___   >>>   click here to see del piero's arrival  

Del Piero entered Sydney airport arrivals at around 11.20am to a rock star welcome from around 300 fans many of whom were in Juventus and Sydney FC shirts.

A large security presence was on hand to usher the Juventus and Azzurri great and his family through the throng before he fronted a brief media conference outside the airport.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Del Piero said to a large contingent of local and foreign media over the din of fans around him.

Del Piero was whisked away in a car bound for Star Casino and tomorrow (Monday) he’ll front a media conference at the venue.

Guangze “Grant” Guo flew from Melbourne to be part of the welcome this morning.

“I am the biggest worshipper of him. I’ve watched him since I was a boy. It’s not just him as a player but it’s his behaviour. He’s a role model,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“I will be flying up regularly to watch Sydney FC games.”

Kate Cohen had her Sydney FC shirt signed by Del Piero. She was barely able to speak afterwards.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said, holding back the tears. “This is the biggest thing… incredible”

Pascale Kunis is a life-long Juve fan and he was equally emotional after the star’s arrival.

“It’s surreal. Unreal. He’s more than just a player. This will have a long-term effect on the game here. And as a Juve fan, we believe he is a future Juventus president.”

Meanwhile Sydney FC continue to attract punter support to win the 2012/13 A-League title and have firmed from $6.00 into $5.00 with online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au.

Following news of his signing last week, Sydney FC tightened from $7.50 into $6.00 but money has continued to come for the Sky Blues, who now find themselves on the second line of betting, only behind the Brisbane Roar, who’ve eased from $3.50 out to $4.00.

Del Piero has three weeks to acclimatize before his first A-League game with the sky blues in Wellington.

His first home game will be against Newcastle in mid-October.

   ___   >>>   click here to see del piero's arrival