92 Facts About Andrea Pirlo

Andrea Pirlo began his club career in 1995 as an attacking midfielder with his hometown club Brescia, winning the Serie B in 1997.

Andrea Pirlo 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Andrea Pirlo repeated similar success as he led Italy to the UEFA Euro 2012 final.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Andrea Pirlo began his career with the Flero youth team, later moving to Voluntas, and subsequently joined the youth sector of local club Brescia in 1992, where he initially played predominantly as a supporting forward.

In 1995, at the age of 16, Pirlo made his Serie A debut for Brescia against Reggiana, on 21 May, becoming Brescia's youngest player to make an appearance in Serie A He was promoted by his coach Mircea Lucescu.

Andrea Pirlo would become an integral part of the Rossoneri's midfield, forming a formidable partnership with Gennaro Gattuso, as well as with Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini, who supported his playmaking role defensively.

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.

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.

Andrea Pirlo always had the great gift of being able to visualise and anticipate plays before everyone else.

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

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.

Andrea Pirlo won his second Serie A title with Milan that season, and reached the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League as well as the semi-final stage in the Coppa Italia.

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

Andrea Pirlo provided the most assists in the Serie A that season, with 13, and he found the back of the net three times in the league.

Andrea Pirlo was elected to be part of the 2012 ESM Team of the Year and the 2012 UEFA Team of the Year.

Andrea Pirlo was nominated for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, along with Juventus and Italy teammate Gianluigi Buffon, following their performances throughout the calendar year.

Andrea Pirlo was elected the 2012 Serie A Footballer of the Year, as well as the best midfielder of the season, winning the 2012 Guerin d'Oro.

Andrea Pirlo was named as part of the 2012 Serie A team of the Year for his performances.

Andrea Pirlo won the Pallone Azzurro, given to the best player of the year in the Italy 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.

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

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.

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

The Turin club suffered a group stage elimination in the UEFA Champions League but managed a semi-final finish in the UEFA Europa League, losing out to Benfica, with Andrea Pirlo scoring a match-winning goal from a free kick in the round of 16 against Fiorentina.

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

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.

Andrea Pirlo was called up on 11 April 2015 against Parma following his injury.

On 6 July 2015, it was announced that Andrea Pirlo had completed a move to Major League Soccer expansion franchise New York City FC as their third Designated Player.

On 12 August, it was announced that Andrea Pirlo had placed seventh in the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe.

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

Andrea Pirlo finished the 2015 MLS season with 5 assists in 13 appearances, and ended up third in the MLS in minutes per pass, although he failed to score a goal.

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

Andrea Pirlo finished his second MLS season with the club with one goal and a team seasonal best of eleven assists in 32 appearances, as New York City finished in second place in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time ever, clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference semi-final.

Andrea Pirlo officially communicated his retirement from professional football the following day, on Twitter.

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

Under Trapattoni's replacement, Marcello Lippi, Andrea Pirlo became a key member of Italy's starting line-up during their 2006 World Cup Qualifying campaign, and he was eventually called up as a starting member of the Italian squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Andrea Pirlo was named to Italy's 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup, and appeared in all of Italy's matches at the tournament, playing 668 minutes in total.

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.

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

Andrea Pirlo was named as part of the 2006 FIFPro XI and as part of the 2006 World Cup Team of the Tournament for his performances, placing ninth in both the 2006 Ballon d'Or and the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards.

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

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

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

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

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.

Andrea Pirlo was nominated for the Player of the Tournament Award, which ultimately went to Iniesta, and he was elected to be part of the Team of the Tournament.

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

Andrea Pirlo was only the fifth Italian player to receive 100 caps after Dino Zoff, Paolo Maldini, Gianluigi Buffon, and Fabio Cannavaro.

Andrea Pirlo did not play in the third group stage match against hosts Brazil, as he had come down with a minor injury at the end of the second match, although he would be available to play for the semi-finals.

Andrea Pirlo was named to the Team of the Tournament, and was nominated for the Golden Ball award, although he failed to place amongst the top three players of the tournament, as the awards went to Neymar, Iniesta, and Paulinho, respectively.

Andrea Pirlo scored one goal during Italy's qualification campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which saw them top their group, undefeated.

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.

Andrea Pirlo heavily contributed to Italy's win, controlling the flow of the game, and setting up several goalscoring chances, as Italy dominated possession.

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.

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

The Italian squad and manager, Cesare Prandelli, were criticised for over-relying on Andrea Pirlo to create goalscoring chances.

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

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

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

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.

Andrea Pirlo started his career in a more advanced role, as an attacking midfielder, and played as a supporting striker on occasion.

Andrea Pirlo is considered to be one of the best passers in the history of the sport, and is known for his accurate striking ability from distance.

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.

Andrea Pirlo was capable of scoring from long-range free kicks with swerve and power, due to his unique technique, which was inspired by Juninho's "knuckle ball" free kicks; this technique was later dubbed the maledetta in the Italian media.

Andrea Pirlo has scored the highest number of free kicks in Serie A, alongside Sinisa Mihajlovic.

Andrea Pirlo was frequently compared to fellow former Milan and Italy playmaker Albertini early in his Milan career, due to their similar characteristics and style of play.

Andrea Pirlo was often thought to be Albertini's heir for Milan and the national team; he inherited his nickname the metronome whilst playing at Milan, for the way in which he influenced games by controlling the tempo of his team's play through his direct, precise, and efficient passing game in midfield, as well as his ability to make himself available to teammates to receive and subsequently distribute the ball.

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

Nine days later, following the dismissal of Maurizio Sarri, Andrea Pirlo was appointed head coach of the first team, signing a two-year contract.

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

Andrea Pirlo received 107 out of 110 after his oral validation of his 30-page thesis, entitled "The football that I would like".

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".

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

On 27 June 2023, Andrea Pirlo was appointed manager of Sampdoria, who had just been relegated to Serie B that season.

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

Andrea Pirlo was married to Deborah Roversi between 2001 and 2013; the couple have two children, born in 2003 and 2006.

Andrea Pirlo's father founded a metal trading company in Brescia in 1982 called Elg Steel.

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

In July 2016, it was reported that Andrea Pirlo's jersey was the highest-selling MLS shirt in 2016.

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