[Seaside Mafia]

Right -judging from other posts, this'll go down like a sack of spanners. Many people suggest that David Beckham's main contribution to his side these days is dead-ball delivery and that he doesn't really contribute anything else. That may or may not be the case but, ladies and gentlemen, off the back of that description I give you................Andrea Pirlo.

I don't watch enough Serie A to be 100% sure, but whenever I see Pirlo play, he does very little. Surely one of the more over-rated players in the modern game? A latter-day Demetrio "The Crab" Albertini?

[Teso Dos Bichos]

Did you watch him in the WC? To use an English example, Andrea Pirlo is Michael Carrick. Completely different to the likes of David Beckham.

[Seaside Mafia]

Originally Posted by Teso Dos Bichos

Did you watch him in the WC? To use an English example, Andrea Pirlo is Michael Carrick. Completely different to the likes of David Beckham.

Don't disagree with you there. However, my point still holds in that his main contribution appears to be from dead balls. Otherwise he's a bit of a crab. My Albertini analogy is the main comparison.

[jpick]

oh dear, I didn't see this post. now I see what you meant. I think you are not only wrong, but terribly wrong. he is a vital cog in the midfield of milan that has won a scudetto, coppa italia, two champs leagues and he was vital for the world cup italy won under lippi, with the azzurrini when they won the u21 euros and when italy won bronze in the olympics. he is better than albertini and carrick. he is the best dlpm in my opinion.
a david beckham in the middle of midfield, dida in goal, gila as a striker, milan wouldn't have made it past the group stages, lol.

seriously, though, you can have that opinion, but pirlo has immense skill on the ball, he also gives lots of cheeky chips and what have you (did you see the one to kaka that was ruled off cause inzaghi was offside), beckham never does that.
he also dribbles and controls the ball quite well, and is very difficult to dispossess. beckham exploits the space on the wing and is a wonderful crosser of the ball, but when under pressure will usually always look to pass back, never really reverse field or try to dribble out of trouble. they are two totally different players. pirlo, imho, is a fantastic player, and I think you grossly understate his abilities.
no disrespect intended, of course


edit: yeah, I forgot to say, but remember pirlo was one of the brightest #10 prospects in italy, so that fact alone should tell you he had more skills and technical ability than say, albertini. he is basically a #10 who has great vision (and the deep-lying role allows you to use that vision and long-passing ability better than if you were up front cause you get more consistent space in front of your defense at times than in ront of the opposing defense) and has now learned to defend (some at least) and help gattuso because he has been back there so long. to say that he has a similar skill set to beckham is just not true imo.

[Seaside Mafia]

Originally Posted by jpick

oh dear, I didn't see this post. now I see what you meant. I think you are not only wrong, but terribly wrong. he is a vital cog in the midfield of milan that has won a scudetto, coppa italia, two champs leagues and he was vital for the world cup italy won under lippi, with the azzurrini when they won the u21 euros and when italy won bronze in the olympics. he is better than albertini and carrick. he is the best dlpm in my opinion.
a david beckham in the middle of midfield, dida in goal, gila as a striker, milan wouldn't have made it past the group stages, lol.

seriously, though, you can have that opinion, but pirlo has immense skill on the ball, he also gives lots of cheeky chips and what have you (did you see the one to kaka that was ruled off cause inzaghi was offside), beckham never does that.
he also dribbles and controls the ball quite well, and is very difficult to dispossess. beckham exploits the space on the wing and is a wonderful crosser of the ball, but when under pressure will usually always look to pass back, never really reverse field or try to dribble out of trouble. they are two totally different players. pirlo, imho, is a fantastic player, and I think you grossly understate his abilities.
no disrespect intended, of course


edit: yeah, I forgot to say, but remember pirlo was one of the brightest #10 prospects in italy, so that fact alone should tell you he had more skills and technical ability than say, albertini. he is basically a #10 who has great vision (and the deep-lying role allows you to use that vision and long-passing ability better than if you were up front cause you get more consistent space in front of your defense at times than in ront of the opposing defense) and has now learned to defend (some at least) and help gattuso because he has been back there so long. to say that he has a similar skill set to beckham is just not true imo.

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 Prilo do so either

[Seaside Mafia]

Actually that's not true. I did see him play well against Man U a couple of seasons ago. However, for me he never seems to do it regularly.

[Dr.Phil]

Pirlo is a deep lying play maker he wins the ball and distributes and holds. He dies the dirty work for the team. He is not a flashy player but a player that does a very good job at his position.

Not Overrated at all

[barthez4]

Originally Posted by Dr.Phil

Pirlo is a deep lying play maker he wins the ball and distributes and holds. He dies the dirty work for the team. He is not a flashy player but a player that does a very good job at his position.

Not Overrated at all

He doesn't do the "dirty work" for his team, that's Gattuso (in Milan and the Italian NT).

[Dr.Phil]

Originally Posted by barthez4

He doesn't do the "dirty work" for his team, that's Gattuso (in Milan and the Italian NT).

Well yes your right

[Teso Dos Bichos]

Originally Posted by Seaside Mafia

However, I don't think I ever saw him have a great game, and I haven't seen Prilo do so either

I repeat, did you watch the WC?