Brescia, Inter Milan and Reggina 1992–2001: Early years and realisation of role Pirlo was born in
Flero in the province of
Brescia. He began his career with the Flero youth team, later moving to Voluntas, and subsequently joined the youth sector of local club
Brescia in 1992, where he initially played predominantly as a supporting forward. In
1995, at the age of 16, Pirlo made his
Serie A debut for Brescia against
Reggiana, on 21 May, becoming Brescia's youngest player to make an appearance in Serie A. He was promoted by his coach
Mircea Lucescu. The following season, he did not appear with the senior team, although he was able to capture the
Torneo di Viareggio with the youth team. He scored his first goal in Serie A during the
1997–98 season, in a 4–0 home win over
Vicenza on 19 October 1997. Due to his performances with Brescia, Pirlo was spotted by
Inter Milan and signed in the summer of 1998, reuniting with former Brescia coach Lucescu in his first season when the Romanian replaced
Luigi Simoni in December. Pirlo was unable to break into the first squad permanently, however, and Inter finished eighth in the
1998–99 Serie A campaign. Inter loaned Pirlo to Reggina for the
1999–2000 season, alongside fellow youngster
Mohamed Kallon. After an impressive season, As Baggio occupied the
attacking midfield role for Brescia, manager
Carlo Mazzone made a ground-breaking decision, becoming the first coach to deploy Pirlo as a
deep-lying playmaker, rather than as an offensive midfielder, a deeper creative role in which he particularly excelled, due to his long passing ability. Despite initially struggling against relegation that season, Brescia would eventually manage a comfortable seventh-place finish in Serie A, also reaching the
Coppa Italia quarter-finals, qualifying for the
2001 Intertoto Cup. A notable moment in Pirlo's Brescia career was his long pass which assisted Baggio's late equaliser against
Juventus at the
Stadio delle Alpi, on 1 April 2001.
AC Milan 2001–2004: Domestic and European success After three seasons on the Inter books, Pirlo was sold to rivals
AC Milan for 33 billion
Italian lire (€17,043,078) on 30 June 2001, the last day of the 2000–01 financial year. The transfer fee was partially funded by the movement of
Dražen Brnčić in the opposite direction for an undisclosed fee. In the same window Inter swapped
Cristian Brocchi (25 billion lire; €12.9 million) for
Guly (undisclosed fee; €8.537 million profit) and
Matteo Bogani for
Paolo Ginestra. The deals were later reported by the Italian press to have been undertaken to create "false profit" by inflating the players' values in the transfer fees in the swap deal. The exchange involving Ginestra and Bogani created an approximate €3.5 million "profit" for both clubs, but this actually manifested itself in terms of useless registration rights. It was at Milan, in particular under manager
Carlo Ancelotti, where Pirlo made big strides in developing into a world class player, and one of the best
deep-lying playmakers and set-piece specialists in the world, as he went on to achieve notable domestic and international success during his time with the club. Pirlo later recalled the period he has spent in Milan with Ancelotti: "He changed my career, putting me in front of the defence. We shared some unforgettable moments. We had a magnificent past together." After Mazzone's pioneering decision to move Pirlo into a deep-seated playmaking role with Brescia during the previous season, Milan managers
Fatih Terim and, in particular, Carlo Ancelotti further developed this role for him at Milan. which allowed him to play alongside other talented attacking midfielders, such as
Rivaldo,
Rui Costa and eventually
Kaká, replacing the gap left by Milan legend
Demetrio Albertini in the deep midfield playmaking role. He would become an integral part of the Rossoneri's midfield, forming a formidable partnership with
Gennaro Gattuso, as well as with
Clarence Seedorf and
Massimo Ambrosini, who also supported his playmaking role defensively. Pirlo was given the nickname
the metronome during his time at the club, for the way in which he set the team's rhythm. Pirlo made his Milan debut on 20 September 2001, in a 2–0 win over
BATE Borisov in the
UEFA Cup, after coming on for
Massimo Donati. During his
first season with the club, he helped the team to a fourth-place finish
UEFA Champions League qualification spot, also reaching the semi-final of the
UEFA Cup, the club's best ever result in the competition. On 30 March 2002, he scored his first goal with Milan in a 3–1 home win over
Parma, from a
free kick. celebrating after defeating
Juventus 3–2 on penalties to win the
2002–03 UEFA Champions League Pirlo led Serie A in the
2002–03 season in four categories – passes played (2589), ball possession (123 hours played and 39 minutes), successful balls (661), and successful passes (2093); he averaged almost 90 passes per game throughout the season. During this season, his second with the club, he also managed a career-best of 9 goals in Serie A, as Milan finished the league in third place, also winning the
Coppa Italia over
Roma, and the
UEFA Champions League, beating out Italian rivals and 2003 Serie A champions Juventus in the
final 3–2 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw after extra-time. The following season saw Pirlo win the
2003 UEFA Super Cup with Milan over
Porto, although the Rossoneri lost to Juventus on penalties in the
2003 Supercoppa Italiana following a 1–1 draw after extra time; during the match, Pirlo scored on a penalty in extra time, and once again in the shoot-out. Milan would also miss out on the
2003 Intercontinental Cup, losing out on penalties once again, to
Boca Juniors, following a 1–1 draw after extra-time; on this occasion, Pirlo missed his penalty in the shoot-out, after previously setting up Milan's opening goal of the match. Pirlo would celebrate winning his first Serie A title with Milan during the
2003–04 season however, following up the scudetto with the
2004 Supercoppa Italiana over
Lazio.
2004–2006: Struggles Milan finished as runners-up in Serie A to Juventus in the
2004–05 season. In the
2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Pirlo finished as one of the second-highest assist providers with four assists, as he helped Milan to reach the final. In the
2005 UEFA Champions League final against
Liverpool, on 25 May, Pirlo assisted
Paolo Maldini's opening goal, after 50 seconds, from a free kick, and combined with Kaká before the Brazilian unleashed
Hernán Crespo with a long pass for Milan's third goal before halftime. In the second half, however, Liverpool made a three-goal comeback, sending the match into extra time. After a 3–3 deadlock, the match went to penalties, and Milan were defeated by the English team in the shoot-out. Despite Pirlo's performance throughout the competition and in the final, Pirlo had missed his penalty kick during the shoot-out in the final when it was saved by
Jerzy Dudek. Pirlo would later state in his autobiography that the 2005 UEFA Champions League final defeat on penalties was the worst moment of his career, and that he had considered retiring prematurely following the match. The following season, Milan once again finished in second place behind Juventus in
Serie A (before their 30-point deduction due to their involvement in the
2006 Calciopoli scandal), also reaching the semi-finals of the
UEFA Champions League, only to be defeated by eventual champions,
Barcelona, and the quarter-finals of the
Coppa Italia. In 2006, Pirlo placed 9th in the
Ballon d'Or, which was won by his Italy teammate
Fabio Cannavaro, and was elected to the 2006
FIFPro World XI. In the
2007 UEFA Champions League final in Athens, Pirlo assisted
Inzaghi's first goal from a free kick, helping Milan to defeat Liverpool 2–1, avenging their 2005 final defeat in Istanbul. During the
2007–08 season, Pirlo won his second
UEFA Super Cup with Milan, assisting Milan's second goal in the final, and winning the
Man of the Match award; he also contributed to the club's first ever
FIFA Club World Cup title in
2007, once again setting-up Milan's second goal in the
final. In October 2007, he was nominated for the
2007 Ballon d'Or, the
2007 FIFA World Player of the Year, and the 2007
International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS)
World's Best Playmaker Awards, but they were all won by Milan teammate Kaká, as Pirlo placed 5th in the Ballon d'or, 7th in the FIFA World Player of the Year, and 2nd in the World's Best Playmaker Awards. Despite a strong start, Milan suffered a dip in form during the second half of the season, finishing the league in fifth place, failing to qualify for the
UEFA Champions League; Milan also suffered eliminations in the round of 16 of the
UEFA Champions League and the
Coppa Italia that season. The following season, Milan managed a second-place finish in
Serie A, alongside Juventus, and behind local rivals Inter, while they were eliminated in the round of 32 of the
UEFA Cup,
2009–2011: Second Scudetto and farewell , preparing to take a free kick against
Real Madrid in the
2010–11 UEFA Champions League After Kaká and Ancelotti left Milan in the summer of 2009, On 5 August, club owner
Silvio Berlusconi decided not to sell Pirlo, who said he was overjoyed and wanted to end his career at Milan. On 21 October 2009, Pirlo scored a notable 30-metre goal in Milan's 3–2 win over
Real Madrid in the
UEFA Champions League; Milan were eventually eliminated in the round of 16. Milan finished the season with a 3rd place in
Serie A, and a quarter-final finish in the
Coppa Italia under new manager
Leonardo. The following season saw Milan dominate the league. Milan played host to
Genoa on 25 September 2010, with Pirlo providing a lifted ball over the top of the defence to set striker
Zlatan Ibrahimović free to score the solitary goal of the game. On 2 October, Pirlo scored a 40-yard goal against Parma to give Milan their first away win of the
2010–11 season. On 14 May 2011, Pirlo appeared in his last match for Milan, coming on as a half-time substitute for Ambrosini as the club celebrated their
Serie A title with a 4–1 victory over Cagliari. Four days later, Pirlo confirmed that he would be leaving Milan at the end of the 2010–11 season, after a mutual decision not to renew his contract. In his last season in Milan, Pirlo appeared in the league just 17 times under manager
Massimiliano Allegri, registering one goal and three assists. He won his second Serie A title with Milan that season, and also reached the round of 16 in the
UEFA Champions League as well as the semi-final stage in the
Coppa Italia. In total with Milan, Pirlo made 401 appearances, scoring 41 goals. With the club, he won two Serie A titles in 2004 and 2011, as well as two
UEFA Champions League titles in 2003 and 2007, also reaching the final in 2005; he also won a
Coppa Italia in 2003, a
Supercoppa Italiana in 2004, and two
UEFA Super Cups in 2003 and 2007, as well as playing a key role in Milan's first ever FIFA Club World Cup title in 2007. During this period, Milan also finished as runners up in Serie A in the 2004–05 and the 2005–06 seasons, as well as finishing second on penalties in the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana, and in the 2003 Intercontinental Cup. His debut with Juventus was in a friendly match against
Sporting CP, which they lost 2–1. His first competitive match with Juventus was the
2011–12 Serie A opening match against Parma at home, in which he tallied two assists, for
Stephan Lichtsteiner and
Claudio Marchisio – the former of which was the first ever goal in the Juventus Stadium –, and completed 110 passes in a 4–1 victory.
Antonio Conte played him alongside younger midfielders Marchisio and new signing
Arturo Vidal in a three-man midfield, which allowed Pirlo to function creatively as a deep-lying playmaker, while Marchisio and Vidal supported him defensively. Pirlo's first goal for Juventus was a free kick against
Catania on 18 February 2012 securing a 3–1 victory for Juventus and put the club back at the top of the Serie A table, above his former club Milan. On 18 March, Pirlo scored in a 5–0 demolition of
Fiorentina and after the game dedicated the win to
Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest playing for
Bolton Wanderers during a match against
Tottenham Hotspur the same day. Pirlo finished the season by winning the 2011–12 Serie A title, after helping Juventus to secure a 2–0 victory over
Cagliari. He provided the most assists in the Serie A that season, with 13, and he also found the back of the net three times in the league. Due to his performances throughout the season, and his key role in leading Juventus to their first Serie A title in nine years, he was named in the
Serie A Team of the Year, along with his Juventus midfielder partner Vidal. Pirlo and Juventus also finished runners up to
Napoli in the
Coppa Italia final that season. Pirlo's fine form in the 2011–12 season, in which he led Juventus to the league title, the
Supercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia final, as well as leading
Italy to the final of
Euro 2012, saw him nominated for the 2012
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, in which he finished 4th. He curled in a free kick to seal a 2–0 defeat of Parma on the opening day of the new Serie A season. The goal caused much controversy, as the Parma players protested that it had not gone over the line, and replays proved inconclusive. In the following league match against
Udinese on 2 September, Pirlo helped to win a penalty and assisted
Sebastian Giovinco's second goal of the match, as Juventus went on to defeat the home team 4–1. On 29 September, Pirlo opened the scoring when he dispatched a trade mark free kick to send Juventus on their way to a 4–1 defeat of Roma. Pirlo was nominated for the
2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, along with Juventus and Italy teammate
Gianluigi Buffon, following their performances throughout the calendar year. Pirlo provided three assists for Juventus during the group stage, helping them to top their
group undefeated and advance to the knockout stages for first time since the 2008–09 tournament. Pirlo was also elected the 2012
Serie A Footballer of the Year, as well as the best midfielder of the season, also winning the 2012
Guerin d'Oro. He was named as part of the 2012 Serie A team of the Year for his performances. as well as placing fourth in the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker of the Year Award, and seventh in the FIFA Ballon d'Or. Pirlo and Juventus retained their Serie A title that season. Juventus were, however, eliminated by
Bayern Munich in the quarter finals of the
UEFA Champions League, and in the semi-finals of the
Coppa Italia by Lazio; both of these teams were the winners of these respective competitions. Pirlo featured in Juventus's 4–0 win against Lazio in the
2013 Supercoppa Italiana on 18 August 2013 at the
Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Pirlo helped to create
Paul Pogba's opening goal in the twenty-third minute of play. Pirlo was the only Italian player to be nominated for the
2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and was also nominated for the 2013 FIFPro World XI. On 1 December, Pirlo sustained a knee ligament injury which would keep him off the field for over a month. On 12 January 2014, Pirlo signed a new contract with Juventus, which will keep him at the club until 2016. On 27 January, Pirlo was named Serie A Footballer of the Year for a second consecutive time, and was once again included in the Serie A Team of the Year. Juventus won their
30th league title that season with a record 102 points and 33 victories; this was also their third consecutive title since Pirlo's arrival. Juventus also reached the quarter-finals of the
Coppa Italia, losing out to Roma. The Turin club suffered a group stage elimination in the
UEFA Champions League but managed a semi-final finish in the
UEFA Europa League, losing out to
Benfica, with Pirlo scoring a match-winning goal from a free kick in the round of 16 against Fiorentina. Pirlo was chosen to be part of the 2013–14 Europa League Team of the Season, for his performances in the competition.
2014–2015: UEFA Champions League final and departure On 11 June 2014, Pirlo signed a new contract keeping him at Juventus until 2016. Pirlo made his 100th league appearance for Juventus in a 3–2 home win over Roma on 5 October 2014. On 1 November, Pirlo scored Juventus's opening goal from a free kick in a 2–0 win over
Empoli, on their 117th anniversary; this was his 26th goal from a free kick in Serie A, putting him two goals behind the all-time record holder,
Siniša Mihajlović. On 4 November, Pirlo scored once again from a trademark, curling direct free kick in a 3–2 home win over
Olympiacos in a group-stage
UEFA Champions League fixture. This was Pirlo's 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, marking the occasion with his first UEFA Champions League goal with Juventus. On 15 December 2014, Pirlo was named the Serie A Footballer of the Year for the third time in his career, and for the third consecutive year since his arrival at Juventus; he was also named part of the 2014 Serie A Team of the Year. In Juventus's 2–1 home victory over
Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, on 24 February 2015, Pirlo left the pitch during the first half of the match, after injuring his right calf, ruling him out for three weeks. Pirlo was called up on 11 April 2015 against Parma following his injury. He returned to the starting line-up on 14 April 2015, helping
Álvaro Morata to win a penalty which was later converted by Vidal in a 1–0 victory over
Monaco at the
Juventus Stadium, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals; he was replaced by
Andrea Barzagli during the second half. On 26 April, Pirlo scored from a free kick in a 2–1 away defeat to local rivals
Torino in the "
Derby di Torino"; this was his 28th goal in Serie A from a free kick, which put him level with Mihajlović as the player with the most goals from free kicks in
Serie A history. On 20 May, Pirlo played a part in both of Juventus's goals as the Turin club defeated Lazio 2–1 at the Stadio Olimpico in the
2015 Coppa Italia final. On 6 June 2015, Pirlo played the entirety of the
2015 UEFA Champions League final as Juventus were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona at Berlin's
Olympiastadion; this was the final game of his Juventus career. Pirlo was named in the
2014–15 UEFA Champions League Squad of the season for his performances. In total, he made 164 appearances for Juventus in all competitions, scoring 19 goals (15 of which were scored from free kicks), also providing 39 assists; 31 of his goals came in Serie A, from 119 appearances. During his four seasons in
Turin, he won four Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, and two Supercoppe Italiane, also reaching the fourth UEFA Champions League final of his career during his final season with the club. Over 20 seasons in Italy, he made 493 appearances in
Serie A. With 101 assists in the Italian top flight, he is also the
fifth–highest assist provider in Serie A history, behind
Francesco Totti, Roberto Baggio,
Alessandro Del Piero, and Gianni Rivera.
New York City FC in 2017
2015: Playoff disappointment On 6 July 2015, it was announced that Pirlo had completed a move to
Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise
New York City FC as their third
Designated Player. In doing so, he became the highest paid Italian player in all leagues with an $8 million salary, until
Graziano Pellè overtook him after moving to Chinese club
Shandong Luneng the following year. Pirlo made his debut with the club on 26 July 2015 at
Yankee Stadium in New York against
Orlando City, coming on as a substitute in the 56th minute; he was involved in his team's third and fourth goals and was booked in the 88th minute as New York won the match 5–3. He made his first start for New York on 1 August, in a 3–2 home defeat to the
Montreal Impact. On 12 August, it was announced that Pirlo had placed seventh in the
2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe. In October 2015, Pirlo was shortlisted for the
2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or. He finished the
2015 MLS season with 5 assists in 13 appearances, and ended up third in the MLS in minutes per pass, although he failed to score a goal. Despite the presence of Pirlo and two other UEFA Champions League winners, David Villa and
Frank Lampard, New York City failed to qualify for the
2015 MLS Cup Playoffs at the conclusion of their debut season, which drew criticism from the press; Pirlo in particular drew criticism from the media for his low defensive work-rate. In November, Pirlo became the first MLS player in history to be nominated for the FIFPro World XI.
2016: All-Star designation Pirlo made his first assist of the
2016 MLS season on 30 April, as he set up a goal for David Villa from a corner in a 3–2 home win over the
Vancouver Whitecaps. On 18 June, he scored his first MLS goal from a free kick in the 50th minute of a 3–2 home victory over
Philadelphia. In July 2016, Pirlo was included in the roster for the
2016 MLS All-Star Game. Pirlo finished his second MLS season with the club with one goal and a team seasonal best of eleven assists in 32 appearances, He was ruled out of the first leg, however, after sustaining a last-minute calf injury, and New York lost the match 2–0 away to
Toronto. He appeared in the second leg on 6 November, as New York were eliminated from the Playoffs 7–0 on aggregate, following a 5–0 home defeat to Toronto.
2017: Retirement After struggling with persisting physical problems for most of the
2017 MLS season, on 8 October 2017, Pirlo announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of the season; in total, he was limited to only 15 appearances and two assists during the 2017 MLS regular season. In total, Pirlo made 62 appearances for New York – 60 of which came in the MLS regular season, with the other two coming in the MLS Cup Playoffs – over the course of his three seasons with the club, scoring one goal and providing 18 assists, all of which came during the MLS regular season. A testimonial match –
La Notte del Maestro – was played at the San Siro Stadium in Milan on 21 May 2018, in honour of Pirlo's retirement from professional football. ==International career==