WELLINGTON: Italian great Alessandro Del Piero was greeted by cheeky chants of “What a waste of money” from Wellington fans on his A-League debut on Saturday as his Sydney FC side slumped to a 2-0 defeat to the Phoenix.

The 37-year-old played more than 500 games in 19 seasons with Italian giants Juventus before joining Sydney in the off-season on a contract reportedly worth A$2 million a year.

A-League and Sydney FC officials touted the contract as the biggest in Australian sport and predicted his arrival to have an impact similar to that of former England captain David Beckham’s move to the LA Galaxy in the United States.

However, Del Piero made a quiet start for Sydney and was overshadowed by Wellington’s Belgian striker Stein Huysegms and teenager Louis Fenton, who scored either side of half time for the home side in front of more than 12,000 fans.

“I’m not satisfied, because we lost,” said Del Piero, whose supply of ball was choked off by the Phoenix midfield. “But it was the first match and we need to improve.

“We need to play a few more times together ... (but) Wellington played a very good match. They were strong. They held the ball. They had ideas. Congratulations to the Phoenix.” Del Piero said it was too early for him to judge the standard of play in the A-League, having only arrived in Australia three weeks ago and having limited pre-season time with his new team.

“We don’t need to make judgment now,” he said. “After 10 matches we can talk in general, but not now.” Much like his performance on the pitch, Del Piero’s arrival in New Zealand’s capital on Friday was low-key, greeted by only a small group of fans at the airport while other passengers appeared bemused as to who was attracting so much attention.

Administrators have positioned Del Piero as a talisman for A-League, which began its eighth season on Friday, in the hope he will raise the profile of the sport amongst fans, the media and businesses in a crowded sporting marketplace.

Despite booming youth participation rates, professional soccer has struggled to make inroads in Australia against the entrenched rival codes of Australian Rules and rugby league and union.

It also has fitful support in rugby-mad New Zealand, with the Phoenix’s average attendances falling from their first season of more than 11,000 per game to just over 8,200 for the last four.