sure...especially since we can use that spot and international spot on perhaps another starting XI type player
Andrea Pirlo [Midfielder]
- Thread starter Falastur
- Start date
sure...especially since we can use that spot and international spot on perhaps another starting XI type player
I attended my first game last year only to see Pirlo. I'm now a season ticket holder who attends every match, buys the gear and brings friends. People that aren't following closely don't know how much Pirlo has slipped and for that reason, he's still a draw.
But the losing cannot continue. New Yorkers are accustomed to winning (at least for some franchises) and anything less will not be accepted with or without Pirlo. But you have to give him a soft landing. Help him find an exit ramp and set the stage for a graceful exit. Whatever good will is salvaged can be leveraged for PR. As for the next DP, consider another Italian who better fits our style of play and isn't pushing retirement. New York and New Jersey have the largest concentrations of Italians and Italian-Americans in the country. Keep tapping into them.
But the losing cannot continue. New Yorkers are accustomed to winning (at least for some franchises) and anything less will not be accepted with or without Pirlo. But you have to give him a soft landing. Help him find an exit ramp and set the stage for a graceful exit. Whatever good will is salvaged can be leveraged for PR. As for the next DP, consider another Italian who better fits our style of play and isn't pushing retirement. New York and New Jersey have the largest concentrations of Italians and Italian-Americans in the country. Keep tapping into them.
The Italians had their chance and blew it. Sign Lewandowski or I drop my tickets.
I don't know... Giovinco seems to be working out... I wouldn't lump them all into the Pirlo bucket. But I'll admit I'm biased. Last name ends in a vowel and I have dual citizenship.
Giovinco and Donadoni have been great. The rest have been flubs save for Pirlo being a marketing coup. Hell, Nicola Caricola is the sole reason Metro/RB are cursed. They'll never win an MLS Cup because of his own goal.
Edit- rethought the last part and Metro/RB being eternally cursed should be seen as a massive success.
This is all anyone needs to know about Pirlo's time at NYC.
Another poster mentioned that out of nowhere his assist rate went down when he came to NYC. I think it was mgarbowski.
So one of two things happened:
1) Pirlo got really old, really quick and was suddenly ineffective or
2) his new teammates at NYC were not nearly as talented as his old teammates on his Italian club team.
Likely a combination of the two initially but I'm not sure he's giving his best at this point either.
1. If he sucks for us because his teammates can't provide the elevated play he requires the bottom line is still sucks for us and is a bad fit. If he's still so great let some world class team in a world class league take him off our hands so he can perform to the level he would revert to with adequate teammates.
2. Amazingly, while the finishers on NYCFC suck compared to Serie A, the MLS defenders are apparently just as good as Serie A, keeping our crappy finishers from finishing Andrea's perfect passes.
3. Khiry bloody freaking Shelton gets 1.89 times as many assists as Pirlo per 90 minutes with the same pathetic teammates. But it's not Pirlo's fault. He's an Italian legend. It's his teammates' fault. Pirlo's teammates are actively sabotaging him.
4. Pirlo's goals are at 17% of his prior career rate. But it's not his fault because his teammates suck and bend time and space to prevent his free kicks from going within 10 feet of the goal. If he were still in Italy he'd have had easily a half dozen free kick goals with superior teammates using their mind powers to put his kicks on frame.
5. Villa's Assists are at 94% of his prior rate (compared to Pirlo 77%). Villa's goals are at 117% of his prior rate per minute. That's just like Pirlo. Oh wait. It's not. It 100 points higher! Must be that inadequate teammates help players who come from La Liga but hurt those from Serie A. Or maybe MLS is better than La Liga.
6 Maxi is getting assists at 161% of his prior rate and goals at 107%. It is a team-wide conspiracy holding Pirlo back, in which his teammates pretend to suck only when he passes the ball.
Andrea Pirlo
He's not old. He's Italian. He's just as good as ever. That's all anyone needs to know. Really.
Just ignore all the fucking evidence.
Last edited:
Really enjoyed this post, solid stats as always. Random thought experiment, if Prilo was born in Finland and looked like Ring, no beard, no long hair, no most interesting man in the world PR nonsense, no hyper obsessive worldwide national team fan base. Let's say he even plays for the same pro teams with the same results. Is he viewed the same way, with the same level of prestige?
His prestige really has nothing to do with his nationality, or his hair or beard. He has an obsessive national team fan base for a reason and not all Italians enjoy that. It's just regrettable that his level of play here has not lived up to even reasonable expectations.
The weakness in option #2 is that MLS being a salary-capped league is full of untalented players compared to the talents Pirlo was used to play alongside in Serie A. But those pedestrian journeymen are on par with the defenders who are marking them in front of goal, so that should not affect the brilliant pass to goal ratio that would turn that brilliant pass into an assist. And then when you have 2-3 really dangerous unnecessary turnovers per game, there's a chance THOSE are going to become your assists... for the opposing team. That's where we are right now.
Totally eviscerated him. Beyond savage.
I know. It was so thorough and scathing that even I had trouble liking it.
PV: "the fans that criticize what Pirlo brings to the team do not know how to watch a game."
[i made that up]
As with everything, time catches up with everyone.
No shame for Pirlo as it's clear he doesnt have the legs anymore and in a league like MLS its more than important.
He has had a tremendous career and its time to go into the sunset and enjoy the net part of his life.
No shame for Pirlo as it's clear he doesnt have the legs anymore and in a league like MLS its more than important.
He has had a tremendous career and its time to go into the sunset and enjoy the net part of his life.
I owe mgarbowski an apology.
He spent all that time RECKING me but I should have made it clear that Option #1 was not sarcasm on my part.
It may be just that; that Pirlo is a mere shell of his former self and has been a burden to the team since his arrival.
And to anyone implying he was never a world class player and it's his beard, Italy mania etc.
You're a crazy person. You need a hug.
I wasn't trying to imply that he wasn't a world class player in any way, the guy has a resume that makes that irrefutable. I'm thankful to have gotten the chance to watch him in person. But I do think there is a hype that surrounds him that's well beyond even his considerable on field accomplishments. At this point I think the Pirlo lore is not helping this end well. The best example are free kicks in and around the box. Can the guy sky balls over goal and drill them off of walls indefinitely without any chance of shifting some of those opportunities back to Villa?
Almost 2 goals per game better without il maestro
That's 85% of 2. Or 100% of almost two, like T Tom in Fairfield CT said.
