Andrea Pirlo

AC Milan's everytihng in midfield, his skills and longrange goals are excellent; he Pirlo playing for Milan!

Andrea Pirlo (born May 19, 1979), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He currently plays for A.C. Milan, as well as the Italy national team. Pirlo was an important key figure of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Pirlo may look languid but his vision, passing, and set-piece skills have drawn comparisons with the great Roberto Baggio. He is known to many fans as the Maestro because of his talent for setting up plays.
Pirlo was born in Flero, Brescia. His father owns two ironworks. His brother Ivan plays for a Serie C2 club in Brescia.
He played for Brescia (1994-98 and 2001), Internazionale (1998-99 and 2000), Reggina (1999-2000), and AC Milan (2001-). With Milan, he won one Scudetto and two Champions League titles. He also won an Italian Cup and a UEFA Super Cup with Milan in 2003. For Italy, Pirlo played at the 2000 Summer Olympics, won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, played at the Euro 2004, and won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In his younger days, Pirlo captained Italy to an Under-21 European Championship in 2000.
Pirlo is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world. An accurate passer, he started his career as an offensive midfielder until coach Carlo Ancelotti developped a tailor made deep-seated playmaking role at AC Milan. At Milan the game is focused around his ability to dictate play and control the game's tempo. His lack of physical stature for a defensive midfielder is compensated by his technique. In defense, he provides important cover yet he engages in very few physical challenges. At Milan, Ancelotti likes to field him alongside physically robust players like Gennaro Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini and Clarence Seedorf. A dead ball specialist, Pirlo is the first choice taker of corner and free kicks. In the 2005-2006 season Pirlo scored four times from free-kicks, matching the previous record (three times by Demetrio Albertini and two by Frank Rijkaard).

Milan
19 May 1979
Source: Wikipedia