97: Alessandro Del Piero, Italia, Panini World Cup France 98

After nine consecutive seasons of seeing arch-rivals Celtic triumph in the Scottish Premier League Rangers have finally broken the Bhoys’ streak. It’s not been an easy ride as the club has had to endure financial turmoil, expulsion from the top flight and a less than straightforward journey back up the league pyramid. Steven Gerrard finally getting his hands on a league championship has not only ended Celtic’s decade of domination but also brought Champions League football back to the blue side of Glasgow for the first time since 2011.

That being said the Champions League has hardly been the happiest of hunting grounds for the Gers since the tournament was rebranded ahead of the 1992/93 season. In their sixteen appearances in Europe’s premier club competition they have managed to make it past the group stage just once back in 2006 when they exited the tournament on away goals at the hands of Villarreal in the second round. To be fair to Rangers they also made it to the final of the UEFA Cup back in 2008 where they lost out to Zenit St Petersburg but overall Europe hasn’t been to kind to the Scottish giants. This was particularly true in the 1995/96 Champions League when they were drawn in the same group as Borussia Dortmund, Steaua Bucharest and eventual winners Juventus.

This was not a bad Rangers side by any stretch. Any side with Paul Gascoigne, Michael Laudrup and Ally McCoist would cause teams problems and the Gers’ domestic double hardly came as a surprise. However, when they came up against Italian giants Juventus at the Stadio delle Alpi in October 1995, it’s conceivable that a World XI would have been swept aside by the Old Lady let alone this particular Gers’ side. Within twenty minutes goals from Fabrizio Ravanelli and Antonio Conte had set the tone and when Rangers conceded a free kick on the left wing a few minutes later it presented keeper Andy Goram with yet another challenge to add to the barrage his goal had already endured. Little did he know that Alessandro Del Piero was about to defy the laws of physics and bend the ball into the top corner.

The exploits of Roberto Baggio in the 1994 World Cup and the excellence of James Richardson on a Saturday morning had already led to the establishment of a South London branch of the Juventus fan club. The emergence of Alex Del Piero in the 1994/95 season had expanded this club’s membership to my sister who, being older and wiser, had clearly earmarked the former Padova man as Baggio’s heir apparent. When the Divine Ponytail made his shock move to AC Milan in the summer of 1995 the mantle was well and truly passed to the 21 year-old Del Piero. Everyone in the Hawks family knew he that was good. When the ball hit the back of the net against Rangers live on ITV it was confirmed that he was special. Another goal from Ravanelli in the second half sealed the rout and rendered Richard Gough’s late strike less than consoling to any watching Rangers’ fans.

When the Old Lady made the return trip to Glasgow Del Piero opened the scoring in far more conventional style with a close range tap in that set up a 4-0 thrashing. Moreno Torricelli’s composed finish to a sweeping team move led co-commentator Ian St John to exclaim “the man’s a fullback!” in shock as Rangers were once again put to the sword. By the time Juventus had claimed the Champions League trophy with victory over Ajax there was less surprise amongst the commentary team and Alessandro Del Piero had cemented his place in world football’s elite with six goals in the tournament. Although injury, and Italian ineptitude, limited his involvement in that summer’s European Championships it was clear that the future was bright for the Italian forward.

Two years later and Del Piero headed into the 1998 World Cup as arguably the star of an Italian squad packed with stellar players. His 21 goals in Serie A helped Juventus to the Scudetto whilst his 10 goals in the Champions League earned the Old Lady a place in their third successive final. With Del Piero not fully fit they succumbed to Real Madrid but his performances over the season saw him nominated for the Ballon d’Or. He was pipped to the award by his Juve team-mate Zinedine Zidane, who selfishly led France to World Cup glory, but did finish above Zizou and the original Ronaldo in the votes for the Serie A Player of the Year. Juve’s fans were so impressed by his performances that they dubbed him ‘Il Fenomeno Vero’ in response to his Brazilian rival at Internazionale’s famous moniker. For those of you looking for the Italian translation this can be best described as Del Piero lobbing Ronaldo’s kettle over the roof of a pub in Chichester. 

To fully appraise Alessandro Del Piero’s achievements following France 98 would probably require a further two posts so I’ll close with a few headlines. 316 goals in 777 club games including a record 290 in 705 for Juventus. 91 Italy caps and 27 goals putting him fourth on the country’s all-time list alongside Baggio. World Cup winner with Italy in 2006. Goals in every competition he played in from the Champions League through to the Indian Super League where he finished his career in 2012. Much as the years of Champions League absence may have hit Rangers’ fans hard it’s fair to say that when they play their first game in the tournament this summer they’ll be praying they don’t have to come up against the likes of Del Piero anytime soon.