Andrea Pirlo
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Andrea Pirlo
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Andrea Pirlo | |||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1979 | |||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Flero, Lombardy, Italy | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Juventus | |||||||||||||||||
| Number | 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Brescia | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||
| 1995–1998 | Brescia | 47 | (6) | |||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Internazionale | 22 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | → Reggina (loan) | 28 | (6) | |||||||||||||||
| 2001 | → Brescia (loan) | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
| 2001–2011 | Milan | 284 | (32) | |||||||||||||||
| 2011– | Juventus | 37 | (3) | |||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2002 | Italy U-21 | 37 | (15) | |||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | Olympic Italy | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||||
| 2002– | Italy | 83 | (9) | |||||||||||||||
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Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Andrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI[1][2] (born 19 May 1979 in Flero, Lombardy), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus and for the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as one of the world's best player in this position.[3] Praised for his inventive play and his long passing ability, he is also a set-piece specialist.[4]
Pirlo has played for the Italian youth teams U-15, U-18 and U-21, captaining and leading the latter to victory in the 2000 as the Golden Player and Top Scorer of the tournament. He joined the Italian senior side during the qualification round for World Cup 2002 and captained the national team to a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics. Later, he was instrumental in their victory in the 2006 World Cup. He was named man of the match three times, including the final, more than any other player in the tournament, and ultimately won the Bronze Ball (third best player in tournament).
With Milan, he has won two UEFA Champions League (2003 and 2007), two European Super Cups (2003 and 2007), two Scudetti (2004 and 2011) an Italian Super Cup (2004), a FIFA Club World Cup (2007), and the Italian Cup in 2003.
He came in third and second in IFFHS World Playmaker of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007, respectively.[5][5] Fellow players on the Italian team gave him the nickname "l'architetto" (the architect) because his long passes frequently set up goal-scoring opportunities for the Azzurri (Italian national team).[6]
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Contents
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Club career
Pirlo was born in Flero, Lombardy, Italy. His brother Ivan plays for a Serie C2 club in Brescia. Pirlo made his debut for Brescia against Reggina. After breaking into the Brescia first team, Pirlo was spotted by Internazionale coach Mircea Lucescu, who signed the playmaker. Pirlo was unable to break into the first squad, however, and Internazionale finished eighth in the 1998–99 Serie A campaign. Pirlo was shipped off on loan to the club he made his debut against in 1995, Reggina. After an impressive season, he returned to Internazionale but was once again unable to break into the first squad, making just four league appearances and spent the second half of the season on loan at former club, Brescia.
Milan
After three seasons on the Internazionale books, Pirlo was sold to fierce rivals Milan for 35 billion Italian lire[7] (about €18 million). That transfer windows the two clubs has also swapped Cristian Brocchi for Guly; Paolo Ginestra for Matteo Bogani. The deals later reported by press were also aimed to create "false profit" by inflating the transfer fees in the swap deal, which Ginestra and Bogani both created €3.5 million "profit" for both clubs but in terms of registration rights.[8][9]
It was at Milan where he found his true strides developing into a world class player. With Milan, he won two Scudetto and two Champions League titles. He also won an Italian Cup and two UEFA Super Cups with Milan in 2003 and 2007. His most forgettable incident, however, was the penalty miss during 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, as his spot kick was saved by Jerzy Dudek.[10]
Pirlo started his career as an offensive midfielder until coach Carlo Mazzone developed a deep-seated playmaking role while at Brescia with Roberto Baggio. Carlo Ancelotti further-developed this role at Milan. Since then, he has formed a formidable partnership with Gennaro Gattuso in the midfield and has earned the nickname the metronome for the way he sets the team's rhythm.[11] He led Serie A in the 2002–03 season in four special categories — passes played (2589), ball possession (123 hours played and 39 minutes), successful balls (661), and successful passes (2093). This implies that he averaged almost 90 passes per game. He led Milan in minutes played for the 2006–07 season with 2,782. In October 2007, he was nominated for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Award but it went to Milan teammate Kaká instead. After Kaká and coach Carlo Ancelotti left Milan in the summer of 2009, Chelsea tested Milan's resolve by bidding $12 million and Claudio Pizarro for Pirlo. The club rejected the offer and Pirlo was said to be contemplating a transfer request.[citation needed] On 5 August, club owner Silvio Berlusconi decided not to sell Pirlo, who said he was overjoyed and wanted to end his career at Milan.[12] On 21 October 2009, Pirlo scored a notable 30 meter goal in Milan's 3–2 win over Real Madrid.[13]
Milan played host to Genoa on 25 September 2010, Pirlo provided a lovely lifted ball over the top of the defense to set striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic free to score the solitary goal of the game.[14] On 2 October Pirlo scored a 40-yard goal against Parma to give Milan their first away win of the 2010–11 season.[15] On 14 May 2012, Pirlo came appeared in his last match for Milan, coming on as a half-time substitute for Massimo Ambrosini as the club celebrated their Scudetto with a 4-1 thumping of Cagliari.[16] Four days later, Pirlo confirmed that he would be leaving Milan at the end of the 2010–11 season, after a mutual decision not to renew his contract.[17] In his last season in Milan, Pirlo only appeared in the league 17 times notching just one goal and three assists.[18]
Juventus
In 2011, Juventus announced the signing of Pirlo as a free agent on a contract that will last until 2014.[19] His debut with Juventus was a friendly match against Sporting Clube de Portugal, which they lost 2–1. His first competitive match with La Vecchia Signora was the Serie A opening match against Parma at home and tallied two assists, for Stephan Lichtsteiner and Claudio Marchisio, in a 4–1 victory.[20][21] Antonio Conte played him alongside younger midfielders Marchisio and new signing Arturo Vidal in a three-man midfield.
His first goal for Juventus was a free kick against Catania on 18 February 2012 securing a 3-1 victory for the Old Lady and put the club back at the top of the Serie A table, above his former side Milan.[22] On 18 March, Pirlo scored in a 5–0 demolition of Fiorentina and after the game dedicated the win to Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest playing for Bolton Wanderers during a match against Tottenham Hotspur the same day.[23][24]
He finished the season winning the Scudetto after helping the Old Lady secure a 2-0 victory over Cagliari Calcio,[25] the midfield general also provided the most assists in the Serie A season, with 13.[26] Pirlo also found the back of the net three times in the league as he was named to the Serie A "Team of the Year" along with midfielder partner Arturo Vidal, proving that he still has what it takes to cut it at the top level following his departure from Milan.[27]
International career
Pirlo is a silent leader. He speaks with his feet.
Pirlo captained Italy to an Under-21 European Championship in 2000 and semi-finalists in 2002. Pirlo played for Italy at the 2000 Summer Olympics, won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics.
2006 World Cup
Pirlo was a member of the Italian Squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[28] In Italy's first match in the tournament, Pirlo scored the opening goal against Ghana, and subsequently set up a goal for Vincenzo Iaquinta to seal a 2-0 victory, as the midfielder was named Man of the Match.[29] In the second match, he set up a diving header for Alberto Gilardino from a set piece which proved to be vital in their 1–1 draw against the United States.[30]
In the semi-final against Germany, he assisted on the opening goal in the dying minutes, and was again named Man of the Match, as italy triumphed 2-0 over the hosts.[31] In the final against France, his corner kick produced Marco Materazzi's equalizing header ten minutes after France had opened the score. The match went to a penalty shoot-out, in which he scored.[32][33] He was named Man of the Match for a third time, and was voted third-best player of the tournament, winning the Bronze Ball and finishing as the top assist provider.[34]
Post World Cup
On 17 June 2008, Pirlo netted a penalty as Italy defeated France 2-0, to send their rivals and World Cup runners-up crashing out of the European Championships at the group stage.[35] Italy lost on penalty kicks to eventual winners Spain in the quarterfinals, as Pirlo and Milan teammate Gennaro Gattuso were suspended for the match.[36]
Pirlo was not able to play the first two games in the 2010 World Cup for Italy due to recent injuries.[37] He came off the bench for Italy late in the match on 24 June against Slovakia. Even with his help in orchestrating a renewed Italian offense, Pirlo could not prevent Italy from being knocked out of the first round.[38]
Pirlo appeared in nine matches as Italy successfully qualified for the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine,[39] netting one goal in Italy's 5-0 hammering of minnows Faroe Islands on 7 September 2010.[40] Because of his good performances in leading Juventus to becoming Italian champions, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli included the playmaker in his 32-man provisional squad for the Euros.[41][42]
Personal life
Andrea Pirlo and his wife Deborah Roversi married in 2001 and have two children: son Niccolò (born 2003) and daughter Angela (born 2006). [43][44]
Career statistics
- As of 13 May 2012[45]
| Team | Season | Domestic League |
Domestic Cup |
European Competition1 |
Other Tournaments2 |
Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brescia | 1994–95 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 18 | 2 | |
| 1997–98 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 30 | 4 | |
| Total | 47 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 49 | 6 | |
| Internazionale | 1998–99 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | - | - | 30 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 0 | |
| Reggina (loan) | 1999–00 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 31 | 6 |
| Total | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 6 | |
| Brescia (loan) | 2001 | 10 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 0 | |
| Milan | 2001–02 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | - | - | 29 | 2 |
| 2002–03 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | - | - | 42 | 9 | |
| 2003–04 | 32 | 6 | - | - | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 8 | |
| 2004–05 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | - | - | 43 | 8 | |
| 2005–06 | 33 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | - | - | 49 | 5 | |
| 2006–07 | 34 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 | - | - | 52 | 3 | |
| 2007–08 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 5 | |
| 2008–09 | 26 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | 29 | 2 | |
| 2009–10 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 39 | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 25 | 1 | |
| Total | 284 | 32 | 18 | 0 | 93 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 397 | 44 | |
| Juventus | 2011-12 | 37 | 3 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 40 | 3 |
| Career Total | 428 | 47 | 33 | 0 | 103 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 570 | 56 | |
1European competitions include the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup
2Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup[46]
| Italy national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 7 | 1 |
| 2005 | 9 | 3 |
| 2006 | 14 | 1 |
| 2007 | 8 | 1 |
| 2008 | 9 | 1 |
| 2009 | 12 | 1 |
| 2010 | 8 | 1 |
| 2011 | 9 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 82 | 9 |
International goals
- As of 7 September 2010[47]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | May 30, 2004 | Radès, Tunisia |  Tunisia |
4–0 | Win | Friendly |
| 2. | March 26, 2005 | Milan, Italy |  Scotland |
2–0 | Win | FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification |
| 3. | March 26, 2005 | Milan, Italy | Scotland |
2–0 | Win | FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification |
| 4. | August 17, 2005 | Dublin, Ireland |  Republic of Ireland |
2–1 | Win | Friendly |
| 5. | June 12, 2006 | Hanover, Germany |  Ghana |
2–0 | Win | FIFA World Cup 2006 |
| 6. | October 13, 2007 | Genoa, Italy |  Georgia |
2–0 | Win | UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification |
| 7. | June 17, 2008 | Zurich, Switzerland |  France |
2–0 | Win | UEFA Euro 2008 |
| 8. | March 28, 2009 | Podgorica, Montenegro |  Montenegro |
2–0 | Win | FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualification |
| 9. | September, 2010 | Florence, Italy |  Faroe Islands |
5–0 | Win | UEFA Euro 2012 Qualification |
Honours
Milan
- Serie A: 2003-04, 2010-11
- Coppa Italia: 2002-03
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
- UEFA Champions League: 2003, 2007
- UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
Juventus
International
- UEFA Under-21 European Championship: 2000
- 2004 Summer Olympics – Bronze medal
- FIFA World Cup: 2006
Individual
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Golden Player: 2000
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Top Scorer: 2000
- 2006 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
- FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball Award: 2006
- 2006 FIFA World Cup Final Man of the Match
- FIFPro World XI: 2006
References
- ^ FIFA.com[dead link]
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Born Again: How the Deep-Lying Midfielder Position is Reviving Careers". Soccerlens.com. 2009-07-31. http://soccerlens.com/born-again-how-the-deep-lying-midfielder-position-is-reviving-careers/32421/. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ Dampf, Andrew (2008-05-29). "Totti is gone, Pirlo becomes the pacesetter for Italy". Usatoday.Com. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2008-05-29-950280943_x.htm. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ a b Ingo Faulhaber. "IFFHS". Iffhs.de. http://www.iffhs.de/?d847e4a95e99a54f84d85fe8f55005fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeecf8a3e12. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Pirlo: I have all I need here". FIFA.com. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=986881.html. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "L'Inter ha ceduto pirlo al Milan" (in Italian). inter.it. 2001-06-30. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?L=it&N=3284. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^ Malagutti Vittorio (2002-11-06). "Va di moda il calciatore salvabilanci" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2002/novembre/06/moda_calciatore_salvabilanci_co_0_0211067362.shtml. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ "Milan e Inter, plusvalenze incrociate con la vendita dei calciatori" (in Italian). l'Unità. 2003-03-08. http://archivio2.unita.it/v2/carta/showoldpdf.asp?anno=2003&mese=03&file=08SPO22a. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ http://en.archive.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/history/season=2004/round=1972/match=1086988/index.html
- ^ "Andrea Pirlo Topics Page". Content.usatoday.com. 2008-02-06. http://content.usatoday.com/topics/photo/People/Athletes/International+Soccer/Andrea+Pirlo/06VCdx06Vk8uu/0. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Milan Star Pirlo Pleased Chelsea Transfer Saga Is Over". Goal.com. 2009-08-05. http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/08/05/1423746/milan-star-pirlo-pleased-chelsea-transfer-saga-is-over. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/21/champions-league-clockwatch-live
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=304842&cc=5901
- ^ http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/48700/parma-vs-milan/report
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=304918&cc=5901
- ^ "Pirlo leaving Milan". Skysports.com. 2011-05-18. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_6939053,00.html. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player/_/id/11888/andrea-pirlo?cc=5901
- ^ "Andrea Pirlo signs for Juventus". Juventus official website. 2010-05-24. http://www.juventus.com/wps/portal/en/news/24maggio2011_PIRLO_UFFICIALE/!ut/p/b1/tZHdToNAEIWfpS_AzO7iQi_Z1tJtATew_O0NoaIGKK0xjdI-vajxkjudSU4yyUm-czJgoCSccUYdl3AowJzq9_alvrTnU338ug2vKPeW8d4niCrboAyV9LXQGVEUcijFJObbhzPjIZSTwakoor8UxEOfBQJlut9sA-GQh4SChgLtKumur_LW3-IOxyDpx114aCR2mUpuRRalxyBq4kivw5H0SPQ6v-p7HHUnSXRRqsniVHirsb2T-S9wJnnM_gs415D8OXAHpj0M1sfjYKHFXMYpmz5JJ7VdDvkKou15eILBvPHn6Gdtb7H4BOHxF2g!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
- ^ http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/juventus-fc_parma-fc/index/spielbericht_1133600.html
- ^ http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/pirlo-outstanding-juventus-debut-parma-victory-1875951
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=326969&cc=5901
- ^ http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/139/italy/2012/03/18/2974277/juventus-pirlo-dedicates-5-0-victory-against-fiorentina-to
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2116891/Fabrice-Muamba--Real-Madrid-offer-tributes.html
- ^ http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3923/italy/2012/05/06/3085620/juventus-are-back-says-bonucci-after-clinching-serie-a-title
- ^ http://www.corrieredellosport.it/live/SerieA/statistiche/giocatori/assist.shtml
- ^ http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3920/features/2012/05/14/3101479/serie-a-team-of-the-season-pirlo-ibrahimovic-di-natale-star
- ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/teams/team=43954.html
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4852746.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853182.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991640.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991652.stm
- ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/results/matches/match=97410064/report.html
- ^ http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2012/02/25/ac-milan-meets-juventus-in-potential-scudetto-decider/
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2008/7363384.stm
- ^ http://en.archive.uefa.com/competitions/euro2012/history/season=2008/round=15094/match=301702/report=rp.html
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5251604/ce/us/italy-andrea-pirlo-calf-injury?cc=5901&ver=us
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/24/italy-slovakia-world-cup-match-report
- ^ http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2012/teams/team=66/index.html
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/italy/7988190/Italy-5-Faroe-Islands-0-match-report.html
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/15846874
- ^ http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/news/newsid=1796540.html
- ^ Jake Lofdahl and Oliver Pickup (24 June 2009). "Andrea Pirlo profile: 10 Things you need to know about the Chelsea target". The Daily Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/06/24/andrea-pirlo-profile-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-chelsea-target-115875-21468066. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
- ^ "Italy - A. Pirlo - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. http://www.soccerway.com/players/andrea-pirlo/79/. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "A.C. Milan – Andrea Pirlo". Acmilan.com. http://www.acmilan.com/LM_Actor.aspx?idSquadra=3&idStagione=14&idPersona=54&name=Pirlo%20Andrea. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ ".. Player - Andrea Pirlo". National Football Teams. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=3458. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ F.I.G.C. Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
External links
| Awards | ||
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Preceded by Hong Myung-Bo |
FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball 2006 |
Succeeded by David Villa |
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