Juventus extend Del Piero's contract to
2010
ROME, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Juventus have extended captain Alessandro
Del Piero's contract by two years until 2010, the Serie A club
announced on Tuesday.
'Today we have achieved an important result for the future of
Juventus,' chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc told the club's
website.
'The agreement with Del Piero confirms our ambition and our faith
in the absolute value of a player who will continue to put his
experience at the service of the team and millions of fans.'
The new deal with the Turin club comes after lengthy negotiations.
At one stage, the club's sporting director Alessio Secco said
Juventus risked losing their all-time top scorer.
It rewards the striker, whose contract was due to expire at the end
of this season, for sticking with Juve when they were relegated to
Serie B last year because of a match-fixing scandal and helping
them bounce straight back to the top flight.
'Today I made a key choice for my career and my life,' Del Piero
said. 'Juventus have given me a lot and I want to continue to win
here'.
Del Piero made his Serie A debut with Juventus aged 18 in 1993
after joining the club from Padova.
Since then he has won five Italian titles and the Champions League
with the team.
The forward, who turns 33 next month, was a member of Italy's World
Cup-winning squad and has scored 27 international goals.
But he is not the player he once was and was dropped by Azzurri
coach Roberto Donadoni after a lacklustre performance in the
goalless Euro 2008 qualifying draw against France last month.
