Del Piero woos media pack

VIDEO: Alessandro Del Piero media conference

The Italian World Cup legend faced a packed press conference at Sydney's The Star casino that was beamed live to Italy.

His English is only basic at this stage but he handled the media pack with the skill, panache and experience of a person who survived 19 seasons in one of the world's toughest and most uncompromising leagues.

The Serie A hero has signed a $4 million two-year contract with Sydney FC, making him the highest profile star to perform in the A-League.

Many media personnel fronted up at the press conference to catch a glimpse of the man who has won just about everything the game has to offer.

He was asked all sorts of questions, ranging from why he chose to sign for Sydney, what he expects from a competition he knows little about, how he convinced his son that coming Down Under was a good idea and what he intends to achieve with his 'Project Australia'.

He answered all the questions thrown at him generously and patiently with a charming smile and sometimes with a little help from a friend (Sydney chief executive Tony Pignata) who was sitting next to him.

But there was only one answer the gallery really wanted to hear above all else: was it a penalty?

Del Piero played for Italy in that infamous 2006 FIFA World Cup round of 16 clash against Australia in Kaiserslautern.

The Azzurri won 1-0 with a controversial penalty scored by Francesco Totti, who had come on for Del Piero, that was awarded after fullback Fabio Grosso collided with Lucas Neill in the dying moments.

Most Socceroos fans believe Grosso dived to earn his side the crucial penalty.

Del Piero, somewhat sheepishly, took up the story.

"It was one of the toughest games for us,” Del Piero, 37, recalled.

"First of all because Australia had a great and experienced team and secondly because we played with 10 men for most of the second half.

"We talk about Fabio many times and he told me 'I was tired, Ale, and it was the last minute of the game' so probably with the wind blowing and something else Fabio fell to the ground."

As the gallery burst into laughter at Del Piero's humour he was quick to point out that the Azzurri were destined to go on and win the World Cup.

"Joking apart, sometimes there are moments when everything goes for you,” he said.

"For us, 2006 was a perfect World Cup.

"Everything fell into place, including that match against Australia.

"That's why we won.”

Del Piero will meet his new teammates during a training session at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday before being presented with the No 10 jersey in a European-style event that will coincide with a fan day at the same venue on Sunday.