Modern Football Mavericks: Andrea Pirlo
What is a Maverick?
A Maverick is an unorthodox or independent-minded person. In regards to Football, these individuals has gone against the rules set by clubs, organisations (e.g. F.A) and even those that fans expect any other player to follow. Some are loved and some are hated, and in this mini-series of posts, I will be looking at how they have become a Maverick and what this means for them on and off the pitch.
Name: Andrea Pirlo
D.O.B: 19th May 1979
Club: New York City FC
Career Information: Brescia (1995- 1998), Inter Milan (1998- 2001), Reggina (on loan, 1999- 2000), Brescia (on loan, 2001), AC Milan (2001- 2011), Juventus (2011- 2015), New York City (2015 - Present).
Honours:
Club
Brescia
Serie B 1996- 1997
AC Milan
Serie A 2003-04, 2010-11
Coppa Italia 2002-03
Supercoppa Italiana 2004
Champions League 2002-03, 2006-07
UEFA Super Cup 2003, 2007
FIFA Club World Cup 2007
Juventus
Serie A 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15
Coppa Italia 2014-15
Suppercoppa Italiana 2012, 2013
Country (Italy)
FIFA World Cup 2006
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2000
Olympic Bronze Medal 2004
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Runner-Up 2012
FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Medal 2013
Individual
UEFA European Under 21 Championship Golden Player 2000
UEFA European Under 21 Championship Top Scorer 2000
2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
2006 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball
2006 FIFA World Cup Most Assists
2006 FIFA World Cup Man of the Match
Club
Brescia
Serie B 1996- 1997
AC Milan
Serie A 2003-04, 2010-11
Coppa Italia 2002-03
Supercoppa Italiana 2004
Champions League 2002-03, 2006-07
UEFA Super Cup 2003, 2007
FIFA Club World Cup 2007
Juventus
Serie A 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15
Coppa Italia 2014-15
Suppercoppa Italiana 2012, 2013
Country (Italy)
FIFA World Cup 2006
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2000
Olympic Bronze Medal 2004
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Runner-Up 2012
FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Medal 2013
Individual
UEFA European Under 21 Championship Golden Player 2000
UEFA European Under 21 Championship Top Scorer 2000
2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
2006 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball
2006 FIFA World Cup Most Assists
2006 FIFA World Cup Man of the Match
IFFHS World's Best Playmaker: Third
place 2006, Second place 2007, 9th place 2009, 4th place 2012
FIFPro World XI: 2006
Ballon d'Or: 2006 (9th
place), 2007 (5th place), 2012 (7th place)
FIFA World Player of the
Year: 2007 (7th place)
ESM Team of the Year: 2011–12
Pallone d'Argento: 2011–12
Pallone Azzurro: 2011–12
Guerin d'Oro: 2012
UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament
UEFA Best Player in Europe
Award: 2012 (4th place), 2015 (7th place)
Juventus Player of the Season: 2011–12
UEFA Team of the Year: 2012
2011–12 Serie A Top Assist Provider
Serie A team of the
Year: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
Serie A Midfielder of the Year: 2012
Serie A Italian Player of the Year: 2012
Serie A Player of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2014
Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano
Scirea": 2013
FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the
Tournament: 2013
FIFA Confederations Cup Castrol Index Top XI:
2013
UEFA Europa League Team of the
Season: 2013–14
UEFA Champions League Team of the
Season: 2014–15
A.C. Milan Hall of Fame
All-time UEFA European Under-21
Championship dream team: 2015
The Coolest Midfield Technician?
Being a Maverick in Football don't always mean that you are a player who has raw talent but is easily distracted by off the pitch activities or the various supermodels that follow the sport (at least for the best-payed professionals!). There are a few Mavericks that retain a high-level of class that is recognised by colleagues and fans from across the world. One of these players is arguably the best and most successful Italian Midfielder of all-time, Andrea Pirlo.
Ask anybody about Pirlo and they will tell you that he is the most-relaxed midfielder they have ever seen. Recently, Pirlo went to score direct from a corner-kick for New York City and was denied by a very surprised goalkeeper. The 36-year old then walked off from the corner not in the slightest bothered that a potential goal of the season had been saved. He also said "Football is played with the head. Your feet are just the tools". Pirlo is one of very few who reach the highest mental level of understanding the game and all the different perspectives of the central-midfielder position. So how has Pirlo reached the top of the game, by having a unique luxury lifestyle off the pitch but also a commanding and serious agenda on the pitch. The answer is that Pirlo mastered his style early on his career, collected silverware and then established his cool persona towards the end of his twenty year career in his homeland. In this post, I will be looking at Pirlo's achievements that have lead him to be being one of the world's most respected players and the fantastic dead-pan quotes and eye-catching decisions that spring boarded him to being called the coolest Midfield technician in Football history.
It was clear that Pirlo had a serious attitude towards the game from an early game. In 1992, a five stone 13-year Pirlo, on the way to Voluntas U15's tournament (yes he was playing two years above his age group), set his team-mates' minds straight by saying "This is not a school trip. We're here to win, so you'd better behave". In the quarter-finals of the tournament, penalties, Pirlo was chosen to take the decider. Win or bust at such a young age and low-level of the game. His coach, Roberto Clerici, recalls the penalty perfectly. "He went towards the keeper with the ball under his arm. He took his run-up, He slowed down. He caressed it. Scooped it. We nearly dropped dead. Andrea was like that: even though you couldn't tell him anything". Pirlo's technique on penalties is now known as the 'Pankea' and is clear that he had a unique and excellent plan, even at a tournament that had no serious prize. Clerici highlights Pirlo's style in his role in-between the number 10 midfielder and the defensive midfielder "He never made many fouls, because he wanted to play football and didn't want to stop the others from playing, either. He did the hardest things almost without ever making a mistake". Even at under-15, 16, 17 level Pirlo was re-defying the midfield technician role in the center of a team. It was as if he had an old head on young shoulders and was set for a glorious career.
In his 2014 autobiography, I Think Therefore I Play, Pirlo wrote "From an early age, I know I was better than the others, and for that very reason tongues were soon wagging. Everyone talked about me, too much as a matter of fact, and not always in a good way." Seemingly others around the future World Cup winner were amazed and dreadfully jealous of the spectacular ball skills that would later define his career. It was proven when he was training with the pros at Brescia and starting pre-season friendlies after just a year of being at the club. Brescia were worried when they won the Serie B in 1997 as they feared Pirlo would jump ship and it was apparent alot of top Serie A clubs would be looking at the Italian because of his fantastic, unique ability to find a pass and space, without breaking a sweat. Like any Maverick, Pirlo reflected on his self-ability by saying "I'm abit of a wandering gypsey on the pitch. A midfielder continually on the lookout for an unspolit corner where I can move freely, just for a moment. All I'm after is a few sqaure metres to be myself. A space where I can continue to profess my creed: take the ball, give it to a team-mate, team-mate scores. It's called an assist and it's my way of spreading happiness." I don't think any player has ever described an assist as 'happiness' but that is how Pirlo described an act that he has done hundreds of times across a few yards of grass. Following the title win and Brescia, Inter won the race for Pirlo's signature in 1998, the club he had supported as a child, and he would be playing with Ronaldo (Brazilian), World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff and childhood hero Roberto Baggio. Andrea looked to be in the perfect setting to bring his techincal abilities to one of Italy's most famous club.
Comfort at the black and blue half of the San Siro was in short supply for Pirlo. After one season, Pirlo's future Italy boss, Marcello Lippi, sent him on loan to Reggina. It was there that Pirlo first gripped Serie A by the neck and made the league his stage for all fellow colleagues to stare in amazement. His coach, Franco Colomba, said he had to turn the generator off in order for the Italian to go home from training. This further implies the fact that Pirlo is not a Maverick in the sense that creates chaos and anger among the Football community, but one that provides a key insight into how midfield masterminds, such as Xavi, Ozil, Gotze, Scholes, Cazorla and of course the man himself Pirlo, take the world by storm with their swagger both on and off the pitch. Having saved Reggina from relegation, captaining Italy Under 21's to European Championship glory (as well as winning both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball for being the compeition's top goalscorer and best player), Pirlo returned to Inter in 2000 but only started four league games. He then returned on loan to Brescia, and then-coach Carlo Mazzone postioned Pirlo as a regista, a master passer in front of the back four. "I talked to the team about it, too, saying that from now on we had to have faith in Pirlo, who was the director of play. He didn't need much convincing. I just told him the story of my other teams who played in this way."
Sick of warming the bench, Pirlo signed for city rivals AC Milan for a very cheap £9.6 million, yet he did have to prove his worth against his coaches in three-on-one training games before he could become Milan's regista. He described Ancelotti as his father figure at AC Milan (which almost lead him to leading Ancelotti Chelsea in 2009, with Branislav Ivanovic going the other way). The trophies finally matched Pirlo's reputation and ability in Serie A and eventually on the International stage (2003 Champions League, Coppa Italia, UEFA Super Cup, 2004 Serie A, Italian Super Cup, 2006 World Cup, 2007 Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and a 2011 Serie A title). He then moved to Juventus that summer and won four successive four titles, Coppa Italia and two further Italian Super Cups. There are references through Pirlo's autobiography towards the decision by Milan to not re-new his contract in 2011 and Pirlo refers to Galliani as 'The Pen Guy' or 'Mr Biro', due to their final conversation being Pirlo given a pen for a decade's service (as well as the millions payed by the Italian super-giants). Well as they say, one man's poison is another man's dessert. Juve captain Gianluigi Buffon said when he heard Pirlo was signing for his side "Great!Then when I saw him play, I thought: There is a God! This is the deal of the country." Quite rightly Buffon should have been excited as they went on to dominate Serie A and become a team with house-hold names such as Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and the legend of Juventus Gianluigi Buffon.
Pirlo then asked Juventus to release him in the summer of 2015 so he could join New York City, and the growing number of old European players moving to the MLS. Many people, including me, thought that Pirlo would retire with Juventus but the techican felt he wanted to crack America before he hungs up his boots. Some have not liked this decision and have publicly expressed their disappointment at Pirlo's final career transfer (such as New York Red Bulls holding up a banner at their derby game with city-rivals New York City showing Andrea Pirlo and ex- Chelsea legend Frank Lampard in a retirement home, looking very old, with the banner above saying 'City Retirement Home'). Regardless, Pirlo is one of, if not the best, holding midfielder in Italy and on the Champions League stage. If you need visual proof, look above again at his achievements, both personal and team, or YouTube his name and be amazed by the coolest midfield technician there ever was or ever will be.
So, how much of a Maverick is Pirlo? As I said before it is clear that Pirlo is not a classic Maverick that constantly causes mayhem off the pitch and has very inconsistent performances on the pitch. He is a Maverick that makes fans amazed by his ability on the pitch and brilliant, truthful quotes about the beautiful game. My favourite Pirlo quote is when he describes how he prepared for the 2006 World Cup Final against France "I don't feel pressure... I don't give a toss about it. I spent the afternoon of Sunday July 9th 2006 in Berlin sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening, I went out and won the World Cup." Andrea's side did win the World Cup but didn't just walked out and win it like Pirlo says (as they won it on penalties and had some help from Zidane's head). On moving to New York City, Pirlo said "I have been wanting this experience for a long time and now that the opportunity materalised I wanted to take it. New York City is a club on the rise and shares my same hunger to achieve important results in the league. I aim to win. I hope to play for as long as possible but I don't want to be tolerated in the team. When I realise its over, it will be over." I'm sure New York City are extremely happy with the signing of Pirlo and they have a player that would have walked into 99 percent of the World's Football teams. Pirlo is a player who has an unbelievable amount of class and this can be proven by Pirlo being the only Juventus player to clap Barcelona as they lifted the 2015 Champions League in Berlin. That little gesture shows you how valuable Pirlo is to Football and how to further fantastic sportsmanship in Football. I, like many other Football fans, will be very sad when Pirlo hangs up his boots but until then, be sure to watch this space for more unorthodox quotes and passing wizardry from the one and only, Andrea Pirlo.
Being a Maverick in Football don't always mean that you are a player who has raw talent but is easily distracted by off the pitch activities or the various supermodels that follow the sport (at least for the best-payed professionals!). There are a few Mavericks that retain a high-level of class that is recognised by colleagues and fans from across the world. One of these players is arguably the best and most successful Italian Midfielder of all-time, Andrea Pirlo.
Ask anybody about Pirlo and they will tell you that he is the most-relaxed midfielder they have ever seen. Recently, Pirlo went to score direct from a corner-kick for New York City and was denied by a very surprised goalkeeper. The 36-year old then walked off from the corner not in the slightest bothered that a potential goal of the season had been saved. He also said "Football is played with the head. Your feet are just the tools". Pirlo is one of very few who reach the highest mental level of understanding the game and all the different perspectives of the central-midfielder position. So how has Pirlo reached the top of the game, by having a unique luxury lifestyle off the pitch but also a commanding and serious agenda on the pitch. The answer is that Pirlo mastered his style early on his career, collected silverware and then established his cool persona towards the end of his twenty year career in his homeland. In this post, I will be looking at Pirlo's achievements that have lead him to be being one of the world's most respected players and the fantastic dead-pan quotes and eye-catching decisions that spring boarded him to being called the coolest Midfield technician in Football history.
It was clear that Pirlo had a serious attitude towards the game from an early game. In 1992, a five stone 13-year Pirlo, on the way to Voluntas U15's tournament (yes he was playing two years above his age group), set his team-mates' minds straight by saying "This is not a school trip. We're here to win, so you'd better behave". In the quarter-finals of the tournament, penalties, Pirlo was chosen to take the decider. Win or bust at such a young age and low-level of the game. His coach, Roberto Clerici, recalls the penalty perfectly. "He went towards the keeper with the ball under his arm. He took his run-up, He slowed down. He caressed it. Scooped it. We nearly dropped dead. Andrea was like that: even though you couldn't tell him anything". Pirlo's technique on penalties is now known as the 'Pankea' and is clear that he had a unique and excellent plan, even at a tournament that had no serious prize. Clerici highlights Pirlo's style in his role in-between the number 10 midfielder and the defensive midfielder "He never made many fouls, because he wanted to play football and didn't want to stop the others from playing, either. He did the hardest things almost without ever making a mistake". Even at under-15, 16, 17 level Pirlo was re-defying the midfield technician role in the center of a team. It was as if he had an old head on young shoulders and was set for a glorious career.
In his 2014 autobiography, I Think Therefore I Play, Pirlo wrote "From an early age, I know I was better than the others, and for that very reason tongues were soon wagging. Everyone talked about me, too much as a matter of fact, and not always in a good way." Seemingly others around the future World Cup winner were amazed and dreadfully jealous of the spectacular ball skills that would later define his career. It was proven when he was training with the pros at Brescia and starting pre-season friendlies after just a year of being at the club. Brescia were worried when they won the Serie B in 1997 as they feared Pirlo would jump ship and it was apparent alot of top Serie A clubs would be looking at the Italian because of his fantastic, unique ability to find a pass and space, without breaking a sweat. Like any Maverick, Pirlo reflected on his self-ability by saying "I'm abit of a wandering gypsey on the pitch. A midfielder continually on the lookout for an unspolit corner where I can move freely, just for a moment. All I'm after is a few sqaure metres to be myself. A space where I can continue to profess my creed: take the ball, give it to a team-mate, team-mate scores. It's called an assist and it's my way of spreading happiness." I don't think any player has ever described an assist as 'happiness' but that is how Pirlo described an act that he has done hundreds of times across a few yards of grass. Following the title win and Brescia, Inter won the race for Pirlo's signature in 1998, the club he had supported as a child, and he would be playing with Ronaldo (Brazilian), World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff and childhood hero Roberto Baggio. Andrea looked to be in the perfect setting to bring his techincal abilities to one of Italy's most famous club.
Comfort at the black and blue half of the San Siro was in short supply for Pirlo. After one season, Pirlo's future Italy boss, Marcello Lippi, sent him on loan to Reggina. It was there that Pirlo first gripped Serie A by the neck and made the league his stage for all fellow colleagues to stare in amazement. His coach, Franco Colomba, said he had to turn the generator off in order for the Italian to go home from training. This further implies the fact that Pirlo is not a Maverick in the sense that creates chaos and anger among the Football community, but one that provides a key insight into how midfield masterminds, such as Xavi, Ozil, Gotze, Scholes, Cazorla and of course the man himself Pirlo, take the world by storm with their swagger both on and off the pitch. Having saved Reggina from relegation, captaining Italy Under 21's to European Championship glory (as well as winning both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball for being the compeition's top goalscorer and best player), Pirlo returned to Inter in 2000 but only started four league games. He then returned on loan to Brescia, and then-coach Carlo Mazzone postioned Pirlo as a regista, a master passer in front of the back four. "I talked to the team about it, too, saying that from now on we had to have faith in Pirlo, who was the director of play. He didn't need much convincing. I just told him the story of my other teams who played in this way."
Sick of warming the bench, Pirlo signed for city rivals AC Milan for a very cheap £9.6 million, yet he did have to prove his worth against his coaches in three-on-one training games before he could become Milan's regista. He described Ancelotti as his father figure at AC Milan (which almost lead him to leading Ancelotti Chelsea in 2009, with Branislav Ivanovic going the other way). The trophies finally matched Pirlo's reputation and ability in Serie A and eventually on the International stage (2003 Champions League, Coppa Italia, UEFA Super Cup, 2004 Serie A, Italian Super Cup, 2006 World Cup, 2007 Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and a 2011 Serie A title). He then moved to Juventus that summer and won four successive four titles, Coppa Italia and two further Italian Super Cups. There are references through Pirlo's autobiography towards the decision by Milan to not re-new his contract in 2011 and Pirlo refers to Galliani as 'The Pen Guy' or 'Mr Biro', due to their final conversation being Pirlo given a pen for a decade's service (as well as the millions payed by the Italian super-giants). Well as they say, one man's poison is another man's dessert. Juve captain Gianluigi Buffon said when he heard Pirlo was signing for his side "Great!Then when I saw him play, I thought: There is a God! This is the deal of the country." Quite rightly Buffon should have been excited as they went on to dominate Serie A and become a team with house-hold names such as Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and the legend of Juventus Gianluigi Buffon.
Pirlo then asked Juventus to release him in the summer of 2015 so he could join New York City, and the growing number of old European players moving to the MLS. Many people, including me, thought that Pirlo would retire with Juventus but the techican felt he wanted to crack America before he hungs up his boots. Some have not liked this decision and have publicly expressed their disappointment at Pirlo's final career transfer (such as New York Red Bulls holding up a banner at their derby game with city-rivals New York City showing Andrea Pirlo and ex- Chelsea legend Frank Lampard in a retirement home, looking very old, with the banner above saying 'City Retirement Home'). Regardless, Pirlo is one of, if not the best, holding midfielder in Italy and on the Champions League stage. If you need visual proof, look above again at his achievements, both personal and team, or YouTube his name and be amazed by the coolest midfield technician there ever was or ever will be.
So, how much of a Maverick is Pirlo? As I said before it is clear that Pirlo is not a classic Maverick that constantly causes mayhem off the pitch and has very inconsistent performances on the pitch. He is a Maverick that makes fans amazed by his ability on the pitch and brilliant, truthful quotes about the beautiful game. My favourite Pirlo quote is when he describes how he prepared for the 2006 World Cup Final against France "I don't feel pressure... I don't give a toss about it. I spent the afternoon of Sunday July 9th 2006 in Berlin sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening, I went out and won the World Cup." Andrea's side did win the World Cup but didn't just walked out and win it like Pirlo says (as they won it on penalties and had some help from Zidane's head). On moving to New York City, Pirlo said "I have been wanting this experience for a long time and now that the opportunity materalised I wanted to take it. New York City is a club on the rise and shares my same hunger to achieve important results in the league. I aim to win. I hope to play for as long as possible but I don't want to be tolerated in the team. When I realise its over, it will be over." I'm sure New York City are extremely happy with the signing of Pirlo and they have a player that would have walked into 99 percent of the World's Football teams. Pirlo is a player who has an unbelievable amount of class and this can be proven by Pirlo being the only Juventus player to clap Barcelona as they lifted the 2015 Champions League in Berlin. That little gesture shows you how valuable Pirlo is to Football and how to further fantastic sportsmanship in Football. I, like many other Football fans, will be very sad when Pirlo hangs up his boots but until then, be sure to watch this space for more unorthodox quotes and passing wizardry from the one and only, Andrea Pirlo.
