Juventus, back in the Serie A after one year in the doldrums, are proving the pundits wrong as the Turin giants were off to a flying start this season. Many thought Juve would struggle to impose their play as they seek to settle down but, at present, they are in second place, level on points with Roma and just three adrift of leaders Inter.

New coach Claudio Ranieri is relying on the 'old guard' to revive the fortunes of the 'Old Lady' as the summer signings have yet to leave their mark in Turin.

Whereas Gianluigi Buffon, Cristiano Zanetti, Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet have all contributed significantly to Juve's encouraging take-off, the same cannot be said of Alessandro Del Piero. The club's talisman has managed only one goal in six appearances so far.

The former Padova hit-man has has been going through an indifferent period which culminated with his axing from the national squad recently. But this is just a minor aspect of the Del Piero saga as intense negotiations over his contract renewal have been dragging on for some time. His contract is due to expire shortly, making him a free agent next June.

Juventus have reportedly offered Del Piero a salary inferior to what he earns today. According to some reports, Del Piero is ready to give up part of his salary but not as much as the club is proposing.

The real differences between club and player are not down to money but more related to which role will he have in the next few seasons at Juventus.

It is one thing if Del Piero will end up merely as a reserve and it is another if he will remain a regular starter. But with strikers of the calibre of Vincenzo Iaquinta and Raffaele Palladino on his heels, ready to pounce on his first mishap, Del Piero's chances look slim.

If the last few games are anything to go by, then one can safely say that Trezeguet and Iaquinta, formerly of Udinese, have become Ranieri's first-choice strikers.

The Frenchman currently tops the scorers' list together with Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic with seven goals whereas Iaquinta has scored four times in four appearances (two as a substitute).

On his part, ex-Livorno and Salernitana striker Palladino has netted once in four appearances (only two started from the first minute).

Secondary role

But even when the shrewd Fabio Capello was at the helm of Juve between 2004 and 2006, Del Piero was playing a secondary role to first-choice strikers Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic.

Some did argue that Del Piero had actually played a less distinct role in Juve's most recent successes in the Serie A.

But, Del Piero was indeed instrumental last year when he scored 20 goals in 35 Serie B appearances to help the side regain its place in the top flight. But, was that enough from a player who is reportedly earning 4.5 million euros per year?

In the next few months, Del Piero has to prove himself all over again. In Ranieri, he has his best ally because the ex-Chelsea and Valencia coach is a man renowned for his support to the team.

The fact that players like Antonio Nocerino and Christian Molinaro, not to mention defender Nicola Legrottaglie who in the past three years had fallen out of favour in Turin, have become regulars under Ranieri says it all.

Del Piero will turn 33 next month. But if he wishes to rejuvenate his career with Juve, then he has to start playing and scoring regularly or else he will leave Ranieri with no choice other than to drop him from the first team.

Way back in the summer of 1995, Juve had preferred to offload then veteran Roberto Baggio to Milan with the intention of giving more space and prominence to an up-and-coming Del Piero.

This time, history seems to be repeating itself with the only difference being that Del Piero is now on the other side of the coin. It depends on him really to make himself available to the club.

If Del Piero continues to play below his usual standards, then one tends to agree with the policy the club seems to be taking and offload him.

But if Del Piero pulls up his socks and lives up to his reputation, then the Juve fans are in for a big treat.