Soccer creates the cruelest of dynamics. On the one hand, the softness of the foot marks the difference between the good and the very good. On the other hand, the sport demands more cardiovascular fitness than meets the eye. Thus, our heroes age before our very eyes, but in subtle ways. Box-to-box midfielders become holding midfielders. Dynamic forwards digress into target men. Players that once glided along ice soon slump through swamps. The aging gazelles gasp as younger and sleeker cheetahs zip by them. AC Milan is a microcosm of this.
For all his brilliant passing, when was the last time Dinho took the ball at the halfway line and sprinted past three defenders? Gattuso now leaves his feet out of desperation and frustration, not intimidation. And Andrea Pirlo? A player who never relied on athletic prowess. Well, let’s take a look….
So what should we make from Pirlo’s golazo?
Well, at the emotional level, pure joy. He struck his shot like a pre-divorce Tiger Woods’ swing. While some players run to a game’s external rhythm and accelerate at key moments, Pirlo has always reminded me of a staccato laden soloist. In his heyday, Andrea worked the ball out of the back with aplomb, zipping around his own box and completing five yard passes until opposing forwards capitulated. But in the opposing end, his passes often fooled cameramen and caught the eye off guard. While some may confuse a slide rule pass for cunning, Pirlo’s use of eyes, head, and hips to wrongfoot an entire defensive back line (and fool a few of his own teammates) always took my breath away.
But still, the temptation for great players is to latch onto sporadic moments of brilliance to justify our previously held judgments. Everybody screams “return to form”, but then four games pass with giveaways, misplaced passes, and a home loss to cross-city rival.
2004 was the last time Milan lifted the scudetto. Nobody can take away the joyous moments when Pirlo & Gattuso were the most formidable midfield pair in Europe and the World, but this cruelest of sport has left us sitting on the couch, waiting. We cling to these moments almost as much for their brilliance as for the memories they inspire, but in this cruelest of sports, the ball keeps rolling…..
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This was a great strike. What I find to be interesting is that there seems to be less of the soft touch midfielders being made these days. Part of that is probably due to the pace and physicality of the game. I think Alex Ferguson has a good idea going at Manchester United. You won’t find many passers of the ball better than Paul Scholes. How do you prolong his career? Well give him a Darren Fletcher to do the box to box patrolling. It has worked pretty well these last few seasons. Pirlo is in a class all his own. He is one of the last few left at his level. I throw Scholes, Seedorf, and Xavi in this category as simply above all else in terms of moving the ball around at their own pace. Still capable of performing the unbelievable but just as often as our fond memories would like.
Great article as always Elliot!
Brandon,
Glad you liked it! I do enjoy the passing wizardry of Xavi, although his work rate and preference for short passes really puts him more in the box-to-box mold than Pirlo. For my money, Riquelme is the closest player of class, what with their deep lying playmakery. And, sadly, as you tweeted they are a dying breed…