Del Piero puts humble face on Sydney FC captain's role Leader of the pack: New Sydney FC captain Alessandro Del Piero Photo: Getty Images During a speech at the Sydney Opera House, Gough Whitlam once quipped about being "one icon in front of the other." A little after midday on Wednesday, as the cameras whizzed into action, the room silenced and tourists pressed their noses against the glass wall separating Alessandro Del Piero from the forecourt, there was again that rare feeling of stardust on the breeze around the world famous landmark. Not that Del Piero would dare place himself on such a pedestal. As the 38-year Italian World Cup winner was announced by chairman Scott Barlow and coach Frank Farina as Sydney FC captain for the upcoming season, his second in Australia after becoming one of the great footballers for Italy and Juventus, it was revealed that the maestro's humility almost prevented him from accepting the job. Doing it all: Alessandro Del Piero will captain Sydney FC this season. "I want to say a few words more for Terry McFlynn because Terry was a great captain and it was a pleasure to play for him last season," Del Piero said after opening remarks. Only together we can win the game. Only together we can win the title. Farina had consulted Barlow and chief executive Tony Pignata about what he felt was "a logical decision" to promote Del Piero from the vice-captaincy. He said the players had respected Del Piero's influence in the dressing room "during the difficult periods that we had." However, when asked how his marquee signing received the news, Farina let on that he had been "a little bit reluctant in the beginning." Reluctance would have been understandable if based on the club's chequered history, including last season's problematic campaign which ended with the flagship club missing the finals. "The hesitancy was out of respect for Terry," Farina later clarified. That's just the man in summary. The greatest people I've met, the greatest players I've met, are the most humble. Humility is something Alessandro has in spades. Del Piero said he'd always intended to play two seasons in Sydney, but wanted a "one plus one" option because "Sydney is far from my house. We have to know each other. They got to know each other last year, with Del Piero scoring 14 goals and enjoying his new work environment, despite players and coaches coming and going. It is the past," he said. We have to think about last year only to think about what was wrong and what we can do better. We change a lot of players. Frank is the boss from the start of the season and not from the half like last year. This year is very important for all of us, I think. Sometimes it can happen, a season like last year. Del Piero met in February with Barlow and sorted out the contract extension. I start a kind of work last year. I want to finish this work in the right way," he said. This is a good point for the start of the season. Del Piero said he was unsure if he would captain in a different way to his style at Juventus. But he said hard work, concentration and focus were the keys to success no matter what. "Step by step it's a new adventure," he said. It's a new feeling inside the team. Barlow said there was unlikely to be any notable difference in Del Piero's impact on the marketing power of the A-League and Sydney FC this season. His impact last year was enormous and would continue. As with all true icons, the novelty doesn't wear off. Twitter - @davesygall