Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has said Serie A should “finish the season if requirements are met” as we “have to consider” the club’s money.
Former World Cup champion Del Piero, 45, made the comments in an interview with Italian radio programme ‘Radio24’ where he spoke how football and his own life have been affected by the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization.
When speaking about football, Del Piero was keen to finish the remainder of the football season saying “I hope the will to return to play triumphs”.
He explained: “It is clear that in football you always have to keep the financial aspect in mind. It is something we must consider.
“If the conditions are met to complete the season, even without fans in the stadium, it would be a good thing for fans at home.
“Some time will be needed to get back into form, physically and mentally. Even if you train at home it is not the same thing as training at a sporting centre.”
The former Italy forward now lives in the city of Los Angeles in America where he owns a restaurant called ‘No.10’ referring to his jersey number during his playing years.
When speaking how COVID-19 has affected him personally he said: “Here in California measures were taken late and the danger was underestimated as the infected are quickly rising. I hope a city as large as Los Angeles is able to allow the necessary distance.
“I have a restaurant and had to close it. They have also closed gyms and non-essential offices. Life has changed. Schools have also closed for at least the entire month of April.”
The United States has quickly become the country reporting the most cases of COVID-19 surpassing China with 85,505 cases leading to 1,288 deaths.
The news comes after reports of people continuing to go to beaches in parts of California despite growing concerns about the spreading of the virus.
Del Piero spent almost two decades at Juventus (1993-2012) helping the club win the Champions League in 1996.
He helped them win Serie A eight times but had two titles stripped due to the Calciopoli
match-fixing scandal.
The scandal saw Juventus were stripped of their 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 Serie A titles and they were relegated to Serie B for the 2006/2007 season.
Del Piero had 91 caps with his national team scoring 27 goals and helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup.
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