Bit controversial this one

[Joep]

That game against Germany was a really good one for me. I had been preaching about Pirlo AND Cannavaro for ages to people who just said..well...mweh...There is nothing like being proven right by a player you had such faith in in the presence of a couple of people who didn't. I mean...the game itself they were both terrific, but then in the last couple of minutes, that assist by pirlo followed by that double interception by Cannavaro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkW4lFA8VsA)...That may very possibly be my favorite 3 minutes in one game ever. I didn't even have to say I told them so.

But of course I did :D

[jerrito]

Andrea Pirlo is a player with a high work rate. He passes brilliantly with both feet, both at a short distance and long. He shoots well with both feet, with power and control. His free kicks are deadly, both direct and indirect.He is a good defender, with good timing and excellent anticipation. He administers a game as a field general very well. He has all the qualities of a great playmaker and would be a huge asset to almost any team in the world. And as I said before, he has come through on the biggest stage, the World Cup. The only weakness I have seen in his game is the occasional malaise, as if he seemed a bit disinterested. Other than that, he is highly skilled and absolute quality.

[Seaside Mafia]

Redondo was magnificent.

Ok, this has always been a bit of a dream to me, and it will always be only that, but you guys all know that film about Zidane right, the one where's followed a whole game long by 17 camers focussed solely on him? What I wouldnt give to see a tape like that from a Barcelona - Madrid game featuring both Guardiola and Redondo. That would have been the absolute shit in my opinion.

But seeing as how that's no longer possible, I would very gladly settle for one about Pirlo.

Seaside, you're right though, it is impossible for us to change your mind about him considering that you judge solely on what you've seen. And maybe you're right, Pirlo may not be the player that steps up when the cards are down (or something like that, bare with me, not a native english speaker and somewhat stoned) but the difference between the two of us that while I definitly agree with you that being able to stand up is certainly a sign of greatness, it is not the only one.

Thing is, I like Pirlo. Everything. His position, his role, his style, everything, and that's why I think he's the greatest. Gut feeling, like you say. I defend him blindly to my friends, eventhough I too can see he may not have had the most perfect game for example in the CL final. Of course I recognized that, but even then, the little things in which he falls short, to me, are less important than the lot of things he does right - with such a ridiculously beautiful style. That, too, is greatness to me. To me, players like Pirlo is why I fell and continue to be in love with football. Sure, I appreciate a good striker, a graceful tackle or someone taking charge of a game, but the way in which a player like Pirlo can influence, really direct a game...it doesn't get better than that...

I feel like I'm rambling now, which makes this quite possible the worst post in a series of very very good ones by you guys, but I think it may be what I wanted to say, so now i'll press submit anyways

Okay. Well I'm done on this subject. It's good to see that people with the opposite view can back it with a reasoned and passionate defence, so far enough. There's a rumour here that Channel 4 are about to start screening Serie A again so I'll get a chance to see him play more often and, who knows...........Anyway, let's go before jPick crashes the Soccer365 browser. And just say no to drugs Joep :o

[jerrito]

I have to admit Seaside, this was a fun thread that inspired some really good posts. Well done.:p

[jpick]

I'm also inclined to think you could stick him in a different side as a traditional #10 and he'd do quite well.


brescia and reggina he did quite well as a 10 and in the u21 setup was a good 10. even some at the adult level, after having switched to dlpm for milan, he was used in a playmaking role.
it was really almost an "accident" that he played back there. i believe at reggina he filled in because of injury when they shifted the midfield around and he did well but nobody thought anything of it, then after inter gave him to us, i think for the first year or so we intended to play him as a 10, but the midfield was full up front, so ancelotti had seen him play in front of the defense before, saw that he had the requisite intelligence and composure (more important for a dlpm than a front-lying playmaker, as turnovers and bad decisions are more deadly if a dlpm does them), and figured what the hell, it is better than having a 22 yo talent rot on the bench. the rest, as they say, is history. so yes, he probably could have been a very good #10 had the stars aligned differently.

Andrea Pirlo is a player with a high work rate. He passes brilliantly with both feet, both at a short distance and long. He shoots well with both feet, with power and control. His free kicks are deadly, both direct and indirect.He is a good defender, with good timing and excellent anticipation. He administers a game as a field general very well. He has all the qualities of a great playmaker and would be a huge asset to almost any team in the world. And as I said before, he has come through on the biggest stage, the World Cup. The only weakness I have seen in his game is the occasional malaise, as if he seemed a bit disinterested. Other than that, he is highly skilled and absolute quality.

his weaknesses are tackling, and lack of athleticism. he can get around the lack of athleticism because even if you have to face a hellish d-mid(s) like
essien/makalele or mascherano or vieira/makalele (ok, vieira is more central midfield but in the 4-5-1 of france plays more defensive) they won't push as far forward and follow you to your back 4, so if you have a high work rate and intelligence, you can always find some space, no matter how keen the d-mids are to mark you, whereas a 10 can't do that, and can be more easily marked out of the game by a great player(s). the danger of this, of course, is that as you go deeper to get space, if need be, the risk associated with being dispossessed or caught in possession goes up exponentially. this is why seedorf, who i love for his emotion and desire, would be a terrible dlpm, imho. he gets caught in possession too much (remember the old channel4 show with richardson where he joked " what do seedorf and pete doherty have in common? they both get caught in possession an a lot"). so he can find space even without great athleticism and blowing by people as runners/d-mids won't follow him that far back, and he still can pull the strings and work comfortably from that distance and not be too dangerous to milan (not saying he never turns it over, obviously, just that he is very difficult to dispossess and almost always is turning the ball over by passing it forward or long, which is less dangerous).
as for the tackling, well, not everyone is built like essien (who is another player i am high on, but i think almost everyone is in agreement there), so all you can do is learn positioning and hopefully have good anticipation and instincts to read the game to help make up for that, and he does

There's a rumour here that Channel 4 are about to start screening Serie A again so I'll get a chance to see him play more often and, who knows
yes, now the english can see serie a soccer and not just for gascoigne, hehe

Anyway, let's go before jPick crashes the Soccer365 browser.
I am the bane of all non-supporters of BS, all your busy messages are belong to me. :p

good thread, I have enjoyed it

[United Pumps]

You'd already won the fight, Jpick. You didn't need to go punch him when he was down.

Also, Matt le Tissier rocks my socks. Maybe your next thread should be about how he is better than Lampard, Seaside?

[Seaside Mafia]

How do you do the bit where you can reply to individual sections of someone else's thread, point by point?

[jpick]

How do you do the bit where you can reply to individual sections of someone else's thread, point by point?

I just copy and paste the [/QUOTE] and [QUOTE=Seaside Mafia;11862776].

[jpick]

ahh, i found it, that took some digging. :D

Forget about Beckham. I'm not saying that they're similar players. Simply that they are best known for their dead-ball ability. Many Italians that I know maintain that Albertini was a great player. However, I don't think I ever saw him have a great game, and I haven't seen Pirlo do so either

seaside, get a torrent of the super cup match, though it is not the most serious cup final, admittedly.

[frasermc]

ahh, i found it, that took some digging. :D



seaside, get a torrent of the super cup match, though it is not the most serious cup final, admittedly.

bloody hell jpick.

you have a memory like an elephant :eek:

(mental note to oneself... don't diss pirlo... EVER!!)

[jpick]

LMAO :D.

yeah, if there is one player with whom I am guilty of some measure of "fan-boyism" it is pirlo (well, and nesta too). :o

I try to stay unbiased, but with him and nesta, sometimes i lose that battle within, lol.