Blog: Wrong way to say goodbye

It’s May 2012 and the Pressroom at Vinovo is heaving despite the fact that they all know what announcement is about to be made. In walks Juventus President Andrea Agnelli, the legendary Giampiero Boniperti – the man responsible for signing Alessandro Del Piero in 1993 – and the club captain himself. With a tear in his eye and a voice rocked by emotion, Pinturrichio tells the world that he’s played in his last game for La Vecchia Signora.

That is how it should have happened. Instead, on any old day in October during a shareholder meeting in Turin, Andrea Agnelli confirms that the 2011-12 campaign will be Del Piero’s last in the black and white No 10 shirt. For a man who is in his 19th season at the club and whose Bianconeri jersey is his second skin, that was pretty classless from an outfit where Lo Stile Juve was once a meaning and not just a remark. Alessandro deserved better.

Today’s announcement was clearly more surprising in delivery than in terms of content. Of course it was to be expected after the almost 37-year-old only signed a 12-month contract extension earlier this year, but the timing, the setting and the manner of the statement was all wrong. Del Piero, after all, is not just any old player – that’s Amauri’s role. This is a club flag bearer, a man who didn’t flinch at the prospect of Serie B football, a leader who has scored 284 goals in 682 games for the side to date and a forward who is still hungry for more.

One would hope that Agnelli’s words were said in accordance with Alex’s wishes, but they made no sense. Why reveal all after just six League games of the new campaign? Juventus, after two consecutive seventh placed finishes in Serie A, need stability and tranquility in their search for the Scudetto. Now, having returned to the top of the table, the club run the risk of being asked some uncomfortable questions about a man whose status in Turin inevitably makes him big news.

The allegation that the decision to today announce Del Piero’s departure from the field of play was designed to divert attention away from the club’s balance sheet is a little weak. The fact that Juventus have made an operating loss of close to €100m hasn’t been disguised by the Alex revelation. If anything, it has magnified it. One would think that Agnelli, and the board, are too savvy to realise that wouldn’t have worked.

The biggest danger is that the club, Agnelli, the player – or whoever made the decision – have jumped the gun a little. Admittedly Del Piero is no longer guaranteed a starting shirt in Turin, he hasn’t for a few seasons, but a player of his class and experience could certainly still be of use on a part-time basis. Was he not thrown on as a substitute on Sunday against Chievo, hitting the post in the process?

Hypothetically speaking, what will happen if Del Piero starts making a telling difference again for the side in the second half of the season? Do the club select reverse and proclaim that, actually, Alex is still good enough for Juventus and they subsequently want him to stay another season? That’s not to say that will happen, but why run the risk?

The day when Del Piero finally did leave Juventus was always going to arrive, but the day when that announcement was made should have still been some months away. It was the wrong way to say goodbye.