Former Italy football captain and World cup winner Alessandro del Piero, a marquee player for Delhi Dynamos, Friday hoped his presence with lift the profile of the Indian Super League (ISL) and believes that the success of the tournament 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 a day after he arrived from Los Angeles after a 24-hour flight.
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.
"A-League experience was very good. I hope I could repeat my success in Sydney here. This is the target for me. I spent great two years in Sydney... I'm very privileged because everything incredibly moved forward in the league - the crowd, the TV interest, the money situation. 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.
"The league in Australia was already in, this is a new step... we want to take great first steps. This is the real challenge," he added.
Asked if marquee players, whose average age is 35 plus, can seriously make an impact in the ISL, the 2006 World Cup winner 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 said he likes to experience soccer in different cultures and that was the reason why he moved to Australia after ending his career with Juventus and now now to India.
"That's why I am here, that's why after 19 years in the same place I chose Sydney three years ago and then I chose India - to understand football in other countries, in other culture and other way. Not the same way I already know."
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.
Del Piero also wants to explore the India as well.
"One day is not enough but I completely understand that this is a different world than mine but I'm curious and want to understand... everything about the country. I'm like a child with big eyes, trying to understand from all what it means to live here and what is the culture," he said.
The inaugural eight-team ISL will kick-off Oct 12 and the final is slated for Dec 20. The ISL is being promoted by Reliance, Star and IMG and has been endorsed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
