Alessandro Del Piero Announces Ownership of US Football Team LA10 FC
Former Juventus and Italy star Alessandro Del Piero has acquired the ownership of American third-division team LA10 FC.
Del Piero, who won the World Cup in 2006, retired back in 2014 after a spell in the Indian Super League with the Delhi Dynamos and has recently been working as a pundit in Italy. However, he has now returned to the game in the USA with his first venture into football administration.
Del Piero has taken a step different to most former players and acquired a football team of his own and will look to lead the Los Angeles team to success.
As quoted on Del Piero's official site, he said: “To me Football is linked to pure passion. After all, this is what I’ve always wanted, to own a small football team. To feel the passion.”
“At the end of last summer I decided to become an owner of a small football team based in Los Angeles, in partnership with EDGE Americas Sports, of which I am a co-founder, and my business partner, Jeffrey Whalen.
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Much like his beloved Juventus he will now represent a team who play in the famous black and white of the Bianconeri.
“This adventure won me over immediately and today I’m officially revealing this exciting news for the first time. The team is called LA10 FC, our colours are black & white, Del Piero added.
“In our debut season we finished in first place in our Division and got promoted to the highest level of professional competition in the UPSL league. A league that sits just below second division football. We closed the season undefeated.
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“After a period of anonymity, I decided to share this beautiful experience and give credit to the entire team for the amazing results they’ve achieved.
“A big thank you goes to the technical staff, the management and all the players. Now we are returning to the pitch for the spring season. Conquering the first success as an owner has had a special, different, new and fun feel. I like it because it brings me back to when everything was just a game."
There are currently two MLS teams based in Los Angeles - the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. With LA 10 on the rise, Del Piero might just be the man to help the team move onto the next level and one day become a top level team in America.
