Andrea Pirlo

Who is Andrea Pirlo?

Andrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Juventus and the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as a leading exponent of this position. Although not gifted with pace, physicality or notable defensive or tackling abilities, Pirlo has been praised for his touch, technique, control, dribbling, incredible vision, inventive play and accurate passing ability. He is also a free kick and penalty-kick specialist, who is known for his long distance shooting and passing. Fellow players on the Italian national team gave him the nickname l'architetto, because his long passes frequently set up goal-scoring opportunities. In recent years, Juventus fans also dubbed him il professore and Mozart, as a reference to the Austrian composer's prodigious ability.

Pirlo is the fourth-most capped player in the history of the Italian national team, along with Dino Zoff, with 112 caps.