Italian football legend Alessandro Del Piero says Australian football is definitely on the up, but needs to improve at youth level.
The 39-year-old striker is set to make his final appearance on Australian soil on Sunday at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.
He will captain an A-League All Stars side against his former club, Italian Serie A champions Juventus.
Del Piero, has spent the past two A-League seasons plying his trade for Sydney FC.
“The level is going up and improving,” Del Piero said.
“There’s many good players and great coaches like (All Stars coach) Josep (Gombau) who come from outside (Australia).
“You can mix the mentality and have more new things.”
Asked what needed to be done to continue lifting football standards in Australia, Del Piero said “It’s not easy, it’s step by step.
“The youth teams have to improve, have to be better.
“The Football Federation Federation of Australia want to work and want to improve the league. This is the most important thing.”
Del Piero said he would take away many good memories of Australia and stressed he had been well received right around Australia and not just by Sydney FC fans.
“I’m really happy because more people came to the stadiums and especially last year we have two times the (Sydney) derby sold out,” Del Piero said.
“It was an amazing atmosphere, the best I’ve ever seen in Australia.
“But In Adelaide as well, in Perth and in Melbourne, I received a lot of hugs and a warm welcome from different people.
“I think this is the best part. The connection between what happened on the field and with the fans outside,”
He hopes to make an announcement regarding his future in the next two weeks.
Training with the All Stars seems only to have fuelled his desire to keep playing.
“This week is very important for me, because training alone is different to training inside a team,” Del Piero said.
“The time with Josep and the guys is amazing, I’ve really enjoyed this week and I’m very happy and it’s has helped me for the next choice in my life.”
j binnie
Guest
Good to get the words out of the mouth of someone who may get listened to.Many of us have written about and discussed the malady he describes but still that lingering doubt remains,can our young players get the education they need here on Oz or are we forever doomed to watch youngsters go overseas in the hope of attaining improvement, and ,in many such cases ,returning dis-illusioned by the game and what it offers to those who may not have "made it" in the big leagues of Europe. jb
AZ_RBB
Guest
I like it how he was always honest in his opinions on Australian football. He could have easily spent his whole time here sucking up to us and saying how amazing everything was. But instead he regularly made astute observations and gave intelligent advice on how things could be done better.
whiskeymac
Guest
Consummate professional and gentleman.