The Modern Day Stars Inspired by Andrea Pirlo
By Max Haley
Andrea Pirlo is possibly the coolest footballer ever. Equally as cool on as off the pitch he played FIFA before World Cup finals and Panenka'd penalties in International tournaments.
Pirlo had an iconic, unique style of play that saw him win almost everything possible during his career, including a World Cup and two Champions Leagues.
Very few players can be honestly compared to the Italian but there are some in today's game who have clearly based their game off the legendary midfielder. Here are five players inspired by Pirlo.
1. Marco Verratti
Marco Verratti has been compared to Pirlo since he came through the youth academy at Pescara. Since then he has moved to Paris Saint-Germain and become a key part of their push to be one of the biggest teams in world football.
Back in 2015, Carlo Ancelotti argued that Verratti had 'all the qualities' needed to be Pirlo's successor for Italy, but he did admit that the PSG man took a few too many risks. If the Italian could hone in some of his aggression he could be Italy's star man for another few years yet.
2. Frenkie de Jong
Pirlo himself picked out de Jong as the most similar player to him in the current world of football.
The Italian told Radio Bianconera back in 2019: "The only one who can look like me may be De Jong".
The Dutch midfielder tore the Champions League apart with Ajax on their famous run to the semi-finals in the 2018-19 season, leading to his €75m move to Barcelona.
Whether de Jong fulfils his potential as a Pirlo reincarnated, it is too soon to tell, but he is certainly on the right track.
3. Miralem Pjanic
In 2019, when Pirlo name-checked de Jong as the most similar player to himself, he also mentioned Miralem Pjanic.
The Bosnian played against Pirlo a number of times when he was at Roma before moving to Juventus a year after the Italian left for New York.
Pjanic's ability to drop deep into midfield and pick out attackers with long, sweeping passes is reminiscent of Pirlo and something the Bianconeri would have certainly identified in the recruitment process.
4. Sandro Tonali
Since the first day Sandro Tonali came through at Brescia, he has been compared to Pirlo, who also came through at the northern Italian club. Like Pirlo, Tonali has long dark hair and an incredible passing range.
Both players, however, have tried to play down the similarities.
The Juventus manager told Nicolo De Devitiis (via La Gazzetta dello Sport): "In my opinion, as a type of footballer he doesn't look like me, he looks more like me with his long hair and for the fact that he plays in Brescia."
Pirlo also called Tonali a more complete player than himself, while the 20-year-old claims to have taken more influence from Gennaro Gattuso.
"I consider myself more like Gattuso, but more technical," he told RAI Sport.
5. Jorginho
Jorginho has built a reputation of being a bit of a luxury player in Chelsea's midfield. He recycles the ball marvellously well and he can completely dominate a game when he is at his best, but if he isn't he can be a total passenger.
Pirlo had this trait too, the difference with him is that he had the ability to play a killer pass from anywhere on the pitch, something Jorginho lacks.
If Jorginho can develop his game a little bit more to include the passing range that Pirlo had, he'll be the next best thing that Italy could hope for.