Andrea Pirlo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andrea Pirlo
Personal information
Full name	Andrea Pirlo
Date of birth	May 19, 1979 (age 27)
Place of birth	Flero, Brescia, Italy
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Nickname	Trilly Metronomo Campanellino
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	A.C. Milan
Number	21
Youth clubs
	Brescia
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000 2001 2001-	Brescia Internazionale Reggina (loan) Internazionale Brescia (loan) AC Milan	47 (6) 18 (0) 28 (6) 4 (0) 10 (0) 149 (26)
National team2
1998-2002 2002-	Italy U-21 Italy	40 (16) 35 (5)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Italy
Men's Football
Bronze	2004 Athens	Team Competition

Andrea Pirlo, Cavaliere (born May 19, 1979 in Flero, Brescia) is an Italian footballer. He currently plays for A.C. Milan, as well as the Italy national team. Pirlo was part of the Italy team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

[edit] Career

Pirlo was born in Flero, Brescia. His father owns two ironworks. His brother Ivan is also a soccer player for a C2 Series club in Brescia.

He played for Brescia (1994-98 and 2001), Internazionale (1998-99 and 2000), Reggina (1999-2000), and AC Milan (2001-). With Milan, he won one Scudetto and one Champions League title. He also won an Italian Cup and a UEFA Super Cup with Milan in 2003. For Italy, Pirlo played at the 2000 Summer Olympics, won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, played at the Euro 2004, and won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In his younger days, Pirlo captained Italy to an Under-21 European Championship in 2000.

Pirlo is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the Serie A. An accurate passer, he has a deep-seated playmaking role at AC Milan and Italy. At Milan the game is focused around his ability to dictate play and control the game's tempo. His lack of the physical stature for a defensive midfielder is compensated by his technique, and his defensive qualities have improved considerably, although they are still limited. Nevertheless, this is not an issue for his team as he is backed up in midfield by more physical players like Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf. A dead ball specialist, Pirlo is the first choice taker of corner and free kicks. In the 2005-2006 season Pirlo scored four times from free-kicks, matching the previous record (three times by Demetrio Albertini and one by Frank Rijkaard).

[edit] 2006 World Cup

Pirlo was a member of the Italian Squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. This World Cup tournament was not Pirlo's first but the midfielder rose to the occasion, starting every game and helping his team with a very consistent overall performance.

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 the 2-0 victory. He was named the "Man of the Match".

Pirlo played brilliantly throughout the semifinal against Germany, and he ultimately created a key play at the very end of extra time to give Italy a dramatic victory. At the 119th minute, Pirlo received a ball deflected just outside the German penalty area and kept possession for just enough time to provide a defence splitting assist to Fabio Grosso, who scored the opening goal. Moments later, Alessandro Del Piero scored again, Italy won 2-0, and Pirlo was named Man of the Match once again.

Pirlo's sparkling form was again in evidence against France in the 2006 World Cup Final on July 9. His passing proved vital for the Azzurri, and 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, and Pirlo set a positive tone for his teammates by confidently scoring the first penalty kick. His performance during the match resulted in his being named the FIFA Man of the Match for a third time, more than any other player over the course of the tournament.

"Man of the Match" awards

• July 9, Italy 1:1 (PSO 5:3) France (Final)

• July 4, Germany 0:2 a.e.t Italy (Semi- Final)

• June 12, Italy 2:0 (1:0) Ghana (First Round)

Pirlo's fine form in Germany earned him the Bronze Ball, as he was voted the third best player of the tournament behind Zinedine Zidane and Fabio Cannavaro.

[edit] External links

• Andrea Pirlo Tactical Formations at Football-Lineups.com

• FootballDatabase.com provides Pirlo's profile and stats

	Italy squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Champions (4th Title)
1 Buffon | 2 Zaccardo | 3 Grosso | 4 De Rossi | 5 Cannavaro | 6 Barzagli | 7 Del Piero | 8 Gattuso | 9 Toni | 10 Totti | 11 Gilardino | 12 Peruzzi | 13 Nesta | 14 Amelia | 15 Iaquinta | 16 Camoranesi | 17 Barone | 18 Inzaghi | 19 Zambrotta | 20 Perrotta | 21 Pirlo | 22 Oddo | 23 Materazzi | Coach: Lippi

A.C. Milan - Current Squad

1 Dida | 2 Cafu | 3 Maldini | 4 Kaladze | 5 Costacurta | 7 Oliveira | 8 Gattuso | 9 Inzaghi | 10 Seedorf | 11 Gilardino | 13 Nesta | 15 Borriello | 16 Kalac | 17 Šimić | 18 Jankulovski | 19 Favalli | 20 Gourcuff | 21 Pirlo | 22 Kaká | 23 Ambrosini | 24 Grimi | 25 Bonera | 26 Storari | 27 Serginho | 28 Guerci | 29 Fiori | 30 Facchin | 31 Antonelli | 32 Brocchi | 33 Di Gennaro | 34 Bottini | 35 Aubameyang | 36 Darmian | 37 Bruscagin | 38 Lunati | 39 Vitofrancesco | 44 Oddo | 99 Ronaldo | Coach: Ancelotti