BIOGRAPHY
Andrea Pirlo, born 19 May 1979 in Flero, Lombardy, is a Sinti Italian World Cup winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan and the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a Deep-lying Playmaker for both Milan and Italy and is widely regarded as the best player in this position.Praised for his inventive play and his long passing ability, he is also a Set-piece specialist.
Pirlo has played for the Italian youth teams U-15, U-18 and U-21, captaining and leading the latter to victory in the 2000 as the Golden Player and Top Scorer of the tournament. He joined the Italian senior side during the qualification round for World Cup 2002 and captained the national team to a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics. Later, he was instrumental in their victory in the 2006 World Cup. He was named man of the match three times, including the final, more than any other player in the tournament, and ultimately won the Bronze Ball (third best player in tournament).
With Milan, he has won two UEFA Champions League (2003 and 2007), two European Super Cups (2003 and 2007), a Scudetto (2004), an Italian Super Cup (2004), a FIFA Club World Cup (2006), and the Italian Cup in 2003.
He came in third and second in IFFHS World Playmaker of the Year awards in 2006 and 2007, respectively.Fellow players on the Italian team gave him the nickname "l'architetto" (the architect) because his long passes frequently set up goal-scoring opportunities for the Azzurri (Italian national team)
Pirlo captained Italy to an Under-21 European Championship in 2000 and semi-finalists in 2002. Pirlo played for Italy at the 2000 Summer Olympics, won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics.
Pirlo was a member of the Italian Squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In Italy's first match in the tournament, Pirlo scored the opening goal against Ghana, and subsequently set up a goal for Vincenzo Iaquinta to seal the 2–0 victory. He was named the Man of the Match. In the second match, he set up a diving header for Alberto Gilardino from a set piece which proved to be vital in their 1–1 draw against the United States. In their final group stage match Pirlo found Marco Materazzi's game winning header from a corner kick against the Czech Republic. In the semifinal against Germany, he assisted on the opening goal in the dying minutes and was again named Man of the Match. In the final against France, his corner kick produced Marco Materazzi's equalizing header ten minutes after France had opened the score. The match went to a penalty shoot-out, in which he scored. He was named Man of the Match for a third time, and was voted third-best player of the tournament.
Pirlo was not be able to play the first two games in the 2010 FIFA World Cup for Italy, due to recent injuries. He came off the bench for Italy late in the match on 24 June against Slovakia. Even with his help in orchestrating a renewed Italian offense, Pirlo could not prevent Italy from being knocked out of the first round.
ANDREA PIRLO PROFILE
Date of birth : 19 May 1979
Place of birth: Flero, Lombardy, Italy
Height: 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position: Midfielder
Club information
Current club: Milan
Number: 21
Youth career
1994–1995 Brescia
Senior career*
1995–1998 Brescia 47 (6)
1998–2001 Internazionale 22 (0)
1999–2000 → Reggina (loan) 29 (6)
2001 → Brescia (loan) 10 (0)
2001– Milan 281 (32)
National team‡
1998–2002 Italy U-21 37 (15)
2000–2004 Olympic Italy 9 (1)
2002– Italy 72 (9)
