Italian champions Juventus have touched down in Sydney this morning ahead of Sunday’s exhibition match against the A-League All Stars. The players were swamped by adoring fans of the Turin giants, with the touring squad featuring the likes of international stars Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Gianluigi Buffon.

 

The Bianconeri were greeted by a sea of black and white on exiting the airport terminal, with a number of players stopping to sign autographs and pose for photos. The side arrived from Jakarta following a comprehensive 8-1 win over an Indonesian Select XI, which was their first match on their pre-season tour of Asia.

 

This is the second year in a row Australia has hosted a reigning domestic champion side, following the success of Manchester United’s tour down under last year. The A-League All Stars will be led by former Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero and are being coached by Adelaide United boss Josep Gombau.

 

Current A-League player of the year Thomas Broich is one All Star that will be looking to have a big impact on the match and said Del Piero had provided some valuable insights about some of his former teammates.  

 

“He does (give advice on Juventus),” said Broich after yesterday’s training session. “We were talking football last night during dinner quite a lot.

 

“He pointed out a few things that we need to be mindful of. It certainly helps to have him in the team.

 

“I think it’s going to be even more difficult (than Manchester United last year) because this team has been playing together for quite some time and they’ve been fairly successful in recent years. 

 

Meanwhile Juventus’ new coach Massimiliano Allegri will hold his team’s first training run later today as part of their week-long stay, with an open training session to be held on Saturday at Jubilee Oval in Kogarah. Juventus will play the A-League All Stars on Sunday night at ANZ Stadium, in front of an expected crowd of more than 60,000 fans.

 

Tickets for the match which will be played just down the road in Homebush are still available but if you’re not able to get along and want to see all the action unfold we’ll have the game on the big screen in the clubhouse so come down for dinner and grab the best seat in the house!