David Trezeguet looks back on his Juventus career, describing Alessandro Del Piero as “a symbol”.
No foreign player has scored more goals for the Bianconeri than the Frenchman did, and he reflected on his time on the pitch in an interview with L’Équipe.
“What struck me most about Juventus?” Trezeguet considered.
“The absolute professionalism. I discovered the size of the club in Italy and the passion it generates right across the country.
David Trezeguet looks back on his Juventus career, describing Alessandro Del Piero as “a symbol”.
No foreign player has scored more goals for the Bianconeri than the Frenchman did, and he reflected on his time on the pitch in an interview with L’Équipe.
“What struck me most about Juventus?” Trezeguet considered.
“The absolute professionalism. I discovered the size of the club in Italy and the passion it generates right across the country.
“Juve are very popular and prestigious, not just in Italy but all over the world. At every single one of our away games there were an impressive number of fans backing us. All our games were sold out.
“The tradition of the club, which is very strong, has been maintained by the Agnelli family since its creation.
“For me Juve was [Michel] Platini, [Zinedine] Zidane, [Didier] Deschamps and [Thierry] Henry, even if Titi didn’t stay for very long.
“It was a great thing for me to follow in the footsteps of those great French players, who made history with the club.
“My best teammate? It’s difficult to choose one, because I knew so many great players at Juve. Alessandro Del Piero was the symbol of the club for many years.
“I saw the arrival of a very young Gianluigi Buffon [in 2001 at the age of 23] and today he's a symbol of the club.
“I was very close with Mauro Camoranesi, because we have the same [Argentine] roots. Paolo Montero and Mark Iuliano had a special role in my journey because they reached out to me when I arrived and helped me to adapt.
“Then there was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, we only played together for two seasons but they remain extraordinary. Unfortunately the Calciopoli scandal pushed him away and we couldn’t continue to grow side-by-side.
“I liked playing with Zlatan and I admired him.”
Of course, Trezeguet also played under Coaches like Marcello Lippi, Carlo Ancelotti and Fabio Capello…
“I’ve always loved Coaches with a certain personality, and that was the case with Lippi. He perfectly understood what Juventus was, and through his charm and his words he instilled in us a 100 per cent motivation to win.
“With Ancelotti, he and I understood that at Juventus all that counts are wins and trophies. When you wear that shirt, the watchword is 'win and accumulate trophies'.
“Over time that’s something that becomes part of you.
“The best team? From 2004 to 2006 with Fabio Capello we were an incredible team, players like [Pavel] Nedved, Ibrahimovic, [Fabio] Cannavaro, Emerson and [Lilian] Thuram joined us.
“With that kind of team, the Champions League was within reach. Maybe we weren’t aware that we were built for that trophy, and that competition comes down to the details, which went against us.”
The Juve ambassador was also asked about his best goal for the Old Lady.
“The one which immediately comes to mind is the one I scored against Milan at San Siro thanks to a fantastic cross from Del Piero at the end of the 2004-05 season,” Trezeguet replied.
“It allowed us to take the decisive step toward becoming champions of Italy. My goals against the Real Madrid Galacticos and in the 2004-05 Last 16 are also very special to me.”