Italian star player Alessandro Del Piero and Socceroo Mark Milligan have been handed the captain’s band for Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory ahead of the A-League Season.
It will be Alessandro Del Piero’s second season at the Sky Blues, replacing foundation player Terry McFlynn in the captain’s chair.
“This is a great honour for me to be given the captaincy of one of Australia and Asia’s biggest clubs,” Del Piero said in a statement.
“It’s a very proud moment for me and I will give everything to help the club win the… A-League Championship this season.
“I hope supporters get behind the team and all together we can be successful.”
Sydney FC coach Frank Farina says Del Piero was an obvious choice as the Sky Blues’ new captain.
“Alessandro is a role model in the dressing room and is highly respected amongst the players at the club,” Sydney FC’s coach Frank Farina said.
“He has already shown his leadership qualities since being here, helping out the younger players and becoming a major influence within the team.”
Melbourne Victory’s Mark Milligan will take over from Adrian Leijer, with coach Ange Postecoglou hoping the role will challenge him.
“The responsibility of leading our club will hopefully take his game to another level,” Postecoglou said.
“I’ve never seen the captaincy as a reward for someone.
“We could have stayed with how we were. We want to go that extra step this year.”
Milligan says it’s a great privilege to lead a young team. “It’s definitely a challenge for me this year,” he said. “We really want to create that winning culture.”
