Alessandro Del Piero’s hat-trick in Juventus’s Fiorentina 4-1 Italian Cup win over Fiorentina, saw the striker become the club’s all-time top scorer.
The 31-year-old took his tally to 185 in all competitions, surpassing the previous record of 182 he held jointly with Giampiero Boniperti, who played for Juve between 1947 and 1961.
Del Piero has struck 127 times in the Italian championship with the rest of his goals coming in domestic and international cup competitions.
“We played a fantastic match tonight, especially in the first half. Del Piero is in great form, as are many of our players,” said coach Fabio Capello after Juve’s 6-3 win on aggregate.
Del Piero has spent an increasing amount of time on the bench since Capello took over from Marcello Lippi at the start of last season, but still scored 14 goals to help Juventus to the 2005 Serie A title.
Im delighted, theres no point in hiding it,” Del Piero said. “Having reached and then overtaken players who are part of the club’s history makes me very proud.”
Asked if he ever thought he would become the club’s highest-ever goalscorer, he replied: “To be frank, no. I came here as a youngster and for me just playing for this club was about as good as it could get.
“That’s how it was for several years and I took little notice of the statistics.
“It was only at the start of last year that the numbers came to my attention and even then I thought I was still a long way off.
“It’s an historic moment, but it’s not only goalscorers that determine a club’s success. Everbody plays a part.”
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