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FLOP OF THE DAY Alessandro del Piero (Italy)
Long gone are the days of Alessandro del Piero’s youth, when he vied with the imperious Roberto Baggio for the number ten shirt in the Italy national team. Long gone, too, are the last remnants of his ability, judging by his abysmal display against Denmark on Monday evening.
The Juventus man, who has been the unfortunate victim of several debilitating injuries, has long lived on his reputation, and in hindsight it is clear that he was even in decline even before the last European Championship finals.
Four years ago, he was left out of Dino Zoff’s side, and showed why by missing two clear chances to put the final beyond France after being introduced as a substitute for Stefano Fiore.
Back then, he was seen as a rival of Francesco Totti for the playmaker’s position, but even though the Roma skipper has yet to prove himself fully on the international stage, it is recognised that there is now no threat to his standing from del Piero.
His touch and movement were so lethargic before his substitution against the Danes that it would be a surprise if he withstands the challenge of Roma’s promising young forward Antonio Cassano for a starting place in Giovanni Trapattoni’s side for the second Group C game against Sweden on Friday.
Dishonorable mentions: Christian Vieri (Italy), the Bulgarian back four.
Filed: 15/06/2004
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"If we sell 60 per cent of the premium seats and boxes, that’s the business model that will allow us to get through very, very comfortably. We’re into four figures already, which is good. We have to sell 500 a month to see the stadium sold out in total so we are ahead of where we wanted to be at this stage." -
FAI chief executive John Delaney, expressing his satisfaction with the reaction to the Association’s Vantage Club premium seat scheme.
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