Andrea Pirlo

Born in 1979 in Flero, Italy.

Originally a classic offensive midfielder who played close behind the strikers, he became a superstar when Milan Manager Carlo Ancelotti developed the position of deep lying playmaker exclusively for him.

With Milan he has won almost everything possible domestically and internationally, including 2 Champions League Titles, 2 European Super Cups, and a FIFA Club World Cup.

He has played for Italy’s Under 15, 18, 21 National teams and of course the senior national team, with which he won the ultimate trophy, the World Cup in 2006. Trust me, I have the DVD.

At Milan, his teammates have nicknamed him the Metronome because of the way he dictates the rhythm of the match. For Italy, he is the “Architect” for his role in constructing goals.

Why he’s great

Not as slick as Cristiano Ronaldo or as quick as Leo Messi, no midfielder relies more on quick thinking than Andrea Pirlo. In our opinion, no player in the last 20 years or so has done so as well. No sooner does he receive the ball from a defender than his head pops up, his foot swings in a smooth, almost effortless motion and suddenly the other team is on their back foot. From this position, he is known to launch a ball which lands precisely on the foot of a teammate 50 yards or more away. But he is also smart enough to lay the ball off to a defender when Italy or Milan has the lead. The way he dictates the tempo of a match is absolutely clinical.

A master of the free kick assist, we have not seen a player find his teammates in the middle of a crowded box off a corner this well since Diego Maradona. He can put it at the right height, drop it between defenders, or strike it with pace and accuracy to a teammate making a run from afar.

While watching my favorite player of the last 10 years run the midfield in a match Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia today I had a thought. Andrea Pirlo is the most valuable player in the World. Why? 2 Pirlo Corner kicks, 2 Italian goals. Victory in a very important match and 3 points that could change Italy’s fortunes. As if we needed proof, he showed once again that Italy won’t win without him. Is there any other way to measure a player’s value?

Enjoy the games!

Andrea Pirlo

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Gooooooooooooal!  Amazon has adidas World Cup 2010 Official Match Soccer Balls on sale for $99.98  this week.

It’s nice to finally see these on sale. More soccer balls on sale at Amazon. No sales tax for most of you.

Can you believe it??? Qualifying for 2012 begins in just a few days! Because we’re almost breathless with anticipation, let us tell you about 3 of the traditional powehouses to keep your eye on (though for different reasons) in the next, oh, 2 years or so…

Italy – Yes, we’ll start with them. After all, no nation has more to prove. Shockingly, the Azzurri have not won a competitive match in more than a year. Their disastrous exit from the World Cup in South Africa was a sign that the squad must get younger, and old school Italian football tactics must change with the times. Enter new Manager Cesare Prandelli. With fans from Palermo to Milan clamoring for change, the new boss has his eye on youth. In their opener against Estonia on September 2, the man charged with righting the ship has called up 4 players who haver worn the gorgeous blue kit, something former chief Marcello Lippi would never do. Prandelli likes to attack and he’ll have plenty of options there like Cassano and Balotelli, but Italy must improve defensively to have any chance to do well this time around. Players like Bonnucci, Santon, Cassani and Molinaro must show that they are worthy replacements for the departed defensive superstars. And Prandelli must show that he understands the international game. IF they can do this, Italy will have a chance to win tournaments in the future.

Germany – No team was more entertaining in the recent World Cup. And but for a silly refereeing decision which left Tomas Muller out of the semifianl against Spain, perhaps Germany hoists the cup in place of the Iberians. Having said that, the Mannschaft look poised to be at the top of the footballing world for years to come. Manager Joachim Loew is fast becoming a hero in his homeland. The man who instructs his players to shorten the amount of time they hold on to the ball, keeping it constant motion, and away from the opposition, is also becoming known as a great football brain. He bravely brought youngsters like 20 year old Muller and 21 year old Mesut Ozil and gave them starring roles in the action in South Africa. The man clearly has no fear and makes Germany one of the favorites to lift the European Cup in 2012. Their quest to do so begins on September 3 against Belgium.

France – Being proud Italians, we have to thank the French. After all, France’s absolutely tragic performance on and off the pitch at World Cup 2010 took a bit of the spotlight off of our own team’s ugly performance. A headline from the Telegraph read “France’s World Cup team refused to train today in protest against Nicolas Anelka’s expulsion from the squad.” There was dissension, a coach in denial, and awful, awful football from a nation known for great football in the recent past. It got so bad that the French Football Federation held a hearing after the tournament which resulted in International play bans being handed out to players like Anelka (19 games), Patric Evra (5 games), and Franck Ribery (3 games). The team scored only 1 goal and earned only a single point from 3 matches in the tournament. So what’s next for the French? Things can only get better of course. France has plenty of talent and needs to start to using it to get their house in order. New Manager Laurent Blanc is a no nonsense guy, and his first move should be to exclude all of the players from the 2010 team to start getting rid of the stench. In our opinion, that is their only hope.

Enjoy the games!

Jerrito

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From time to time throughout the season (unless Fish gets distracted by a Caprese Salad or something) we’ll be highlighting some of the world’s greatest football clubs. Today we’ll be featuring the current Heavyweight Football Champion of the World (yes, me made that title up), Barcelona…

Barcelona FC

- The club was founded in 1899 by a group of football players from Spain, England and Switzerland.

- Their Club motto is “mas que un club” which means more than a club. And it’s true. They are also well known for fielding good teams in basketball, handball and even roller hockey!

- Only 3 La Liga clubs have never been relegated in their history. Barcelona is one of them.

- The club’s long list of accomplishments includes 20 La Liga titles, 25 Spanish Cups, and 9 Spanish Super Cups.

- Only Spanish winner of the Treble, which consists of La Liga, The Champions’ League, and Copa Del Rey. To this they added the Fifa Club World Cup, European SuperCup and Spanish SuperCup, becoming the first team in the history of the sport to win 6 titles in a single season!

- The club is the second richest in the world (behind rival Real Madrid) with an annual take of about 350 million Euros.

- The football club has become a shining symbol of Catalonia and the proud Catalan culture.

- There are over 1,300 Barcelona FC Fan Clubs around the world.

- The club play their home matches at the Camp Nou. Built in 1957, it has a capacity just shy of 99,000.

- A list of great footballers to don the Barcelona jersey would fill up a few pages. It would certainly include players like Kubala, Luis Suarez, Kocsis, Maradona, Ronaldo, Cruyff, Schuster, Lineker, Stoichkov, Rivaldo and many more…

- Our prediction for the current Barcelona squad is probably not surprising to those of you who follow football closely. The club, their fans, and many experts expect big things again this year. With Coach Pep Guardiola again leading the way and the addition of World Class striker David Villa to a roster which already includes superstars Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Dani Alves, how can anyone expect less? To repeat a season in which they won 6 titles will be tough of course, but more championships are almost sure to come to this ultra talented, attractive football playing side.
Enjoy the Games!

Jerrito

Maradona where are you? Remember Zanetti and Cambiasso? Well, they have been recalled for Argentina’s next friendly  match against World Cup Champions Spain on September 7.

Maradona, left both off of his World Cup Squad in South Africa and it cost his nation dearly. The Inter pair dominated at their position in Serie A last year. Oh yeah, for those of that didn’t know Maradona was given the boot after the world cup. I wonder how well Diego Maradona sleeps at night knowing he left these guys (and many others) at home this summer.

From time to time throughout the season (unless we get distracted by a pretty girl or something) we’ll be highlighting some of the world’s greatest football clubs. In no particular order, we’ll start with perhaps the game’s most accomplished club of all…

Real Madrid

- Founded in 1902. They are one of the founding members of soccer’s governing body – the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA).

- Most successful club in the history of Spanish Football and FIFA has voted them the most successful of the entire 20th century!

- The world’s richest club, Real Madrid has about 400 million Euros in annual revenue.

- Winner of 31 Spanish League Championships.

- winner of 9 UEFA Champions League titles (between the best club teams in all of Europe). No team has won as many. They have reached the semi-finals of the tournament a stunning 21 times.

- Winner of 3 Intercontinental Cups (between the winner of the European and South American Club Championships.)

- The “Real” in their name means Royal, and is a designation given to them by the King of Spain in 1920, hence the crown in their team emblem.

- Though Atletico Madrid is their crosstown enemy, their real rival (for titles and hearts) is Barcelona. Some of the greatest football in recent history has been played in the match between them called “el Clasico”.

- Real play their home matches in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (named after a former president of the club who was responsible for it’s creation). It was built in 1947 and rebuilt after the Spanish Civil War. The stadium has a capacity of about 80,000.

- The list of great players to don the Real Madrid jersey is too lengthy to print here, but it includes Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Emilio Butragueno, Hugo Sanchez, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Santillana and recently both Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Kaka.

- The list of big name Real managers is also long. Fabio Capello, Miguel Munoz, Vicente Del Bosque, Guus Hiddink, Carlos Queiroz are just a few of football’s household names who have coached them.

- As usual, their roster this year includes a bevy of superstars like Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, Carvalho, Diarra, Xabi Alonso, and more. Their World Class goalkeeper, Iker Casillas is back and the team look strong on paper. Lately though, their star studded lineups have had to bow down to the superior technicality and consistency of the likes of Leo Messi and Xavi of Barcelona. Will this be the year that Real manages to get the most out of their superstars? Stay tuned…

Enjoy the games!
Jerrito