Povero Pirlo...... Mr. Vieira, I warned you about that Pirlo guy VIDEO: Juve Legend Pirlo Creates a Storm on Twitter After Latest ... Pirlo spoils NYCFC's unbeaten run
Kind of a sad ending for such a great player but he was doomed for failure in MLS from the start. He didn't have to play defense at either Milan or Juve and was never really a runner. At this point he is just collecting the rest of his $5 or $6 million dollar contract. Glad that he could milk that type of a deal at 38 years of age.
I don't know if I'd call him the worst DP or even NYCFC worst signing. I just think he was too old to adjust to the league like Beckham and Henry did. Even at Yankee stadium where he played 20+ games, he struggled with adapting to the narrow field to a point where even his free kicks were usually way off.
It's not like Beckham had an easy go of it. Anywhere else in the world, his team will have been relegated with their record in his first two years. It was not until Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane got going that Beckham actually won something.
Beckham's start was rough, but he improved drastically once he got into the flow of the league. That was my point. He adjusted his game, where as Pirlo did not. Becks was a top player in MLS after he got used to the level of play, and was even willing to switch to a different position to better accommodate his team. I don't think Pirlo even really tried to adjust in MLS. Like I said, even his free kicks were often terrible. He would usually over hit them because he never got used to the smaller field.
Pirlo though was that type of player even at Brescia. It was Carlo Mazzone who made him into the midfielder he became. Contrary to popular belief, MLS is far from an easy league to play in.
It is not an easy league to play in because it is terrible. It is as if you ask Michelangelo to paint by the dots on a popcorn ceiling.
All the more reason players like Pirlo should be excelling. I mean if a WC champion is getting beat in the what is the equivalent to a Serie D or C level, obviously, something must be wrong. It can't always be that these superstars don't excel because everyone else sucks. If anything, they should shine even more on a weekly basis but they don't.
My point is, they should be excelling in crappy MLS and many of these guys struggle but why? My cousins and friends played in the Serie B in ancient history and when they dropped down to play in the Serie D or the Interregionale , they were always the best players on the field but these guys aren't.
I have watched too many MLS games live at various stadiums to see too many players who have no idea when or where to run. Reading clueless people is not a simple task. Pirlo is not the type who is going to dribble by everyone. If players do not understand him nor he them, it is a recipe for disaster. When I have watched Pirlo at RFK, he ran and ran with a purpose. I could not make the same for his teammates.