Juventus teenager Kenan Yildiz paid homage to his idol Alessandro Del Piero during and after the Derby della Mole against Torino.
The Bianconeri took the lead in the first half through a Timothy Weah tap-in, but the Turkish teenager seemed hellbent on getting on the scoresheet, especially since the contest coincided with Del Piero’s 50th birthday.
The wonderkid eventually got his wish in the final minutes as he met Francisco Conceicao’s exquisite cross with a sliding header that beat Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and secured the valuable victory.
Yildiz exulted after scoring his goal by mimicking the iconic tongue-out celebration of the Juventus great as a fitting homage.
After the match, the Turkiye international explicitly dedicated the Derby win to his idol.
“I’m very happy with this goal. This is for you Alex, happy birthday!” said the 19-year-old in his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia via IlBianconero.
“I’m also happy for the team, we played well and I’m pleased with the result.”
Yildiz also heaped praise on his teammate Andrea Cambiaso who produced a spectacular display and was behind Timothy Weah’s opener.
“Cambiaso works extremely hard. I’m happy to have him on my side. I also try to help him at the back as much as I can.
“Inter vs Napoli? We’re not thinking about it.”
For his part, Cambiaso weighed in on his menacing run that yielded the first Juventus goal.
“I’m quite tired now. But this result is great, so I’m very happy. I saw a space on Weah’s goal and I decided to slip in.”
The Italy international also praised Yildiz for putting himself at the team’s disposal, urging him to maintain the same approach.
“The most important thing is to help your teammates and this is what Yildiz has been doing. He has to continue on the same path.”