Del Piero has lost that winning feeling with Sydney FC

THE only way for Sydney FC to keep hold of marquee player Alessandro Del Piero is to start winning games, and that has to come sooner rather than later.

THE only way for Sydney FC to keep hold of marquee player Alessandro Del Piero is to start winning games, and that has to come sooner rather than later.

The Sky Blues have said they are in negotaitions with the Italian superstar to keep him at the club beyond next season.

But the man who won everything with Juventus and Italy will not want to stay at a club which is losing all the time.

At the moment I agree with Sydney captain Terry McFlynn who reckons his teammate will want to finish the job in the Harbour City.

"He's won everything in the game ... every competition he's entered since he was a kid, he's won it," McFlynn said.

"This is no different. He wants to win it and he sees this as something unfinished for him."

That might be the case at the moment, but with possible suitors such as Central Coast Mariners sniffing around, you could not blame Del Piero for wanting a change of scenery with a successful A-League club.

The Mariners are also talking up the possibility of pairing David Beckham with the little Italian maestro for the dream team to end them all in the A-League.

It might just be a Christmas wish for club owner Peter Turnbull, but if he can secure Beckham for the rest of the season, then maybe, just maybe Del Piero will follow.

I for one hope that the Italian stays and finishes the job at Sydney.

Let's face it, if anyone can get a club from the bottom it's the former Azzurri star.

But he will need the help of his teammates if he is going to finish the job.

For the A-League and the Mariners, particularly, the dream team of Beckham and Del Piero would be a real marketing coup.

But just how difficult would it be for the club and the rest of the players in the team.

They would inspire their teammates initially, but just as we have seen at Sydney and Newcastle this season, it is difficult to keep up the standards.

Emile Heskey started like a train and was scoring goals for fun at the Jets, but his form has slipped and it's no coincidence that the team has begun to slide too.

The one player who has managed to shine and keep his teammates along for the ride is Shinji Ono at the Wanderers.

Maybe it's because he has gone along with little fanfare and just got on with the job.

So while he might think the teaming up of Del Piero and Beckham will be the answer to all his Christmas prayers, Peter Turnbull might just look around at what has happened elsewhere.

Let's face it, the Mariners have done extremely well in the history of the A-League up until now without having to bring in the big names.

And as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Turnbull's dream team could end up as a nightmare.

Originally published as Del Piero has lost that winning feeling with Sydney FC