Far from basking in the glow of masterminding the biggest signing in the history of the domestic game, Sticca has been hard at work on his next project.

Can he top the Juventus great? Maybe not, but the director of the Tribal Sports Management empire says the next anticipated arrival “is a name on everyone’s lips”.

More will be revealed if and when the star puts pen to paper, although one thing is definite – the next coup won’t be lining up for the Sky Blues.

“There are plenty of other clubs out there putting their hands up as well,” Sticca said.

“This is a different type of individual (to Del Piero). It’s someone who would pretty much be on everyone’s lips.

“His recognition factor would be in some cases perhaps even higher than Alessandro with the non-traditional market.

“At this stage it’s like all these projects – you start something and there’s no end date, you’ve just got to keep plugging along."

But Sticca admitted: “In pure football credibility I don’t think there are too many out there that could top Alessandro.

“I think Alessandro brings certain factors that very few players in the world can bring.

“The fact that he’s played the bulk of his career for one club, the fact that he’s won a World Cup, the fact that he’s voted the most loved sportsman in his own country, even at 37 years of age.”

The FIFA licensed player agent is “stoked” by the response to the charismatic Italian and had words of comfort for fans dismayed by Sydney FC’s sub-par showing against Wellington Phoenix in round one.

“In a very poor team performance, Alessandro still showed so much class and a willingness to play football,” he said.

“It’s a work in progress and the team has had a few setbacks with injuries and probably hasn’t had the preparation that the coach would have liked.

“I’m sure people will see a much better performance this weekend. Give it another few games and I think you’ll find the clubs will go there and struggle.”

More importantly, he said, the young boys on Sydney’s roster will have the opportunity to learn from one of the best.

“There’s no question that bringing players like Alessandro or Heskey or Ono or others that are out there at the moment makes an impact,” he said.

“Even some of the unknown names – the South Americans that Adelaide United have got – showed themselves on the weekend as being fantastic footballers.

“I think that’s what the fans want to see – fans want to see something with a bit of sizzle.”

Sticca knew way back as a Brunswick Juventus junior he wouldn’t make it as a professional footballer – but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a game changer.

Over the years, he has brought the likes of Dwight Yorke, Shinji Ono, Benito Carbone, Kazuyoshi “Kazu” Miura, David Beckham (LA Galaxy) and Celtic down under.

The bigger the name, the more humble and loyal the player, he said.

The Del Piero factor has played a big role in delivering the league its best opening round ever: audience ratings up by more than 35% on the previous season and about 93,000 streaming through the gates to watch games live.

All going well, Sticca will be among the hundreds of Victorians heading to the harbour city to watch ADP’s Sky Blues take on Newcastle Jets and their marquee EPL cult hero Emile Heskey in Sydney’s first home game of the season.

But the man behind the moment doesn’t like being front and centre.

In a global game where the on-field stars dazzle more brightly than any other in the sporting galaxy, he is happiest making deals far from the spotlight.

It’s all a long way from the days when he started the ambitious Carlton Soccer Club in the old NSL and he has no intention of resting on his latest triumph.

The opportunity of rubbing shoulders with global superstars isn’t what keeps him going.

Rather, it’s the memory of running shoulder to shoulder with mates in the Brunswick Zebras all those years back.

“The game itself and the camaraderie around it is what inspires me,” Sticca said. “I wasn’t a good footballer but most of my mates today are the guys I played junior football with.

“The one factor that’s been the constant throughout my journey in football has been the team spirit; the mateship that you develop from playing sport.

“I’ve got three adult sons, they started playing junior soccer at five years of age and I look at their friends now and most of them are kids they played soccer with from 10-15 years ago.

"I take a lot of pleasure in that.

“And that’s probably what inspires me the most - because it brings people of all different walks of life together.”