Uilleam 5,960 Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 The Modern Maestro hangs up his boots, as Winter approaches, and Winter gushes, telling us nothing we didn't know already. Sometimes, though, it is good to be reminded. october 10 2017, 12:01am, the times Farewell Pirlo, Italy’s sultan of suave henry winter, chief football writer The River Café, Brooklyn, demands a certain style of its exclusive clientele. Hailed by the epicurean guide Gault Millau as one of the five finest restaurants in New York, the fabled establishment insists that men don jackets for dinner, that a “tie is preferred”, and “appropriate footwear is required at all times”. So when Andrea Pirlo dined there in June, sporting rolled up chinos, no socks, an open neck shirt and an exquisitely tailored blazer, social media convulsed in admiration over his effortlessly elegant mix of the cool and the formal, basically the look of a beat poet at a wedding. “Peak Pirlo” was the verdict of an adoring public, although some did consider a crowdfunding enterprise to buy him some socks. Pirlo brings style to every location he graces: from Dortmund, and slipping an unbelievable pass through to Fabio Grosso in the 2006 World Cup semi-final, to Kiev, and a Panenka penalty to humble Joe Hart in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012, and to the streets of the world from Milan to Manhattan, being a fashion icon. One T-shirt, which the New York City FC midfield player possesses, says it all: “NO PIRLO, NO PARTY”. Start spreading the news, sad news: the party will soon be over for the prince of Panenka and panache. The 38-year-old has announced that he will retire from football in December, at the end of the MLS season. Pirlo has been king of the hill, top of the heap for so long for those who love their football spiced with élan. Notices of retirement are a time to celebrate a special contributor to the greatest game, yet also to mourn the fact that the beauty of Pirlo’s football, a masterclass for aspiring aficionados, will be seen no more. The conductor of so many august orchestras is laying down his baton, and the sound of silence will be almost too much to bear. The passion for Pirlo dates back more than 20 years, to when he emerged at Brescia, making his Serie A debut against Reggiana on May 21, 1995. Sunday Oliseh, Paulo Futre and Luigi de Agostini were in opposition. Pirlo was 16. His style, all precision passing, gradually shone through, especially when deployed deeper, releasing friends over range, ignoring the hounding of Antonio Conte to pick out Roberto Baggio’s run for Brescia through Juventus lines in 2001. His ball destroyed a vaunted back line containing the likes of Ciro Ferrara, the defender who Alan Shearer once singled out as the opponent he respected most. Baggio did the rest, rounding Edwin van der Sar to equalise. Down the subsequent years, particularly at AC Milan and Juventus and with Italy, so many grateful team-mates profited from Pirlo’s vision and technique. “Football is played with the head,” Pirlo once shrugged. “Your feet are just the tools.” It is a simple lesson, one that aspiring English players should absorb. Another sumptuous pass came in that 2006 World Cup semi-final against Germany, controlling a clearance from Arne Friedrich with his left foot, then moving right. As Friedrich and Christoph Metzelder pushed out, Pirlo threaded the ball down the inside-right channel, steering it just far enough away from the stretching Bastian Schweinsteiger and towards Grosso, who swept Italy into the final. In Berlin, Pirlo was named man of the match for his work against an accomplished France side. Fifa’s technical study group, including such skilled judges of thoroughbred talent as the former World Cup stars Teófilo Cubillas and Roger Milla, noted that the Italian No 21’s “technical and tactical abilities reinterpreted the role of the defensive midfielder, the initiator of Italy’s attacks and set-piece specialist”. After converting in the shoot-out, Pirlo’s class as a man was then seen on the dais with the delicate way he held the base of the World Cup with his right hand and gently kissed the top. Daniele De Rossi spoke later of Pirlo as a someone who “has touched my soul”. The numbers add substance to Pirlo’s style. The six Serie A titles, the Champions League glory in 2003 and 2007, let alone the World Cup. He still weighs only 68kg, and that lustrous beard contributes. The legs may be going, as he admitted in an emotional interview in La Gazzetta dello Sport, but the dedication and technique endure. And what technique. October 2010. Milan against Parma. Luca Antonini drifted left, distracting Parma, and Pirlo teased the ball in to Clarence Seedorf, then took the return, and looked up. He already knew the possibilities, the opponents’ positioning. Parma’s Antonio Candreva could not believe that Pirlo would shoot. Too far, surely? Suddenly, Pirlo unleashed a 35-yarder into the net that had Zlatan Ibrahimovic racing to congratulate him and Ronaldinho smiling, technical maestros themselves revelling in this genius in their midst. A year later, Pirlo informed Gianluigi Buffon that he was making a free transfer to Juventus. “God exists!” Buffon exploded. Heaven knows what Buffon’s reaction was four titles later. Pirlo’s passing was divine, particularly one first-time, left-footed ball to Claudio Marchisio to give Juventus the lead against Sassuolo in 2014. Aged 35, the bearded wonder was still doing it for Juventus, firing in a shot against Atalanta that went straight, then bent between Marco Sportiello and the goalkeeper’s left-hand upright. “ANDREA” screamed the announcer. “PIRLO” replied the tifosi, deafeningly. Opponents admired him. Xavi, the Barcelona great, stretched out his right hand, caressing the back of Pirlo’s head, showing his respect and sympathy after Juventus lost the 2015 Champions League final in Berlin. Pirlo was in tears, and Xavi walked across to console him. Moments did arise when Pirlo’s style offended opponents, such as a nutmeg at 3-0 up against Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final that had Steven Gerrard fuming, later commenting that it was “disrespectful”. Such was Pirlo’s pain at losing the game, even missing a penalty in the shoot-out, that he almost thought of quitting. Pirlo cares. He got his revenge on the English, not least against Gerrard in the 2007 Champions League final in Athens and running the show in the quarter-final of Euro 2012. With England leading the shoot-out 2-1, Gerrard having converted, Pirlo strolled forward to face the ultimate test of nerve from 12 yards. Hart bounced on his line, stretching his arms out, trying to befuddle the sultan of suave. Here was another lesson that the English need to assimilate. Be strong, be composed. Pirlo sensed how important the moment was, that if he comprehensively beat Hart the momentum would swing back the Azzurri’s way. So he executed that Panenka, guiding the ball down the middle as Hart dived right, his hands finding only thin air. It was humiliating, and turned the game. Pirlo himself described his Panenka as a “psychological blow” to Hart. Gareth Southgate, sitting in a café in Warsaw a couple of days later, confided that “the manner of the way Pirlo took his penalty changed the whole dynamic of the shoot-out”. Ruthless but stylish. Amid the dismay at Pirlo’s decision to leave a sport he has enhanced for 22 years, joy can be derived from his comment to Gazzetta that “I’ll do something else”. He has been linked with a coaching job assisting Conte, his former Azzurri manager, at Chelsea. He is involved in a vineyard in Italy, swapping playmaking for wine-making, and wants to spend more time with his family, especially on holiday in Ibiza. He says he will play more tennis, copying the sportsman he most respects, Roger Federer, a family man like himself. Whatever happens, Pirlo’s class will prevail. When he posted a picture from the River Café of the “great view” towards the Brooklyn Bridge, some of his 2.5 million followers on Twitter replied that the bridge had an even greater view — towards Pirlo. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/farewell-pirlo-italys-sultan-of-suave-pjcjlkg0q 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacK1950 2,399 Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Last time I was over in Canada my great nephew wanted an Juventus top and the only name on it for him would be Pirlo,this from a kid who is ice-hockey daft and also plays baseball,such is the fame and adoration Pirlo attracts. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
compo 7,212 Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 A first class player 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleam 5,960 Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 A first class player No argument from me, nor from many others, my friend. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyharley 5 Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 A good read. Henry Winter is a decent journalist. If only we had any up here 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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