51 Facts About Andrea Pirlo

1. Andrea Pirlo is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is currently manager of Super Lig club Fatih Karagumruk.

2. Andrea Pirlo departed for Juventus in 2011, where he won four consecutive Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and another Coppa Italia.

3. In 2015, Andrea Pirlo joined Major League Soccer club New York City FC, where he played for two years before retiring in 2017.

4. At international level, Andrea Pirlo played 116 matches for the Italian national football team, which is the fifth-most of all time.

5. Andrea Pirlo made his senior debut in 2002, and captained his nation to a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics.

6. Andrea 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.

7. Andrea Pirlo repeated similar success as he led Italy to the final of the 2012 UEFA European Championships.

8. Andrea Pirlo 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.

9. Andrea Pirlo finished in the top four five times in the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award between 2006 and 2015.

10. Andrea Pirlo placed fourth for UEFA Best Player in Europe in 2011, and seventh in 2015.

11. Andrea Pirlo was named Serie A Footballer of the Year three times and voted to the Serie A Team of the Year four times.

12. Andrea 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. In 2019, Andrea Pirlo was elected into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

14. Andrea Pirlo was born in Flero in the province of Brescia.

15. Andrea Pirlo was given the nickname the metronome during his time at the club, for the way in which he set the team's rhythm.

16. In 2006, Andrea Pirlo placed 9th in the Ballon d'Or, which was won by his Italy teammate Fabio Cannavaro, and was elected to the 2006 FIFPro World XI.

17. The club rejected the offer and Andrea Pirlo was said to be contemplating a transfer request.

18. Milan played host to Genoa on 25 September 2010, with Andrea Pirlo providing a lifted ball over the top of the defence to set striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic free to score the solitary goal of the game.

19. In total with Milan, Andrea Pirlo made 401 appearances, scoring 41 goals.

20. Andrea Pirlo won the Pallone Azzurro, given to the best player of the year in the Italian National Team, as well as placing fourth in the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker of the Year Award, and seventh in the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

21. Andrea Pirlo helped to create Paul Pogba's opening goal in the twenty-third minute of play.

22. Andrea Pirlo was the only Italian player to be nominated for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and was nominated for the 2013 FIFPro World XI.

23. On 12 January 2014, Andrea Pirlo signed a new contract with Juventus, which will keep him at the club until 2016.

24. On 11 June 2014, Andrea Pirlo signed a new contract keeping him at Juventus until 2016.

25. On 15 December 2014, Andrea Pirlo was named the Serie A Footballer of the Year for the third time in his career, and for the third consecutive year since his arrival at Juventus; he was named part of the 2014 Serie A Team of the Year.

26. In October 2015, Andrea Pirlo was named to the 59-player shortlist for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or.

27. In July 2016, Andrea Pirlo was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game.

28. Andrea Pirlo led the Italy under-21 team to a semi-final finish in the 2002 edition of the tournament.

29. Andrea Pirlo formed a formidable midfield partnership with Milan teammate Gattuso, and he completed 475 passes out of 580 attempted throughout the tournament, while winning 18 challenges.

30. Andrea Pirlo was voted the third-best player of the tournament, winning the Bronze Ball.

31. Andrea Pirlo appeared in all three of Italy's group matches at UEFA Euro 2008.

32. Andrea Pirlo was not able to play the first two games in the 2010 World Cup for Italy due to recent injuries.

33. Andrea Pirlo scored in the shoot-out with an audacious chipped penalty down the centre of the goal, known as a Panenka.

34. Andrea Pirlo ran 11.58 kilometres throughout the match, covering more distance than any England player.

35. Andrea Pirlo won three Man of the Match Awards at Euro 2012, the most awards won by a single player, along with Andres Iniesta of tournament champions Spain.

36. Andrea Pirlo was selected for Italy's squad to play in Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup.

37. On 5 June 2014, Andrea Pirlo was selected by Italy manager Prandelli as part of his 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

38. Andrea Pirlo contributed to Italy's first goal of the match: Antonio Candreva's short corner was played to Marco Verratti, who then passed the ball out wide towards Andrea Pirlo, who drew his marker with him.

39. Andrea Pirlo managed to hit the crossbar from a swerving free kick in injury time.

40. Andrea Pirlo assisted Chiellini's first goal of the match from a corner kick.

41. Andrea Pirlo is the coach and it's only right he makes his decisions and decides what is best for him.

42. In total, Andrea Pirlo made 116 appearances for Italy, scoring 13 goals, making him the fifth-most capped player in his nation's history.

43. Tactically, Andrea Pirlo was capable of playing in several midfield positions, but was usually deployed by his club and national teams as a central midfielder, in the role of a deep-lying playmaker, due to his vision and passing accuracy.

44. Andrea Pirlo was extremely effective at curling shots accurately on target from close range, a technique that he perfected by studying Baggio in training sessions during their time at Brescia together; as a youngster, Zico, Michel Platini, and Diego Maradona were some of his major influences when taking free kicks.

45. On 30 July 2020, Andrea Pirlo was appointed head coach of Serie C club Juventus U23, the reserve side of his former club Juventus.

46. Andrea Pirlo received his UEFA Pro Licence on 16 September 2020.

47. Andrea Pirlo cited the teams that "inspired [his] idea of football" as "the Barcelona of Johan Cruyff and then of Pep Guardiola, the Ajax of Louis van Gaal, the Milan of Carlo Ancelotti, and the Juventus of Antonio Conte".

48. On 12 June 2022, Andrea Pirlo was appointed as manager of Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk.

49. Andrea Pirlo is one of two children along with his brother Ivan.

50. In 2013, Andrea Pirlo wrote an autobiography, with Alessandro Alciato, titled Penso Quindi Gioco.

51. Andrea Pirlo featured in EA Sports' football video game FIFA 20 as one of the Ultimate Team Icons.