Sydney FC’s Alessandro Del Piero will captain the Foxtel A-League All Stars when they face off against Del Piero’s former club Juventus FC at ANZ Stadium on the 10th of August.
Sydney FC’s Alessandro Del Piero will captain the Foxtel A-League All Stars when they face off against Del Piero’s former club Juventus FC at ANZ Stadium on the 10th of August.
It will be the second time a Sydney FC player has captained the All Stars after Sky Blues midfielder Brett Emerton captained the inaugural squad against Manchester United last year.
For the first time ever, Alessandro Del Piero will confront the famous club where he spent 19 glorious years, 11 seasons as captain, scored a record 290 goals and played 705 matches.
Instead of the distinctive Bianconeri stripes, Juve-s iconic captain of 11 years will wear the blue and yellow of the All Stars.
Del Piero-s move to join the All Stars has added another magical ingredient to an event already glittering with stars.
Speaking at the official ticketing launch, which was held today at the Sydney Opera House, Football Federation Australia CEO David Gallop said the Foxtel A-League All Stars game was all about showcasing the best players from the Hyundai A-League against top international opposition.
“To have a club of the calibre of Juventus FC come to Sydney is a massive coup for football in Australia,” said Gallop.
“To put it into perspective, it-s very possible that of the 24 players in the Juventus FC first team squad, 16 players could be at the 2014 FIFA World Cup representing eight different nations.
“This match will be a fantastic opportunity for fans to see the best of the Hyundai A-League line-up against some of the world-s best international footballers in our own backyard,” concluded Gallop
NSW Major Events Minister George Souris is excited Sydney will host one of the world-s top football clubs this August.
“I am delighted that Italy-s Serie A champions, Juventus are bringing their football skills to Sydney, Australia-s premier sports and major events city,” Mr Souris said.
“By hosting this champion team, Sydney and NSW will again be on show to the world, confirming our position as Australia-s home of major events.
“The NSW Government has secured 197 events since March 2011 boosting the State-s economy by about $1.33 billion.
Tim Worner, the CEO of the Seven Network, said: “We are once again delighted to be involved with David Gallop and Football Federation Australia in delivering this major event live to Australians everywhere and on every device. We are committed to building our presence in major sports events across not just our broadcast television platform but online and other tablet apps as well. We are looking forward to a terrific coverage.”
Juventus FC, the most successful club in Italy-s history with a world-wide fan base of 250 million, will bring a full-strength team to Sydney to face the pick of the Hyundai A-League at ANZ Stadium.
Fans will again have the opportunity to help select the Head Coach of the Foxtel A-League All Stars and the players in the squad via online voting mechanism. The voting details will be available from the new Foxtel A-League All Stars web site (www.a-leagueallstars.com.au) in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the FOXTEL A-League All Stars v Juventus FC will go on sale in an exclusive Football Family Pre-Sale Window from 12pm today (Tuesday 18 February) with the public on sale from 11am, Friday 21 February (www.a-leagueallstars.com.au).
