Throughout the club’s history, Juventus have been blessed with a plethora of legends, but Alessandro Del Piero arguably remains the most iconic figure to don the black-and-white jersey.
Il Pinturicchio gracefully represented the Bianconeri between 1993 and 2012, witnessing the rise and fall of several generations.
During his later years in Turin, the legendary number 10 formed a strong rapport on and off the pitch with Claudio Marchisio, a Juventus youth product who was at the time writing his own legendary chapter.
Il Principino recalls his time alongside his old captain. It all began with the 2006/07 campaign when the midfielder was promoted to Didier Deschamps’ senior squad, and found it hard to believe that he was playing alongside some of his childhood heroes, including Pavel Nedved and Gianluigi Buffon.
As for Del Piero, Marchisio had been equally fascinated by the striker’s playing skills and personality alike.
“When it comes to Alessandro, in addition to the legend there is the person,” said the retired midfielder as reported by ilBianconero.
“He was a teammate and a friend. My first career goal came from his assist against Fiorentina.
“However, I remember the things that occurred off the field more than anything else. The genesis of a winning team often comes from what happens outside.
“Alex helped me massively to grow as a person and player. When I joined the first team after Calciopoli, we were several young players who suddenly found themselves in the first team with world champions. who had remained at the club.
“Those legends put themselves on the same level with us youngsters, lending us a hand on and off the pitch. You can only imagine what it felt like!”
