Del Piero, Raul strike blow for soccer senior citizens

European superstars Alessandro Del Piero and Raul struck impressive blows for soccer’s senior citizens, proving that a combined age of 65 is no barrier to thriving at the top level.

Del Piero’s stunning freekick gave Juventus a 1-0 home win over Siena as Claudio Ranieri’s side closed the gap at the top of Serie A to four points on leaders Inter Milan.

It was the 34-year-old Italian international’s sixth goal of the season direct from a free-kick, his seventh in all and the 162nd of his Serie A career.

“He always manages to bring something out of the hat,” said Ranieri. “When you are having trouble breaking the deadlock, then you need a champion like Del Piero.”

Dead-eye Del Piero has a habit of scoring at crucial times. Previous successful dead-ball strikes have helped Juve beat Real Madrid home and away in the Champions League while another downed Zenit St Petersburg 1-0.

“There’s still a long way to go in the championship and we have to show that we deserve to be in this position,” said Del Piero. “Today we won through stubborness despite not playing very well.”

Raul is five years younger than Del Piero, but on Sunday he marked his 500th league game for Real Madrid with a goal in the Spanish champions 3-0 win at Real Mallorca which moved them into second place, nine points behind leaders Barcelona.

Raul now stands sixth in the Spanish league appearance standings just 24 matches from equalling the club record held by Manuel Sanchis.

Former Barcelona goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta holds the all-time appearance record with 622 league outings.

“I never imagined I would play so many games,” said Raul on the eve of Sunday’s game. “I’ve given 14 years of my life to this badge and I’m still hungry. Nothing could be better for a player than to spend his entire professional life at a club like Real Madrid.”