In the summer of 2012, Liverpool put in an offer for Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero, and at the time, his agent claimed that the Heysel disaster is the principal reason the striker star snubbed a move to Anfield. However, in a new interview, Del Piero rejects that contention, and offers another explanation for his decision to choose Australia over the Premier League.
In a September 2012 interview with TMW , Claudio Pasqualin, Del Piero's Agent, confirmed that Liverpool had made enquiries, and explained:
"He [Del Piero] said no to Liverpool out of remembrance and respect for the the Heysel tragedy."
Speaking to Four Four Two magazine this week, however, the former Juventus star said:
"Liverpool? That's a delicate question. When Liverpool's offer arrived I'd already said yes to Sydney, so it didn't seem right. So there was no need to really think about [the Heysel question], but what happened at Heysel was terrible. My only hope is that never happens again to either Italian or English fans."
When asked about the disaster prior to Juve's 2005 Champions League game at Anfield, Del Piero noted:
"I was 11yrs old at the time of the Heysel disaster. I was watching the game with my parents at some friends. When my dad realised how serious the incidents were, he sent me and my friend out to play football. I realised what had happened some time later"
I wonder what would've happened if Liverpool's offer had arrived Del Piero agreed a deal with Sydney?
Brendan Rodgers' first transfer window at Anfield was an unmitigated disaster (Allen, Borini, Assaidi, Sahin, Yesil etc), but how amazing it would've been to have one of the true legends of the modern game at Liverpool for a while. Imagine the buzz around the club, the effect on senior players, and learning impact on young, developing players.
I don't think any LFC fans seriously believed that a 37-year old striker could've been the answer to the club's goalscoring problems (at that time), but the benefits of having such an experienced player at the club are obvious.
Author: Jaimie K
In a September 2012 interview with TMW , Claudio Pasqualin, Del Piero's Agent, confirmed that Liverpool had made enquiries, and explained:
"He [Del Piero] said no to Liverpool out of remembrance and respect for the the Heysel tragedy."
Speaking to Four Four Two magazine this week, however, the former Juventus star said:
"Liverpool? That's a delicate question. When Liverpool's offer arrived I'd already said yes to Sydney, so it didn't seem right. So there was no need to really think about [the Heysel question], but what happened at Heysel was terrible. My only hope is that never happens again to either Italian or English fans."
When asked about the disaster prior to Juve's 2005 Champions League game at Anfield, Del Piero noted:
"I was 11yrs old at the time of the Heysel disaster. I was watching the game with my parents at some friends. When my dad realised how serious the incidents were, he sent me and my friend out to play football. I realised what had happened some time later"
I wonder what would've happened if Liverpool's offer had arrived Del Piero agreed a deal with Sydney?
Brendan Rodgers' first transfer window at Anfield was an unmitigated disaster (Allen, Borini, Assaidi, Sahin, Yesil etc), but how amazing it would've been to have one of the true legends of the modern game at Liverpool for a while. Imagine the buzz around the club, the effect on senior players, and learning impact on young, developing players.
I don't think any LFC fans seriously believed that a 37-year old striker could've been the answer to the club's goalscoring problems (at that time), but the benefits of having such an experienced player at the club are obvious.
Author: Jaimie K
He single-handedly carries my local team. When he's injured, they're s***. He gets so much spotlight here too. I live about 20 mins from him...
ReplyDeleteI get to see Del Piero play live every week and when there are players like that on the field you forget about the burden a season ticket has on your wallet.
ReplyDeleteThey say you never lose it, and all of his technical ability is still there but he has no pace left in him at all. He is also pretty fragile and his injury problems are a concern, he's pretty much glass nowadays.
Maybe he could of taught Borini how to finish...I hope Borini comes back next season and has a decent role to play.
It's not down to him. Our two best and brightest mids (Antonis + Triantis) are out all season and we have a coach who lacks any tactical sense and generally we play like a team without any purpose and direction.
ReplyDeleteBrisbane Roar have produced Barcelona stuff for 3 years, they are amazing and I hope the world takes notice of them. Roarcelona.
Unmitigated disaster...not sure about that. Borini, let say we paid 10 million for him, reckon he not worth much less. Assadi, we could get back every sent we spent on him. Yesil is young and an investment buy. Sahin never lived up to expectations and was shipped out. Allen was for me a great buy, he understood BRs style, philisophy etc. 15 million a bit over the top, but again I wouldn't say an unmitigated disaster. I think you need to understand FSGs strategy. Buy young, relatively inexpensive, buys with potential. Some work some don't. You lose some you win some. It either a case of buying Carrol for 35 million and selling for 15 million, a loss of 20 million, Or Sturridge, Coutinho, Borini and Aspas for a combined 40 million and 2 out of the 4 work and their total value now is maybe 50 million. Undeniable success I would say. The glass half full or half empty...you decide.
ReplyDeletecan any1 listed a first XI for those player we really come close to signing recent yrs???
ReplyDeleteSounds like Wenger's style. Certainly kept Arsenal in the black.
ReplyDeleteOf the top of my head I can only remember Simao Sabrosa from Benfica.
ReplyDeleteOne of the greatest finishers, the rest of the squad could have learnt so much from him.
ReplyDeleteThe level of 'closeness' is hard to assess, but there are many top targets Rafa wanted that we missed out on. Alves, Villa, Mata, Cazorla, Distin, Barry. Some were obviously quite close (e.g.: Barry and Simao), with some you're relying on hearsay.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been brilliant to have Del Piero. Fabulous player. Could have been even better if not for his big knee injury.
ReplyDeleteI fully respect his reasons for turning us down, whether it was because of a pre-existing agreement with Sydney or Heysel.
Let's just say that Del Piero is doing well in the A-League and that's about it. Maybe he's got some additional levels he hasn't felt like achieving but based on his form in Australia I think he would have achieved nothing at Liverpool. It's not that he's not one of the best players here but more that he's not head and shoulders above everyone else. He has incredible skills and scores great goals but there are times when his age is obvious. Maybe that experience would have been good to have around, I'm not convinced.
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't think Allen is an unmitigated disaster. He's first choice when Lucas or Gerrard don't play and if he can get into top form he's a very good player.
ReplyDeleteSorry to see you're a blues fan Pete. We do enjoy a better class of football up here in Brisbane, even if the jersey is a bit naff. You don't fancy the journey out to Paramatta for some more fun on the weekends?
ReplyDeleteSydney FC since day 1. Before that it was Sydney Olympic. I'll never join the RBB bandwagon! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen they began to dominate, Brisbane certainly sparked my interest in the otherwise somewhat boring A-League again. I enjoy going to local games and sometimes down to the central coast but not too fussed about results as Liverpool matters most.
It's also Lyons style and yet they won the French League 6 years in a row. It's FC Portos style. Granted the Portuguese league isn't the same class as the Premier League is but still have in recent times dominated that league and been competitive in the Champions League near enough every season. Oh and let's not forget teams seem to buy some Porto players for £30m-£40m. Not bad eh? Sporting Lisbon have over the last few years adopted this approach and despite struggling over the last few years are joint top of the league right now using this system.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea about the A-League but my favourite A-League team is Newcastle Jets. I used them on FIFA for a few seasons when the A-League first got added. Are they any good?
ReplyDeleteA lot of players would have done a U-turn at that point and jumped ship so you have to respect him for fulfilling his agreement.
ReplyDelete4-2-3-1GK: Jack Butland (according to speculation anyway and only goalkeeper I remember)
ReplyDeleteRB: Alves
CBs: Distin and Vidic
LB: Clichy is one right?
CMs: Cazorla and Barry
RAM: Silva
CAM: Mata
LAM: Ronaldo
ST: Villa
Some honourable mentions:
Anelka. Why would Houllier think Diouf was a better option. Let's look at a few snippits from Carraghers auto-biography.
"The names El-Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao now make the toughest of Liverpudlians fear..."
"The first concern I had with Diouf is his pace. He didn't have any..."
"Do you remember being at school and picking sides for a game of football? We do this at Liverpool for 5-a-sides. Diouf was "last pick" Within a few weeks. "You paid 10 million for him and no one wants him in their team" I shouted to Gerard..."
"If Diouf was a disappointment, Diao was a catastrophe"
"But even he wasn't the worst of this hideous summer [2002]. Houllier also signed Bruno Cheyrou..."
Simoa Sabrosa
Mario Gomez
Michael Laudrup if you want him in there?
Jovetic
Also the Armenian who went to Dortmund instead (I can't be bothered to google how to spell his name)
Also what is now looking like Salah.
Haha, they are okay, bit up and down. But they have Emile Heskey! :)
ReplyDeleteFair enough! Last time I heard Heskey was ripping it up in down there! Is that true? :P
ReplyDeleteI don't know how but I had Mark Viduka and Michael Owen as the front two. I really want to know how I did that? :S But to make a bit more realistic I had Francis Jeffers on the bench. Well that's a bit harsh, he wasn't good enough for the A-League.
Last season Heskey played really well and I think, no joke, he even scored a bicycle kick! This season he has been injured quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough Owen was linked to the Jets a couple of years ago and as Owen loves horses there was a rumour that the Jets owner was going to offer him horses and stables...who knows if that is true...
I wish Viduka played, quality striker. Some oldies who played in England have found their way here like you said Jeffers, and Heskey, Kewell and Michael Bridges.
dempsey
ReplyDeleteIt works alright, certainly hasn't done Arsenal any harm. If you have a good eye for the youngsters go get them. Most of them will work hard for their careers and for the future.
ReplyDeleteYeah I saw that video of Heskey (met him by the way)
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't surprise me with Owen to be honest, I heard somewhere the only reason Fergie brought him in was basically the same reason. They own a horse together and he owns the stables but wasn't in a lot of gambling debt? So Fergie gave him good wages. I don't know if that;s true or not. It's plausible.
I was a big fan of Viduka and there has been a fair few other really good Austalian players. I honestly think if Kewell wasn't so god damn injury prone he could have been a great player for us but ah well.
Personally I reckon Fergie signed Owen to just rub it in to Liverpool. One of our greatest ever strikers was Fergie's 4th choice striker, he pretty much wiped his back side with Owen. He also has a PL medal...
ReplyDeleteYeah Kewell in his day was a fantastic player as was Viduka, but those players were part of a golden generation and now other Australian players aren't up to those same standards, only very few are.