Exclusive Del Piero: ‘Great’ Juventus job with young players, why Man City want Cambiaso | OneFootball

Juventus and Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero shares his thoughts on Andrea Cambiaso’s possible move to Manchester City and praise the Bianconeri for the ‘great job’ they are doing with young players in an exclusive interview with Football Italia.

Juventus and Azzurri legend Alessandro Del Piero toured the Houston Juventus Academy this past weekend for the 2025 Juve Cup. To welcome the former club captain, the event featured a watch party for Juventus-Milan, an autograph session, and a cocktail evening in southeast Texas.

In the last few seasons of his professional career, Del Piero showed a willingness to think outside the box and try new things, having adventures in Sydney, Australia, and later Delhi, India.

Since retiring, he’s diversified his interests – and portfolio – opening the N10 Restaurant in Los Angeles and Milan, investing in the AIrDP sunglass brand, a sports marketing agency, and LA10 team in the United Premier Soccer League. This is, of course, on top of his broadcasting appearances every so often.

As Juventus endure a tricky situation in a year that has a new coach and slew of new players, as well as some major outgoing transfers on the horizon, Del Piero takes a break from his busy North American schedule to have an exclusive interview with Wayne Girard for Football Italia.

Given Juventus’ 2-0 win over rivals Milan, who do you see as the future symbol of Juventus – or will it be more of a collective effort?

“I think they did a great job in bringing a lot of young players in. There are a lot of them who have the ability to perform and do well and write a good page in the ‘Juventus book.’ I don’t want to talk about who is going to be the leader or ‘that guy,’ but it’s a team sport, and everyone has to be strong in every role.

“You need defence, midfield, and strikers, so if you want to win trophies, you need to be strong in every area. When you’re good, you have a chance to become the best, but consistency every Sunday is key to achieving trophies; that’s how you win and achieve confidence.”

Would you say that’s what’s happening with Juve Next Gen?

“During the years, a lot of players have come through Juve Next Gen and it’s very important to have that type of team.”

It’s an incredible model as they keep their best youngsters. It’s better than the loan system or when players were co-owned.

“It’s a great thing, and I hope more teams will be able to do it inside Italy because there will be a good flow between the academy and the first team. Now, something is missing; there are Under 20 players who are ready to go and play on the big stage, but others need more time. As you say, you can loan someone out, and the situation can be lost. On the other end, you can have them on the first team during the season.”

Yunus Musah of AC Milan holds off Andrea Cambiaso of Juventus during the Italian Super Cup Semi-Final match between AC Milan and Juventus at Al Awwal Park on January 03, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)

If Andrea Cambiaso leaves to Manchester City, is that positive for him, or is it in his best interests to stay at Juventus?

“It could be a good solution for both of them. Of course, right now he’s in a place where everybody loves him, and he grew up a lot to become a huge player, also for the national team. So that’s why Man City are interested in buying him. It’s a really good demonstration of his value.

“Then, only he can answer this question for the final decision. You can say ‘it’s better to go,’ or ‘no as Juve are playing in the Champions League now like Man City.’ Let’s see for next year because Juventus are not in a great position. They’re fighting for the top four. Let’s see what happens over the next few matches.

“Man City are facing a trial that is problematic, and anything can happen, so you never know. It’s a very tricky situation, that’s why I tell you that only Cambiaso can tell us more about that.”

You mention the Azzurri too. If you can believe it, it’s almost the 20th anniversary of when you won the World Cup. If Italy are going to be successful, who do you think are a few players who need to be at the centre of that project for 2026?

“The National Team is a place where you have to deserve to go. Not somewhere you go because you have good potential. It’s a final destination, the top of the top. So, we are talking about Cambiaso now because he’s been performing well at Juve for a couple of years, and when he performs for the national team, he also shows his value. That’s why.

“We have a lot of good potential players, young players, thank God, and it’s very important that we are going to keep going with that. And I hope we’re going to be talking about this more and more.”

Are there any Italian players who remind you of yourself right now?

“No. But I’m happy with what I’m seeing.”

The game has evolved and changed a lot.

“Yeah, it’s definitely changed.”

It’s not like when there was Gianfranco Zola and then yourself. A true seconda punta.

“That’s part of the generation. But now, the rules have changed significantly, transforming the game drastically. You cannot play hard like before.”

Part two of Football Italia’s exclusive interview with Alessandro Del Piero will be released on Tuesday, January 21.