Del Piero to arrive on Sunday to take up Sydney deal

Former Juventus and Italy forward Alessandro Del Piero will arrive in Sydney on Sunday to begin his two-year contract with Sydney FC.

The A-League team announced his arrival date on Friday. It signed the 37-year-old Del Piero to the reported $4 million deal on Sept. 5, the league's biggest marquee signing.

Sydney play their first A-League match of the season on October 6 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Coach Ian Crook said "we look forward to integrating him into the team ... he is coming out a little bit earlier than we had thought which is good."

Del Piero was a member of Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning team and scored a Juventus-record 286 goals in all competitions over 19 seasons with the Serie A club.