Alex Still Has 'It', Well If 'It' Is The Skill To Unlock Serie B Defenses

Alessandro Del Piero marked his 500th appearance for the Bianconeri today with a spectacular performance, setting up two goals and scoring one himself. The Juventus captain helped nudge his club two points clear of Napoli, who drew away to Lecce. Alex had this to say about his milestone day:

It's an important milestone. When I look at who I have ahead of me, great champions like [Gaetano] Scirea and [Giuseppe] Furino, I'm enormously proud. It was great to score on a day like this. We're all very very happy with our performance, we've responded well to the defeat at Mantova. The ovation we received from the crowd shows we've created a great group here. It's now just a case of moving forward in the same direction.

Didier Deschamps was delighted with his team's performance. He was more than happy to see Pavel Nedved back from suspension. "It's always the champions who make the difference," said the Frenchman. "Pavel was important, as were Del Piero, [David] Trezeguet and [Mauro] Camoranesi and [Cristiano] Zanetti. When these players are on form, the whole team steps up a gear."

Next week, the Bianconeri make the short trip south to take on Spezia, currently 18 points behind Juve in 14th place. [CNN, Juventus official site]

In other Juve news:

• Add Czech international Zdenek Grygera to the list of the club's new signings. He likes the idea so much that he wants to play in Turin now rather than later. [Channel 4]
• Did Andreas D'Alessandro let the cat out of the bag? Your move Frank Rijkaard. [Calciomercato]
• Though I think he's past it, a move for Emerson might work as cover for the remainder of the season. [ITV]

-ac