Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero is backing Aaron Ramsey to "relaunch his career" at Rangers, despite his time in Turin turning sour.
The Welsh midfielder put in a solid 60 minutes in his first start as his new side comfortably dispatched Annan Athletic at the weekend and will be hoping to retain his place in Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s starting 11 for Thursday's Europa League showdown with Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
Ramsey is no stranger to a big game, starring for both Arsenal and Juventus in Europe’s premier competitions – including a couple of Champions League appearances for his parent club earlier this season.
And Juve's all-time leading goal scorer and appearance maker reckons Ramsey has made the right decision in joining the Scottish champions in the January Window.
Speaking exclusively to Record Sport , Del Piero said, “It is not easy but it is important to play, to find rhythm and continuity.
"He is not yet 32 years old, and he still has an important phase of his career ahead of him. At Rangers he will find the right environment, and the right league, to relaunch his career. In Turin this was no longer possible.
“We must not forget that Ramsey won a Scudetto and a Coppa Italia in a Juventus shirt. He played in decisive games in his first season, such as the victory against Inter in which he scored the first goal and provided a splendid assist for the second by Paulo Dybala.
“A player like that is not used to being on the bench, or being in squad rotations, and I understand that. There were so many interruptions for injury reasons and now he wants to play as much as he can.”
Despite playing more than 700 games for the Italian giants, Del Piero was no stranger to injury problems himself, overcoming a career threatening one during his meteoric rise in Turin before going on to enjoy a trophy laden career with the Old Lady.
And the Italian legend, who scored one of his finest goals in Dortmund 27 years ago, knows how hard it can be to re-establish yourself as the player fans once knew after some tough setbacks, but believes Ramsey can do just that during his time in Scotland.
“The disappointment is there, because there was a moment in the season with Andrea Pirlo when he really seemed to be able to show his full value to the team. In my opinion, you cannot give a true judgment of his experience without considering the weight of the injuries that slowed him down at times.
“Aaron Ramsey is an experienced and intelligent player, very flexible from a tactical point of view, because he can do almost everything: midfielder, attacking midfielder, attacking winger. He can manage ball possession well and is excellent with assists. He is technically a superb player.
"He has only himself to fear, or the injuries that unfortunately tormented his time at Juventus.”
