Andrea Pirlo

"Pirlo" redirects here. For the Italian alcoholic beverage, see Pirlo (aperitivo).

Andrea Pirlo
Pirlo lining up for Italy in 2015
Personal information
Full name Andrea Pirlo[1]
Date of birth (1979-05-19) 19 May 1979 (age 45)[2]
Place of birth Flero, Italy
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1985–1988 Flero
1988–1992 Voluntas Brescia
1992–1995 Brescia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1998 Brescia 47 (6)
1998–2001 Inter Milan 22 (0)
1999–2000 → Reggina (loan) 28 (6)
2001 → Brescia (loan) 10 (0)
2001–2011 AC Milan 284 (32)
2011–2015 Juventus 119 (16)
2015–2017 New York City FC 60 (1)
Total 570 (61)
International career
1994 Italy U15 3 (0)
1995 Italy U16 6 (2)
1995 Italy U17 4 (0)
1995–1997 Italy U18 18 (7)
1998–2002 Italy U21 37 (15)
2000–2004 Italy Olympic (O.P.) 9 (1)
2002–2015 Italy 116 (13)
Managerial career
2020 Juventus U23
2020–2021 Juventus
2022–2023 Fatih Karagümrük
2023–2024 Sampdoria
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Italy
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2006 Germany
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2012 Poland–Ukraine
FIFA Confederations Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Brazil
Summer Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 2000 Slovakia
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Switzerland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Andrea Pirlo Ufficiale OMRI[4][5] (Italian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛːa ˈpirlo]; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian football manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Pirlo was known for his vision, technique, creativity, passing, and free kick ability.[6][7][8]

Pirlo began his club career in 1995 as an attacking midfielder with his hometown club Brescia, winning the Serie B in 1997. He signed for Serie A club Inter Milan a year later, but limited game time and loans away from the club saw him transfer to cross-city rivals AC Milan in 2001. There, Pirlo matured into a world-class player in a deep-lying playmaker role, winning two Serie A titles, two UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, a FIFA Club World Cup, a Coppa Italia, and a Supercoppa Italiana.[8] He departed for Juventus in 2011, where he won four consecutive Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and another Coppa Italia. In 2015, Pirlo joined Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City FC, where he played for two years before retiring in 2017.

At the international level, Pirlo played 116 matches for the Italy national football team, which is the fifth-most of all time. He made his senior debut in 2002 and captained his nation to a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics. Pirlo was instrumental in Italy's triumph at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, winning the Bronze Ball and being elected to the Team of the Tournament. He repeated similar success as he led Italy to the UEFA Euro 2012 final. Pirlo also represented his country at the 2004 and 2008 UEFA European Championships, the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, and the 2009 and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cups.

Pirlo finished in the top four five times in the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award between 2006 and 2015.[9] He placed fourth for UEFA Best Player in Europe in 2011,[10] and seventh in 2015.[11] He was named Serie A Footballer of the Year three times and voted to the Serie A Team of the Year four times.[12] Pirlo was elected to UEFA Team of the Year in 2012, the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season in 2015, and was part of the FIFPro World XI in 2006.[13] He also placed seventh for the 2007 FIFA World Player, finished in the top ten three times for the Ballon d'Or, and was named an MLS All-Star in 2016. In 2019, Pirlo was elected into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

  1. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Italy" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Italy - A. Pirlo - Profile - Soccerway was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Andrea Pirlo". Juventus FC. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference omri1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference omri2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Born Again: How the Deep-Lying Midfielder Position is Reviving Careers". Soccerlens. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Andrea Pirlo: Player Profile". ESPN FC. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  8. ^ a b "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Andrea Pirlo". A.C. Milan. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  9. ^ Ingo Faulhaber. "IFFHS". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  10. ^ "Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldo up for Best Player Award". UEFA. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Best Player in Europe: Messi, Ronaldo or Suárez". UEFA. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Serie A Team of the Year". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  13. ^ "FIFPro World XI 2006". FIFPro. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.