Andrea Pirlo: Staking His Claim

By: chris | November 26th, 2007

Earlier in the week Gianni Rivera made a splash in Italy by saying that Andrea Pirlo is just as good as Kaka, which was met with muffled chuckles from some. Now, I’m fully in the camp of not needing to have a globe-spanning moment of silence every time one of history’s greats waxes lyrical or opens their mouth, last time I checked you don’t exactly have to be Da Vinci to play football (numero uno on that list is Pele, whose brain obviously isn’t connected to his feet). But Rivera, a former Ballon D’Or winner himself, brings up a great point which I and many other fans of Serie A mirror, even taking it to the next level at times: Andrea Pirlo is just as good as Kaka. I’ll add my bit: Pirlo is exponentially more consistent than Kaka, and more important to Milan than Kaka.

And before it goes further, this is nothing against Kaka. Seemingly a great person, a fantastic talent and one of the best players in the world at only 25 years old. I’m a fan and so is Rivera.

If you watched the Cagliari - Milan game this weekend, you probably noticed three major happenings in the second half: Alberto Gilardino taking a lucky ricochet and drawing the game level, Kaka missing a penalty kick, and Andrea Pirlo scoring one of the best free kicks you’ll see this season as time was running down (video below). What you also may have noticed is Kaka showing flashes, the sexiness, the speed, but doing so only in spots, not on a consistent basis. In fact, the most dynamic player on the pitch wasn’t Kaka but youngster Pasquale Foggia of the Sardinians. Ultimately the game and system were being run through Andrea Pirlo, easily the greatest playmaker in the world today. (Line them up, it’s not even close.)

When it comes to talent, Pirlo can’t hold Kaka’s jock. Andrea isn’t all that fast, he can’t dribble through a minefield, he’s not physical, his shot isn’t reminiscent of a war machine, and he can defend about as well as I can (not that Kaka is all that wonderful in that department). What he can do is drop a pass on the foot of a striker from 50 yards away with a blindfold on, strike a ball with the utmost accuracy, thread the ball through a ball-sized gap, score some jaw-dropping free kicks, and find the perfect spot on the pitch to organize the offense from. He is the conductor, the virtuoso. Most importantly, all of it coming on a consistent basis. The key to the Milan offense and the Italian national team offense. His play is what makes those teams run. And part of what makes Kaka as good as he is. (Yes, Kaka scores goals, but of his 7 in Serie A this season, 4 have been penalties. Of the remaining 3 in open play, 2 were orchestrated by Pirlo.)

Kaka will win the Ballon D’Or in a week or so based largely on his stellar Champions League CV, despite the fact that he was rather pedestrian as far as stars - not to mention Golden Ball winners - go in Serie A last term. Disappearing from games far too often to be considered the best player in the world. Ask most Milan fans who the most important player on their team is and they’ll say Pirlo, or Maldini (the foundation of which is deeply grounded in utter devotion and loyalty - and bravo). Ask most Serie A fans who the best player was and it’s Francesco Totti, hands down. Ask them who the best foreigner in the league was, another award Kaka is up for, and they’ll probably say Zlatan, and they’re right. Ask any Azzurri fan where they’d be with Pirlo, and they’d say home, watching the Euros from their couches with Ingerland. Or where they would have been in Germany without Andrea, the Bronze Ball Award winner as the 3rd best player in the tournament, and they’ll probably say watching the final as an unbiased observer. Give Kaka a truth serum (or maybe it’s not needed) and ask him where he’d be without Pirlo, and he’d say watching the Ballon D’Or acceptance speech from the audience, not giving it from the podium.

Our own Milan blogger, Gianfranco, feels the exact same way:

Kaka tends to fade in and out of matches and does not always have the constant impact that is asked of truly world class players. There are players on Milan, such as Pirlo, who have way more touches and playmaking duties than Kaka will ever have.

I still believe Kaka will deservedly be called the best player in the world some day, but not right now. Not when he isn’t even the best and most important player on his own team.

The best player in the world? Pele got it right the first time.

The goal:

Milan-Cagliari 2-1 Pirlo le génie
Uploaded by cris2800