really entertained the purists over the past two years, a great ambassador for Italia in general and world football.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Imo it all depends on the other potential marquees likely to join SFC. If you can get quality and (more) youth/pace, I'd say replace AdP. As great as he is AdP slows the game so when you have a playmaker like him its all your game plan that's affected. A management role would be great. I'd hope that SFC has started talks with some agents as next season will come quickly enough. Could also decide not to invest in a marquee for once and try something else.
Evan Askew
Guest
I thin he could keep playing for another season after friday night but not necesarily as a marquee, but he could definitely be of value playing for 60 to 70 minutes or coming on as a sub in the second half.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
I didn't think ADP could play another season with SFC, but I have come around thinking maybe he could. Another season with ADP in the squad after watching him in last Friday's final maybe a good thing for the youngsters at SFC. I hope it happens and as for Frank I would think he would be the only Australian manager who could work with the great man.. Both men seem to have an enormous lot of respect for each other.
Kane Cassidy
Roar Guru
The best thing we can do is get him in a backroom role, perhaps even to groom him for a manager/director of football role.