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#5 Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo is one of the greatest deep-lying playmakers in the history of the game. He was a part of the Italian Team that lifted the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was the man of the match of the final Match against France and was the top assist provider of the tournament.
He started his professional career at Brescia and won the Serie B there. He next moved to Internazionale, however, since he was unable to break into the team, he was loaned back to Brescia, and it was here that he was first deployed in the deep-lying playmaker role. Ahead of the 2001/02 season, Pirlo joined AC Milan and became one of the greatest deep-lying playmakers of the world. He spent 10 seasons there, winning the Serie A title twice, two UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, FIFA Club World Club, Supercoppa Italiana, and the Coppa Italia.
In the summer of 2011, Pirlo joined Juventus on a free transfer and won the Serie A title in each of his 4 seasons at Turin. He also won the Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana and was a huge hit with the Old Lady. After the end of his contract with Juventus, Pirlo joined MLS side New York City and at the end of the 2017 season, Pirlo retired from Football.
In 2014, Pirlo revealed that he had almost followed his mentor Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea in 2009, but in the end decided to stay at Milan. Had the Architect made the move to Stamford Bridge, he certainly would have lit up the Premier League.
