When 19 year old Del Piero joined Juve from Serie B club Padova in the fall of 1993, Italy was, as far as football is concerned, still the country where milk and honey flew. Silvio Berlusconi`s AC Milan was well on its way of winning both the Champions League and the 3rd of 3 three consecutive SCUDETTI. For the moment, the Rossoneri may have looked all but unstoppable but insiders knew that Fabio Capello`s team had most of their future behind them. During Capello`s 1st year in office, Milan had by & large been the same team as under Sacchi: Even though Capello`s understanding of football was diametrically opposed to his predecessor`s, Milan again looked like the relentless pressing and attacking machine they`d been in their glory days under Sacchi when they had won the Champions League twice in a row. In the fall of 1991, Capello had taken over managerial duties from Sacchi after the latter had been sacked over a fallout with his Dutch star player Van Basten, and Milan won the 1991/92 championship without losing a single game.
