Alessandro Del Piero pays tribute to fellow Juventus legend Giampiero Boniperti, on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
Boniperti was President of the club from 1971 to 1990, and was the club’s all-time top goalscorer until he was surpassed by Del Piero.
“I’ll never forget the day I met you,” Del Piero wrote on his official website.
Alessandro Del Piero pays tribute to fellow Juventus legend Giampiero Boniperti, on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
Boniperti was President of the club from 1971 to 1990, and was the club’s all-time top goalscorer until he was surpassed by Del Piero.
“I’ll never forget the day I met you,” Del Piero wrote on his official website.
“It was a Sunday in early spring, one of those where the games started at four in the afternoon. Juventus were at the Là di Moret, the hotel where I stayed with the team many times in the years to come, when we went to Udine.
"There were, among others, Roberto Baggio, [Gianluca] Vialli, [Angelo] Peruzzi, [Jurgen] Kohler and [Giancarlo] Marocchi, guys who would later become my team mates, with [Giovanni] Trapattoni on the bench.
“It was the team I supported, it was my dream. I lived in a state of perpetual agitation in the days leading up to that meeting.
“‘The President wants to meet you’. That’s all I knew. I was 18-years-old, I went to that meeting with my father and for that reason the memory is even more dear to me.
“Papa and me, huge fans, had before us the man who was Juventus incarnate more than any other. And you, Presidente, had chosen me.
“I knew it was practically done, that by now I was basically a Juventus player, but I felt like I was in an exam in that moment, and fortunately I passed it.
“‘Cut your hair’, you told me. And with that advice – or rather that order – with which we said goodbye, you made me feel great, like part of the group.
“The real lesson you gave me though was that sense of love, respect, and total devotion to Juventus, which you managed to convey to me right away.
“Since then, for me like all Juventini, you’ve always been ‘il Presidente’. When I think back to what you did for this club, and for me, I get chills.
“You were the man of legend, tradition; of many records first on the pitch and then within the club. An example, a real symbol.
“Before leaving your office in Piazza Crimea – the one you had me visit, along with the trophy room, Presidente, when I signed my first contract – you gave me Juventus, I was the last of the young talents you brought to the club.
“And to Juventus you gave the player who had the honour and the privilege to follow you down the path of Juventus legend.
“I don’t think it’s possible to find a story as magical, as engaging, as yours. And the one that binds me to this team and to you.
“It’s a story we celebrated together on that night of the inauguration of Juventus Stadium, sitting together on the famous bench the club was founded on. Another incredible emotion, like the one in Udine.
“On this day of your glorious 90 years, I like to remember the words with which I presented you to the crowd that evening, as I thought of our first meeting.
“‘Today, just as then, I have before me the history of the Bianconeri shirt: il Presidente, Giampiero Boniperti.”