The history of Alessandro Del Piero's laces "Del Piero goal, Del Piero style"

On September 13th 1995, in the first Champions League match after the end of Platini’s era, Juventus is tying up 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund at Westfalen Stadion, after that Michele Padovano equalized Andreas Moller’s first goal. At 36’ Paulo Sousa’s long pass find Alessandro Del Piero that control the ball near left side of the penalty area, faced with Jurgen Kohler, another former Juventus player. Del Piero, 21 years old the next november, moves to the center entering in the penalty area and throws off Kohler with his last fake creating the space for the shot: the ball - kicked by the internal side of the right foot and the toe - climb over Stefan Klos and bags at the opposite intersection of the poles. It’s Del Piero’s first signature goal: the golden boy from Conegliano Veneto, that will score five consecutive goals in the next five Champions League games, will repeat it two weeks later against Steaua Bucarest and on October 18th against Glasgow Rangers, fuelong the narrative of the signature move that would have distinguishing him from the rest of the world in the following years.

To this iconography contribute also some aestethic details like Predator’s tongue reversed to have a better impact with the ball kicking by top of the foot and, especially, the laces using to tie the top of the socks so that they don’t fall on the shin guard. These weren’t a new: the laces. probably taken by other books, had characterized Del Piero’s rise during previous season. But Juventus #10 legitimates his the next big thing dimension on that european stage.

But Del Piero’s  aesthetic sense don’t disappear. As a american sports great fan, Juventus legend introduces into italian culture two more cult accesorizes: during 2003/2004 season becomes the first footballer with a “finger save” like NBA players, with the colorways associated to the jersey (black with yellow stilized number on Juventus black and withe jersey, blue with white number on Italy’s National Team total blue jersey); during 2006/2007, while is leading Juventus in Serie B championship, continues the tradition of the wristband on lower arm look like Michal Jordan - or Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka in the early 2000’s. Del Piero would bring wristbands also during his experience in Australia and India, associating them with the colorful jerseys of Sydney FC and Delhi Dynamos.

But nothing would have been like that laces, a distinguishing mark like his signature move: the “Del Piero gol” with “Del Piero’s laces”.