Here are some facts you need to know about Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo (Full Name – Andrea Pirlo Ufficiale) is a former Italian mid-fielder born on 19 May 1979 in Flero, Italy. His father’s name is Luigi Pirlo and mother is Livia Pirlo. He has a brother – Ivan Pirlo and a sister – Silvia Pirlo.
Childhood
Andrea Pirlo was a football protégé. He used to play with his brother and friends on the sand in the seaside resort Viareggio in Tuscany, where his family went for holidays.
He and his team, Voluntas Brescia U15s, participated in the 1992 ‘Dana Cup’ and made it to the semi-finals before being knocked out.
Career
At the age of 16, Andrea Pirlo was first signed by Brescia and played his first Serie A game against Reggiana on May 21, 1995. His game made an impression on the Inter Milan coach Mircea Lucescu, who brought him into his squad.
However, Inter briefly loaned him to Reggina for the 1999-2000 season, which turned out to be an impressive outing. In the next season, he was loaned out yet again and this time to his former club Brescia. There, he played beside his childhood idol Roberto Baggio.
Pirlo was bought by A.C. Milan from Inter and debuted for the team on September 20, 2001 against the Belarusian team ‘BATE Borisov’ in the UEFA Cup. He served as a central midfielder for Milan for the next decade, winning as many titles he could. He appeared for the club in 401 matches and scored 41 goals.
In 2011, he left Milan after coming to a mutual decision with the club. He joined Juventus on a free transfer and debuted in Serie A with a 4-1 victory against Parma. He brought four Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and a Coppa Italia to the club. He played in 164 matches for them and scored 19 goals.
In 2015, he signed with ‘New York City FC’, a team that is part of ‘Major League Soccer’.
Andrea captained Italy U21 team in the 2000 European Championship, earning both the best player and the top scorer awards. He was in Italy’s 2000 and 2004 squadrons to Summer Olympic Games, winning the Bronze medal at the latter edition. At the age of 23, he debuted at the senior level in a 2-0 win against Azerbaijan.
In 2006 FIFA World Cup final, he went to a penalty shoot-out and was the first to take a spot-kick from the Italian side, successfully converting it into a goal. Italy would win the match and become World Champion after 24 years. Pirlo was named the ‘Man of the Match’ for both semi-final and final matches.
He served as the vice-captain to captain Gianluigi Buffon in the 2012 Euro Cup. He announced his international retirement after the 2014 World Cup.
Awards & Achievements
- 1X FIFA WORLD CUP
- 2X UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
- 6X SERIE A
- 2X COPPA ITALIA
- 3X ITALIAN SUPER CUP
- 1X FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
- 1X EUROPEAN UNDER-21
- 1X ITALIENISCHER ZWEITLIGAMEISTER
- 1X VIAREGGIO
- 2X UEFA SUPERCUP
Personal Life
Andrea Pirlo married Deborah Roversi in 2001. They have two children together; their son Niccolo was born in 2003 and daughter Angela was born in 2006.
The couple divorced in 2014 after 13 years of marriage. It was later reported that Pirlo had an affair with the real-estate agent Valentina Baldini whom he had met at his golf club.