No Pirlo No Party
Pirlo reminds us all that he's in New York to play football, not hang up his boots.
Struggling near the bottom of the table, the inaugural season of New York City FC hasn’t gone quite to plan. After making a number of big name signings over the past year — including proven world class talent such as David Villa, Frank Lampard, and Andrea Pirlo — it looks as if they won’t even make the playoffs (for those unfamiliar with American sports, the playoffs were invented to reward mid-table mediocrity with a chance to win it all).
Still, the addition of three international legends hasn’t been all for naught. The poor results of the side have been more due to defensive ineptitude rather than a failure to score goals and play flowing, attacking football. As a matter of fact, David Villa is actually third in the league in goals.
With Pirlo’s recent arrival this attacking play should only improve, as Villa now has at his disposal one of the most precise pair of passing feet a football has ever become acquainted with. This was displayed no better than in their match Thursday, when the 36 year old Italian maestro recorded his first MLS assist through a lovely ball that reminded us all what genius looks like.
Pirlo’s assist last night, unreal vision. pic.twitter.com/1srSaxmloK
— Soccer St. (@SoccerSt_) August 14, 2015
Long searching passes with pinpoint accuracy. Absolute calmness and elegance on the ball. Efficient movement and intelligent positioning off it. Oh, and who could forget his aptitude for taking free kicks? Class never dies — and Pirlo is, above all, class personified. The way Pirlo plays, he could continue until he’s 50 and still maintain his level of quality. Passes like the one above remind us of this fact. What ‘L’architetto’ has done throughout his entire career has been to obtain maximum outcomes from minimal efforts, and that certainly won’t stop now. Make no mistake — Andrea Pirlo isn’t in New York to collect and an easy paycheck, pose for the cameras, and put his feet up. No, Pirlo is in the MLS to continue doing what he’s always done. And that is to, as he himself said best, “think, therefore play” beautiful football. Class never dies. Long live Pirlo.
