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It is often said that it is wrong to compare players of different eras and different styles. But, this is applicable only when you compare statistics of individuals or teams of various generations. Italy have had a long list of players who have shone at both club and international level.
It would be extremely tough to pick one player whose presence and performance is very decisive to the team he plays for. Let’s begin a journey of finding that one player who has always been the most important player of the national team he has played for.
Andrea Pirlo started his football career as a trequartista with huge potential. The Maestro’s career began successfully at the international level when he led Italy’s under 21 team to being victorious at the European Championship. He was the top goal scorer and the golden player of that tournament despite being sent off in the group game against Slovakia.
Pirlo struggled at Inter before moving to Brescia where he was employed by Carlo Mazzone as a deep lying playmaker or a regista. Having made his debut against Azerbaijan in a EURO 2004 qualifier game, Pirlo has more than a century of caps to his name for the Azzurri.
Pirlo enjoyed winning a lot of trophies and won everything that can be won at club level when he moved to Milan in 2001. Shortly before the 2004 European Championship, he netted his first goal in a 4-0 friendly win over Tunisia. Trapattoni included him in the squad for the subsequent EURO but was widely criticised for not picking him in the opening game against Denmark that ended in a stalemate as Italy would crash out of the tournament. The former Milan player would also represent Italy at the summer Olympics in 2004 and win a bronze medal. It was under Lippi where Pirlo truly reached his potential for the Azzurri.
Being very impressive in the qualifying stages to the World Cup, Pirlo would net the opening goal for Italy in the 2006 World Cup. That did not stop him there as he would dictate play and create a lot of chances while helping in keeping possession in every game he featured. He would finish the grandest football tournament giving 3 assists, scoring one goal, netting an important penalty and winning the man of the match award in the final against France.
He was also awarded the Bronze Ball at that World Cup. While the likes of Cannavaro, Buffon and Gattuso were important in way of keeping Italy in the game and Totti recovering from injury to be the top assist maker, Pirlo was the notable difference between winning the game and staying on par with their opponents. A memorable tournament that began with scandals at their own backyard and Nesta being injured in the second game, Italy as underdogs would win their 4th World Cup.
Milan legend Roberto Donadoni would take Italy into their next tournament being the EURO 2008. Donadoni’s side would enter the tournament without Totti and Nesta as one of the favorites to win it. Italy would succumb to Spain in a penalty shootout despite being the only team not to concede against them in the entire Championships as Pirlo was suspended for that game.
Lippi would return to coach Italy and take them into the Confederations cup where their performance would be dependent on Pirlo again. Having set up Rossi following a beautiful trick to score against the Americans, Italy would go out of the 2009 Confederations Cup in the group stage.
The 2010 World Cup set up the stage that portrayed the dependence of Italy on Pirlo who was injured on the eve of the World Cup and would feature only in the last group game. Having lost Buffon to injury in the first game against Paraguay, Italy were in shackles and Lippi’s side couldn’t surpass the group stage.
Despite coming on in the end and providing Italy with that lost spark, the Mozart couldn’t overturn a deficit and help Lippi’s side progress. Prandelli replaced Lippi and a year later Pirlo who was struggling with injuries, moved to Juventus. Galliani and Allegri did not value him that much and a move to rivals Juventus suited the Old Lady and the veteran midfielder as he was back playing his best football helping the Turin side win their first Scudetto in the Conte’s first season.
Pirlo would inspire Italy to the final in the 2012 European Championships before they would be defeated by Spain. After having won a consecutive Scudetto with the most coveted team in Italy, Pirlo would return to score on his 100th appearance in the 2013 Confederations Cup group game helping Italy secure 3rd place.
Italy’s success in the new millennium has truly been astonishing. They have created records, won the World Cup and achieved a lot of success in the European Championships. Although, it can be noted that this monumental feat was achieved as Italy had some of their finest players in their history. It is astonishing that Italy’s success is mostly due to the reliance on Pirlo.
He has been their most important player in every competition they have participated in. While Juventus seem to have found a way to get their game going without Pirlo, Italy have never done well without him. However, it would be far-fetched to call their performances as a one man show. Pirlo offers a lot to the team on the field and off the field. He is a player who will bring that extra rush in adrenalin, a player whose ambition to win motivates others in the dressing room.
A player whose creativity has no limits and one who can literally change the game on his own. The most notable feature is that he brings the best out of everyone he plays alongside. Consider the case of Balotelli, a player who wasn’t that much of a threat while playing for Manchester City and hasn’t been that intimidating in a Milan jersey but quite the opposite and very lethal for the national team. Balotelli isn’t the only player to produce such contradicting results. In the striking department, all of Italy’s attackers scored a goal in the 2006 World Cup.
The likes of Toni and Gilardino haven’t been that consistent at club level while the latter seems a different player altogether when he plays for the Azzurri. The surprising case of Roma’s Daniele De Rossi who has been magnificent at international level but has never reached the same levels for the Gialorossi. Montolivo and Giaccherini are other recent notable examples. It is safe to conclude that the presence of Pirlo raises the standard of individuals in the team and his absence will lead to the failing dreadfully.
Some might say Italy’s success in the 2006 world cup was due to the presence of a strong defense which wouldn’t be wrong entirely as they conceded only 2 goals(one of them being an own goal). Maldini’s retirement after the 2002 World Cup didn’t seem to be of too much of a problem looking at their defensive record in 2006. Italy did well to cope up with the loss of a legend such as Paolo Maldini.
As time passed by, Italy would play without the likes of Totti, Del Piero, Cannavaro, Nesta and Gattuso. At the beginning of this decade none of them would be a part of the national team but Italy would continue to succeed. Performances on the road to the major tournaments and in the major tournaments have clearly demonstrated that the Azzuri have succeeded without the fore mentioned legendary figures. There are only 4 players from the team that became the Champions of the world and all the four are very important to the present national team.
While Barzagli and Buffon cannot help the team to score, De Rossi and Pirlo can. It is fair to say that Pirlo is the most precious player of the present Italian line. It is fair to conclude that Pirlo has been the most decisive player of his generation.
Italy have had the privilege of magnificent strikers such as Baggio, Rossi, Riva and Meazza. Baggio had won many games on his own for the national team. The former Ballon D’or winner who blossomed at the end of the 1990 World Cup, truly set up a show in the 1994 World Cup. Having missed the penalty in the final and leaving Juventus a year later, Baggio would never really match the same standards of his game.
Towards the end of the decade, Italy had managed to be successful without him as they had abundance of talent in the attacking department amongst the likes of Inzaghi, Del Piero, Vieri and Totti. Baggio’s predecessor Rossi had been very significant for the Azzurri scoring a hat trick against Brazil and winning the 1982 World Cup. The 1982 Ballon D’or winner was very reliable when he played for his country. There were doubts on his successor and whether Italy could succeed without him. The 4 time World Cup champions reached the semi-finals of the 1988 European Championships and secured 3rd place while hosting the succeeding world cup.
The likes of Vialli and Baggio had blossomed towards the end of the decade. Luigi Riva is the all-time top scorer of Italy, a record that stands till date. Along with Sandro Mazzola, Luigi Riva would help Italy win the 1968 European Championships and reach the final of the 1970 World Cup before losing to Brazil. However, the succeeding world cup would be his last as Italy were eliminated from the group stages of the tournament. Paolo Rossi would breakthrough towards the end of the decade for Italy.
From the unfortunate Superga air disaster till the revelation of players such as Rivera and Mazzola, Italy struggled a lot in the international stage. Rivera and Mazzola who were later joined by Luigi Riva would be a part of a great Italian team. Sandro Mazzola’s father Valentino Mazzola was one of the members of the Superga air disaster. Valentino Mazzola would play very few games for the national team but would have a successful career with Torino. Going a decade back before the 2nd World war, the greatest player in the world- Giusseppe Meazza had won back to back World Cups with Italy. The Nerazzurri legend was inspirational in leading the Azzuri to consecutive triumphs scoring 33 goals in his international career.
While the likes of Riva, Rossi and Baggio were truly inspirational in a couple of major tournaments they featured in, Pirlo has been Italy’s most important player into every tournament he has stepped into. As the European Championships came in only later, Meazza could be a part of only the two world cups he featured in, notching close to half the number of appearances Pirlo has had for the national team. On the defensive aspect, Italy have always had two to three world class defenders in their starting line up Right from Sandro Salvadore to Scirea followed by Baresi and Maldini, Italy have never had the shortage of defenders in their team. Notable midfield figures such as Tardelli and Bruno Conti played for a team whose limelight was cast and stolen by the likes of Rossi. With all due respect and in all due fairness, no one has been as consistently decisive as the Juventus midfield general has been, in every tournament starting from the youth championships to the World Cup.
Football has evolved a lot from when it started. The game has evolved from the traditional way of the keeper hoisting the ball ahead to the goalkeeper having an important role to possess the ability to pass from the back and distribute to other players in the pitch. Pirlo has changed the style from the long associated catenaccio style of football to a much entertaining beautiful passing football. It was necessary to make a change from high tempo based play to a much slower tempo, patient way of playing the game as a team.
Pirlo is one player who imparts sense to everyone who plays alongside him apart from the confidence he elevates in them while playing the game. Italy would have easily gone out in the penalty shootout against England and lacked confidence when they were trailing and the “Professor” calmly chipped the ball over Joe Hart to win the penalty shootout. What happened after that was a rise in the confidence of every Italian who took the penalty while the nervousness in every Englishman who took one.
That is what Pirlo can do, change the game silently without anyone giving him the major credit. We have all lost count of the number of passes he averages every game, involving every player in the game. We have stopped counting the number of ways he can assist or score from set pieces. Right from uniquely making a short pass to placing the ball towards goal, Pirlo has multiple dimensions in his set pieces. He has been able to efficiently make key passes with both his feet.>
He is the player who intimidates every opponent while taking the pressure of most of his team mates. It is easy to suggest a tactic as to stop Pirlo from running the game and Italy will stop playing the game. Lacking pace and vulnerable to counter attacks and getting caught on the ball on some occasions, it is astonishing in the way Pirlo will use the player who marks him as a puppet making him run all over the field, taking him to undesirable and ridiculous areas of the pitch. He isn’t a player who will just score goals or just give assists or just make passes. He is a player who will run the game to help his team win it.
There have been very few players in the history of football who relieve the pressure of defenders by keeping the possession of the ball, giving key passes that lead to a goal and combining all the above characteristics to dictate the tempo of the game.
Pirlo will head into the World Cup in Brazil aged 35. He will continue to enter his last major tournament for the Italian National Team as their most important player. He will be the difference that will win you the game and the tournament eventually. He has been very consistent for the Italians in his long span of international career. He has had the same impact on Italy as the likes of Pele, Maradona and Zidane had on their countries and being successful without him would take a very long time for Italy. Pirlo has been the most decisive player that the Italian national team has ever had.
Honours with the National team
UEFA European Under 21 Championships 2000: Winner
Summer Olympics 2004: Bronze Medal
FIFA World Cup 2006: Winner
UEFA European Championships 2012: Runner up
FIFA Confederations Cup 2013: 3rd place
Statistics
1. Italy have won an astounding figure of close to 60% of their games that Andrea Pirlo has featured in and drawing 25% of their games while losing in only 15% of their games.
2. Prior to beating Uruguay in a 3rd place penalty shootout in the 2013 Confederations Cup, Italy had never registered a win in any game without Andrea Pirlo at every major tournament since the 2002 World Cup.
3. Andrea Pirlo has the 5th highest appearances for the Italian National team
4. If Andrea Pirlo plays against England in this year’s World Cup, he will be the 7th oldest Italian to represent the nation at any major tournament.
5. Pirlo has been a part of each of the Italian National Team’s set up right from the under 15 team to the world cup winning team of 2006.
