Alessandro Del Piero has opened up about his first years in Turin, his bond with the late Gianni Agnelli, the most emotional goals of his career, and his thoughts on the Italian national team. Speaking on Stanotte a Torino (as quoted by Calciomercato), broadcast on Rai 1 with Alberto Angela, the Juventus legend retraced the key moments that defined both his life and career.
Arriving in Turin
“I remember immersing myself in a completely new reality,” Del Piero said. “I came from a small town, and Turin felt like a huge metropolis to me. The impact was important — beautiful, but also a little traumatic. During the first few months you don’t quite know where you are, with all these big avenues… As an eighteen-year-old, it was a discovery made slowly, step by step.”
Places of the Heart
“My places of the heart? There are many — I lived here for 19 consecutive years,” he recalled. “The first place is the old Comunale Stadium, where I watched my idols play and win. I was curious to see it from the inside. Then Piazza Carlina, where I lived for most of the time from 1990 to 1996 — those are the two places that left the strongest impression on me.”
Gianni Agnelli and the Famous Phone Call
“It’s hard to find the right words for a man like that,” Del Piero reflected. “He was unique in so many ways — for his role at Juventus, for how deeply he knew and followed the club. He seemed almost detached, but in reality, he knew exactly what was going on.”
“Then there’s this myth about his morning phone calls at five o’clock. There was always the classic line: ‘Casa Agnelli, I’ll put you through to the Lawyer.’ We were obliged to have a telephone at home. The first call came two minutes before my debut with Juve. The secretary told me: ‘Come with me.’ Then I heard, ‘Good luck today, and remember, I’m counting on you.’ If I already had some pressure, that made it even more! We lost 1–0 that day against a stellar Milan side — they were the team to beat, and we managed it the following year.”
Sonia Amoruso and Family
“For every footballer, his partner is fundamental,” Del Piero said. “I come from a humble family, and in Sonia I found those same values, as well as many others. Together we’ve been on this journey that has given us three children, and every thought we have is for them. We always try to do the best for our kids.”
The Most Emotional Goals in Turin
“There are so many I could mention,” he admitted. “I’ll tell you two. The first was on 4 December 1994 — we beat Fiorentina, and I scored that day. It was the season that took us to the Scudetto. I had my back to goal, hit it with the outside of my right foot, and surprised the keeper.”
“The second was my last goal in Turin, against Atalanta. I said goodbye to Juventus a few days later, marking the end of my career at the club. It was incredibly emotional because of the amazing atmosphere that surrounded that moment.”
The National Team and the World Cup
“There are a thousand different ways to answer that,” Del Piero said when asked about winning the World Cup. “It crowns a footballer’s career — it’s like going to the moon, achieving the most ambitious thing possible. The most important moment for me was taking that penalty — feeling the weight of that instant, and living it as though it were normal.”
“What does the national team need? To win — that’s the simplest answer. Right now, we’re not the most important league economically or in terms of visibility. When we were number one, others were working to improve, and now we must do the same. We need to reinvent ourselves, to find something different and new.”
