A Juventus captain who greets his fans at the Stadium is a leap of the heart and also a game of mirrors for the Juventus world. Giorgio Chiellini is preparing his farewell pass, Monday evening in the postponement of the championship against Lazio, and today he marks the tenth anniversary of Alessandro Del Piero’s last home game. Not only the player who has collected the most appearances (705) and goals (290) in the history of Juve, but a winning symbol who on May 13, 2012 closed his career with an unprecedented catwalk. On a warm spring afternoon, the Bianconeri celebrated the first Scudetto of an incredible series of victories, which Inter ended only the other evening in the Coppa Italia final after ten years, and that was also the first tricolor celebrated in the new Juventus home. Then another eight in a row arrived, for an unprecedented record, but the first is always the most beautiful and was accompanied by an event that has sculpted the collective memory.
On that 13 May Del Piero played the starter against Atalanta, in the last game of a championship won without the stain of a defeat, and as the captain of a thousand battles he signed the momentary 2-0 after 28 minutes of play (the game then ended 3-1) for what was also his last goal with Juve. A party within a party for him, for his teammates and for the 40,000 fans present at the Stadium, but the strongest emotions were yet to arrive. It all happened at minute 57, when the striker was replaced by Pepe and the standing ovation of the public did not stop after leaving the field. Applause, chants and tears mingled relentlessly, “forcing” Del Piero to get up from the bench to thank (a gesture he repeated a month ago when he returned to the Stadium for the first time in ten years) and then to make the rounds of field during the match. Something never seen before, but Del Piero’s farewell was not a normal thing and so the catwalk of honor also stole the show from the match and the subsequent celebrations.
As in a handover, that day Antonio Conte was on the Juventus bench and Giorgio Chiellini was on the field together with Del Piero: that is the ancient captain, the one who inherited the armband in 2001 and the one who now he is carrying it with honor. The attacker and the defender were also teammates in Serie B in 2006/07: the former had just become world champion and had no doubts in staying, while the latter was a young hopeful who was starting to become a pillar White black. Del Piero played for Juve for 19 seasons and won everything, Chiellini remained there for 17 years and won 19 national trophies. «You have shown what it means to wear the Juventus shirt – so he greeted him on social media – every time you take the field. For 17 long years. I saw you arrive boy, and conquer everything with humility and work. An example for anyone who dreams of these colors. As a Juventus player and as a teammate, from Serie B to the Scudetto, thank you Giorgio! Now enjoy the last one at the Stadium because it will certainly be special ». Ten years after the farewell of the ten, history repeats itself.