Andrea Pirlo was a rare talent – a winner and dreamer who oozed creative cool | Paolo Bandini

The Italian retires with nothing left to prove, having achieved that highest form of football recognition – the stage at which a footballer’s name becomes synonymous with their position. The ‘Pirlo role’ is understood worldwide

Andrea Pirlo loved to pull pranks on Gennaro Gattuso. The two midfielders played together for more than a decade with Milan and Italy, winning everything from Serie A to the World Cup and Champions League. They became fast friends, but that did not stop Pirlo from stealing Gattuso’s phone one day and texting his agent, offering his sister in return for an improved contract.

It was not the practical jokes, though, that tormented Gattuso the most. Harder to cope with were the existential crises provoked by training alongside such outlandish talent. As he mused on one occasion: “When I watch Pirlo play, and see him with the ball at his feet, I ask myself if I could even truly be considered a footballer at all.”

Continue reading...