The term 'legend' is bandied around far too frequently and easily in football, but where Alessandro Del Piero is concerned it is certainly an apt description of the former Juventus frontman.

After all, no player has made more appearances for the Old Lady (705) than the centre-forward, while his goal return of 290 is a hefty 108 more than Giampiero Boniperti, who is second on the club's all-time goalscoring list.

Those statistics aside, it is also for nights like Juve's trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League group stages seven years ago today that Del Piero will always be regarded a hero among the supporters - not just in Turin, but around the world.

History was not in Juve's favour when they travelled to the Spanish capital and the Bernabeu - a ground where they had not won in their last six attempts, which was a run that dated back to 1962. However, they did at least head into the contest having beaten Los Blancos 2-1 at home a couple of weeks earlier, with Del Piero on the scoresheet.

Yet, while the away side suffered in terms of possession, they were able to bring an end to their 46-year wait for a victory on Real's own turf thanks to their talisman, who was four days short of celebrating his 34th birthday.

There was 17 minutes on the clock when the visiting Italians launched their first meaningful attack as Marco Marchionni collected a stray pass from Madrid midfielder Guti on the halfway line.

Marchionni in turn fed a pass through for Del Piero to make an advancement on goal. As the home defence backed off, the veteran striker used the body of fellow Italian and Madrid centre-back Fabio Cannavaro to unleash a curling shot with his left foot that squeezed inside Iker Casillas's post.

In response, Bernd Schuster's Madrid created two good chances to haul themselves level before the break, but neither Sergio Ramos nor Mahamadou Diarra were able to convert from close range.

There was no such problem for Del Piero, though, who secured all three points for Juve and a place in the last 16 of the competition in the 67th minute in emphatic style. A foul on Mohamed Sissoko 25 yards from goal provided 'Pinturicchio' with the opportunity to showcase his set-piece capabilities, and he didn't disappoint.

Presented with a five-man wall of white shirts, Del Piero almost nonchalantly lifted his effort over them and into the bottom corner of the net, leaving a powerless Casillas rooted to the spot.

The home faithful soon let it be known that they were bitterly unhappy with what was unfolding in front of them out on the pitch, but to their credit, when Del Piero was replaced by Paolo De Ceglie deep into stoppage time, many of them rose to applaud Juve's two-goal hero.

Speaking after the final whistle, Juve head coach Claudio Ranieri was full of praise for his match-winner, saying "Del Piero once again was superb but the whole team played a fantastic game. Congratulations to the Madrid fans who gave a standing ovation to Del Piero. It was fully deserved, a great gesture."

His opposite number Schuster added: "I enjoyed the ovation given to Alessandro Del Piero because he is a great player. He has proved his class and the Bernabeu recognised this fact."

Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze (Saviola), Marcelo; Diarra, Sneijder (Higuain), Guti, Drenthe; Raul, Van Nistelrooy (Van der Vaart)

Juve: Manninger; Mellberg, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Molinaro; Marchionni, Tiago, Sissoko, Nedved; Amauri (Iaquinta), Del Piero (De Ceglie)