Sydney FC in Italy to woo Del Piero

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4 September 2012-AFP

Pursued... Sydney FC will soon learn if it will be successful in its bid to lure Alessandro Del Piero to play in the A-League (Getty)

Sydney FC representatives have arrived in Italy in a bid to sign former Italy and Juventus great Alessandro Del Piero.

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The club announced late last week it had signed the World Cup-winning striker, only to be forced into an U-turn after a denial by Del Piero's camp.

This time, Sydney FC CEO Tony Pignata is hoping to make Del Piero's signature definite.

Pignata is in Turin to begin talks with Stefano Del Piero, the player's brother and agent.

The 37-year-old Del Piero's 19-year career with Juventus ended last season when it did not offer him a new deal after it had won its first league title since 2003.

As well as Sydney FC, Del Piero has been linked to Scottish champion Celtic, Premier League side Southampton, Sporting Braga of Portugal and Swiss outfit FC Sion.

If Del Piero decides to stay in Europe, it could be down to the chance to play Champions League football.

Celtic has been drawn in Group G with Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow while Braga has been drawn in Group H with Manchester United, Galatasaray and CFR-Cluj of Romania.

Del Piero began his professional career at Padova, where he played only 14 games before being signed by Juventus in 1993.

He remained with the Turin-based club until 2012 having scored a total of 208 goals in 513 appearances and was a member of the Italy side that beat France on penalties in the 2006 World Cup final.