Correct me if I am wrong but are Italy the first champions to get ko-ed from world cup group stages two tournaments in a row with mighty Pirlo?
Eh ... how many games did Pirlo play in WC 2010? 2014?
Compare that to the number of games Pirlo was 100% fit for Italy at Euro 2012.
Then, also compare the team performances of Italy with and without Pirlo ... I think its no secret to those knowledgeable in football that Pirlo was a very key player for Italy all through his career.
And Italy losing to Germany was because of absence of Pirlo?
Nope but when the midfield general was running the show, be it Kross, Bastian or Ballack, all had to play to the maestro's tempo.
Conte did well to take Italy far, but the quality just wasn't there.
Oh so Pirlo and 10 other players. Ergo Pirlo not that important.
Watch Italy v England Euro 2012 ... it rather seemed like Pirlo and 21 other players on the pitch ...
Quarters and yes, Conte is great. His managerial skills surpass any need for individuals like Pirlo.
True, but he did request for him and is a well known admirer of Pirlo. Why would a great coach want such a average player?
Yes, Pirlo had one good season but Juve's prolonged dominance has nothing to do with him. It's because all their rivals stopped playing football. They could literally stick a random player like Padoin and not a thing would change for them in terms of result.
We pushed them hard during his first season at Juve ... remember they were undefeated, so we also had a good season and was just unfortunate UEFA decided to give Barca penalties for free and ... that we let go of Pirlo who in turn was Juve's key player in ending their long Scudetto drought
Too bad each season was 38+ games long unlike list of Pirlo's good performances.
More inaccurate facts.
Do you know that during our UCL winning 07 season, Pirlo played more minutes than anyone? I think it was Pirlo and Jankulovski who had amassed more minutes than anyone else.
On that note. Dinho on arrival was way better for Milan than Pirlo. He was right up there in the assist charts in Europe and he did it while being overweight and lazier than Pirlo.
Haha ... explains everything ... Dinho and Ronaldo are some of the main mistakes made by the outgoing management that have led us to our current predicament.
In this aspect, yes ... Pirlo, Dinho and Ronaldo are quite similar albeit for on minor difference ... While the management bringing in Dinho and Ronaldo was a complete and utter travesty, the management on the other had made a massive mistake in letting Pirlo go the way he did and to the club he went to.
Honestly, I thought Pirlo had disappeared into Park Ji-Sun's pockets before I heard news about Galliani not renewing his contract.
Really? And where did Dinho disappear to in those games against Manchester? Being outwitted by Gary Neville? LOL
Couldn't care less.
And Pirlo should kiss the ground Allegri walks on for letting him step on the pitch of a European final again. Juve didn't even need him to beat Madrid in the semis or reach the finals last season. Before that he was being slapped silly by teams like Galatasaray.
You aren't getting the point. Before Pirlo, Juve was a giant in the doldrums that we are kind of facing right now. Few good performances here and there but nothing consistent to lift them above midtable.
That whole trend was brought to an abrupt end when Pirlo dominated a Serie A where even the great Zlatan Ibrahimovic played.
Based on this consistency and new found belief, they have built a team which is formidable even on the continent now.
Rather than blindly criticizing out of hate, we could learn a thing or two from them
Unfortunately, in the finals, just like most of his career, Barca midgets ran over him and left him for roadkill.
Can't win all the time.
He won some, he lost some. But his skill and legacy as a professional footballer are a model to upcoming footballers.
You too can look at him as a model ... sometimes you may feel out of place, or are written off as being too weak to do a certain task. Pirlo proved anything is possible if you put your mind to it ... cause unlike a fraud boss, Pirlo's signature has always been his capacity to protect the back four/three using skill, technique and vision, as opposed to the norm ...
