Delhi Dynamos star signing Del Piero: "I hope that ISL benefits India's national team"

Del Piero arrives in India for ISL

New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) Former Italy football captain and World cup winner Alessandro del Piero, a marquee player for Delhi Dynamos, Friday hoped that the Indian Super League (ISL) will help the national team, which is languishing at the 158th spot in the FIFA rankings.

Having barely spent a little over 24 hours on what is his maiden trip to India, the 39-year-old Del Piero said he is like a 'child with big eyes' and was keen on learning about the Indian culture.

"This is a new challenge for everyone, but very exciting. I hope that this ISL can be good for the national team. I am honoured to be an ambassador for the league and thank you for choosing me," said the Juventus legend.

Del Piero hoped that his presence would help lift the profile of the ISL like he did with Sydney FC in Australia's A-League. The Italian parted ways with Sydney FC in April after two seasons.

“I hope I could repeat my success in Sydney here. This is the target for me. This is a new situation for me. This is a new league the first step is new for all of us. We want to do well in every single moment," said Del Piero.

"This is the real challenge. If you have the opportunity you take it and that is why I am here after 19 years in same place in Juventus. Then I chose Sydney and now it is India to understand football and the country," he added.

Asked if marquee players, whose average age is 35 plus, can seriously make an impact in the ISL, Del Piero said: "This is a kind of question, whose answer you can never know now. This is a new situation and there is lot of excitement around. It is a difficult situation to step in but this is the challenge and the good part of the challenge is to solve it and go forward and I am very privileged to do so.”

Del Piero is also excited about the prospect of his team.

"I had a brief interaction with my team mates and the coaching staff. It is a very good side. I had an easy training Thursday and watched my team mates play a practice game. This period, 24 days before the start of our first match, is very important because the league is very short. During this time we have to get used to each others mentality and also understand what the coach wants from us. The first game will be very important," he said.

The inaugural eight-team ISL will kick-off Oct 12 and the final is slated for Dec 20.