DURING his time at Juventus, there was one player Alessandro Del Piero was consistently compared to: Raul. And inevitably, as soon as he announced his move to Sydney FC, there were instant comparisons drawn to the former Real Madrid and Spain striker’s transfer to Qatar’s Al-Sadd.

Was it for the money? Del Piero is the A-League’s biggest import and at Sydney FC, he will be earning $2million per season — that too at the ripe old age of 37.

But Del Piero didn’t have an option. The Old Lady of Turin ended her love affair with her long-serving captain last season.

And for all that he had done for his club, he would be forgiven for doing a Raul this time around.

After Real Madrid let go of Raul in 2010, he went to German Bundesliga side Schalke 04 and then in May this year, he left the Gelsenkirchen side for Qatar in a multi-million dollar move.

“Raul was an icon at Real and then at Schalke but then he went on to collect coins of money for an odd important goal,” wrote Italian football columnist Riccardo Signori in il Giornalo. “This time Alex decided his move as a businessman, not a player.”

After starting off their careers at virtually at the same time, Del Piero and Raul have been invariably compared by Italian and Spanish press throughout their careers; even more so when Juventus and Real clashed in the UEFA Champions League.

It started off in the 1995-96 Champions League quarter-finals when the two came across each other. A goal from Raul had given Real a 1-0 victory in Madrid in the first-leg but a Del Piero-inspired Juve came back to win the second-leg 2-0 and then ultimately go on to win Europe’s elite club competition.

Come 1997-98, Raul had his revenge. Del Piero had top-scored in the Champions League that season to take Juve into the final where they lost to Raul’s Real.

By the time they met in the 2002-03 Champions League semi-final, Raul and Del Piero had established themselves as the emblems of their clubs.

Juventus won the tie but Del Piero had to yet again suffer heartbreak in the final at the hands of AC Milan at Old Trafford.

In 2004-05 when the clubs met in the quarter-final of the competition, and with both Del Piero and Raul not in their best form, Spanish daily El Mundo gave an insight into their struggles in its editorial.

“The Bernabeu will be an umpteenth opportunity for both Del Piero and Raul to make their mark,” it said.

A Juve squad minus Del Piero defeated a Real side devoid of Raul.

When the two sides came face to face for the last time in the group stages of the Champions League in 2008-09, Del Piero had won the 2006 World Cup with Italy while also experiencing relegation with beloved Juventus for a match-fixing scandal. Raul, meanwhile, was still at Real although his role was diminishing.

Madrid-based Spanish daily Marca centered its match preview on the two legends. With Del Piero in the ascendancy this time around, the paper had a more humble viewpoint.

“Raul and Del Piero will face each other for a seventh time and maybe the last. Perhaps it is time to stop comparing once and enjoy a match that will one day be a legend. This is what happens when an athlete — in this case two —transcend their activity and become a symbol,” it said.

Del Piero had the last laugh, scoring twice in a 2-0 victory in their final meeting.

Then in 2010, by when Raul had been shipped out of Madrid by a certain Jose Mourinho, Marca paid tribute to Del Piero as he began his 17th year at Juve.

“The Raul of Juventus, Del Piero, turns 17 with the Old Lady,” said its headline.

The comparisons had ended and what existed was a feeling of mutual respect for the two from both sides.

When the Juventus board decided not to extend Del Piero’s contract beyond last season, the similarities between the two players’ careers were beautifully highlighted.

“The careers of two modern-day legends — Del Piero and Raul — continue in a similar vein. The Spaniard was also the symbol Real for a very long time, only to be forced to leave,” wrote Italian newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

But for the decades-long rivalry that Del Piero and Raul have enjoyed, the story seems unfinished. All it needs is one final bout between the two legends to truly satiate the desires of a football purist — one final bout that would bring the long-running saga to the perfect climax.

There is a possibility, though, it still could happen and that too in the Champions League albeit the Asian version of it.

The AFC Champions League, like its European counterpart, is the continent’s marquee club tournament and fortunately, A-League sides participate in it instead of taking part in the Oceania Club Championship.

Although neither Sydney FC nor Al Sadd have qualified for next season’s tournament, they can feature in the 2014 season.

A top-four finish in this season’s Qatar Stars League will see Al Sadd, the 2011 Asian champions, in the competition once again while Sydney FC, A-League champions in 2010, need a top three-finish in the league to get a spot in the lucrative Champions League.

However, there is a slight problem.

Raul’s contract with Al Sadd expires at the end of the season but he might extend it for a year to get a chance of a final face-off with his longtime rival Del Piero.

If that does happen, not only would it boost the AFC Champions League but also give a final opportunity to the Italo-Spanish press and the world to decide on who was the greater legend!