Fate of Del Piero and Farina at Sydney FC decided 'soon'Italian has said he wants to continue playingCoach missed target of finishing in top four The futures of Alessandro Del Piero and Frank Farina at Sydney FC remain in limbo but the club¡¦s chief executive, Tony Pignata, says a decision on the pair is imminent.
The Sky Blues' campaign ended with their 2-1 loss to Melbourne Victory last Friday and the focus has turned to whether or not either figure will remain at the club next season.
Del Piero is not contracted past this season but the Italian, who turns 40 in November, has implied he has no plans to retire. Asked in a post-match interview on Friday if he wanted to play on he said: "Yeah, yeah for sure." Pignata, however, says Del Piero is yet to decide what he wants to do, and has denied reports the Sydney FC board has already decided not to extend his contract.
"No that's not true," Pignata said on Tuesday.
"We've had a discussion and we've always maintained that he will have a bit of a break after the season and then decide what he wants to do.
So he hasn't actually indicated to us yet what he wants to do."
Pignata said he had not been in contact with either Del Piero or Farina since Friday's defeat but confirmed they were due to have discussions with the club soon.
"We really need to be respectful to both of them and we still need to sit down and have a chat to them," he said.
"There's no real time line for an a decision to be made but it will have to be done soon, that's all I can say."
Farina's future at the club was said to be dependant on Sydney securing a top-four finish.
The Sky Blues ended their season just two points adrift in fifth, two positions higher than last year.
Pignata, while confirming a top-four finish was expected by the club, said Farina's future would not be determined by the club's position on the ladder alone.
"That was one of his KRAs [Key Results Areas] but it's not solely dependant on that," Pignata said.
"The decision will have to be made by the board and, like any role and any year, we review everyone. So it won't come down to just that."
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/22/sydney-fc-alessandro-del-piero-frank-farina
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