FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - Final - Inter Milan v AC Milan - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 6, 2025 Former italian football player Alessandro Del Piero is seen before the match REUTERS/Claudia Greco
(Reuters) -Former Italy forward and World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero had fans of Juventus dreaming that he may one day coach the club when he announced on Tuesday that he had obtained his UEFA Pro Licence.
Del Piero, who spent 19 seasons at Juventus winning six Serie A titles and the Champions League, completed the course run by the Italian football federation (FIGC) at Coverciano in Florence.
"Starting today, you can call me 'Mister'," Del Piero said in a social media post.
"Thanks to FIGC and all the teachers who accompanied me on this course, I am grateful to all the people who collaborated and shared with me this important training journey."
Del Piero is still a hero at the club he left in 2012, and the 50-year-old's announcement was greeted with plenty of comments from Juventus fans looking for their idol to return home.
When Del Piero left Juventus the club wanted to retire his number 10 jersey, but the player turned down the offer, saying he wanted other children to be able to dream of one day wearing it.
Juventus have not won the Scudetto since their run of nine consecutive titles ended in 2020 and earlier this season sacked Thiago Motta as coach and replaced him with another former player, Igor Tudor.
(Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Toby Davis)
