Del Piero enjoying Yildiz comparison, names the two ‘main’ players at Juventus | OneFootball

Juventus icon Alessandro Del Piero heaps praise on Kenan Yildiz who has been identified as his rightful successor by a large section of fans and pundits.

Since the Italian’s departure in 2012, several players have donned the iconic Number 10, namely Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and Paulo Dybala.

However, Yildiz is considered the player who resembles Del Piero the most in terms of style and characteristics.

Alessandro Del Piero hails ‘complete’ Kenan Yildiz

Kenan Yildiz (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

The young Turkish forward has long identified the 50-year-old as his childhood idol, and he even went on to copy his celebration.

On Saturday, Del Piero was working as a pitch-side pundit for CBS, covering the contest between Juventus and Atalanta, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Before the encounter, Yildiz spotted Del Piero on the pitch, so he interrupted his warm-up to embrace his hero in what was a heartwarming scene.

Afterwards, the 2006 World Cup legend admitted that he enjoys the comparison between himself and the 20-year-old Juventus star who is now emerging as a complete player.

“I like it (the comparison), of course. I’m happy for him, he’s a great guy,” said Il Pinturicchio during his live appearance on CBS ahead of the match.

“Kenan is a great guy in terms of mentality and how to approach the game and perform during the game.

“He has been sacrificing himself a lot in terms of making runs. This is very important because your teammates would want to ‘die’ on the pitch for you.

“On top of that, he’s now creating more goals, scoring beautiful goals on some occasions. He’s becoming a complete player, a complete number 10, and this is great for him and Juventus.”

Del Piero explains Khephren Thuram’s importance to Juventus

In addition to Yildiz, Del Piero also identified Khephren Thuram as the other ‘main’ player at Juventus.

“The midfield is always a key position, and between him (Yildiz) and Thuram, they are probably the two ‘main’ players.”

Thuram had to leave the pitch in the second half after picking up a knock, but Igor Tudor is hoping to recover him for the Champions League contest against Villarreal.