Andrea Pirlo Short biography
Andrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛःa ˈpirlo]; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach, manager, and former player who is the manager of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Pirlo was known for his vision, ball control, technique, free-kick ability, and passing. Starting his club career in 1995 as an attacking midfielder with hometown club Brescia, he won the Serie B in 1997. He was signed by Serie A club Internazionale the following year, but limited game time and loan spells away from the club saw him transfer to cross-city rivals AC Milan in 2001. There, Pirlo matured into a world-class player in a deep-lying playmaker role, and he went on to win two Serie A titles, two Champions Leagues, two UEFA SuperCups, a FIFA Club World Cup, a Coppa Italia, and a Supercoppa Italiana. He joined Juventus in 2011, where he won four further Serie A titles, two more Supercoppa Italiana titles, and another Coppa Italia. In 2015, Pirlo joined Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City FC, where he played for two years before retiring in 2017.
At the international level, Pirlo played 116 matches for the Italy national football team, which is the sixth-most of all time. He made his senior debut in 2002, and captained his nation to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, winning the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player and being named to the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. He was also named to the UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament.
Pirlo finished in the top four five times in the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award between 2006 and 2015. He placed fourth for UEFA Best Player in Europe in 2011, and third in 2015. He was named Serie A Footballer of the Year three times and to the Serie A Team of the Year four times. Pirlo was named to the UEFA Team of the Year in 2012, the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season in 2015, and was part of the FIFPro World XI in 2006. He also placed third for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year, finished in the top ten three times for the Ballon d'Or, and was named an MLS All-Star in 2016. In 2019, Pirlo was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
After retiring, Pirlo was appointed as head coach at Serie C club Juventus U23 on 30 July 2020. He took charge of the first team nine days later, and won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in his first season, before being sacked in 2021. On 12 June 2022, Pirlo was appointed as manager of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük.
