The Calciopoli scandal of 2006 shook Italian and indeed world football out of its stupor. It cast a gloom over the country’s premier sport, with allegations of match-fixing leading to the demotion of Juventus to Serie B. No longer was football looked at in the same way, as every match was under investigation at the time. It took a while for Italian football to recover from that shock to the system.
But in a way, Calciopoli brought to the fore some of the best tales in modern-day football, tales of loyalty, honour and commitment to the shirt. Perhaps no footballer exhibits those traits more than Alessandro del Piero, the golden boy of the Old Lady.
In this piece titled Del Piero – Calciopoli to Manself, the author sheds light on the myriad of challenges and decisions facing del Piero following the Old Lady’s demotion to the second tier of Italian football. It tells the tale of a man who would not shy away from what lay before him – a long, hard road back to the top tier of Italian football.
The loyalty to the shirt outweighed the urge for personal glory, as del Piero and his teammates sacrificed silverware, fame and fortune available to them in other big clubs by sticking to their principles. Perhaps that is why when they finally lifted the Scudetto after 6 long years, the celebrations were emotional, to say the least.
This article is a must read for fans of Juventus, fans of football and indeed those looking for the right reasons to play and watch football. del Piero is what is good in football, but for that, a lot of bad things had to happen, as the author narrates.
The full piece can be found here - Del Piero – Calciopoli to Manself
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