Andrea Pirlo and his passes that shaped history

A statistical view of Pirlo and his passing ability

Italy v Croatia - Group C: UEFA EURO 2012

1. In Milan's 2002-03 Serie A season, Pirlo finished as the leader in four categories: passes played (2589), ball possession (123 hours played and 39 minutes), successful balls (661), and successful passes (2093).
2. Pirlo was involved in a gameplay leading to a goal in 5 major finals at club level.
3. In Juventus's 2011-12 Serie A winning campaign, Pirlo provided the most assists(13), created 100 chances and completed the highest number of passes(2643).
4. Pirlo attempted 580 passes at the 2006 world cup tournament and completed 475 of them. He ended up being voted as the third best player of the tournament.
5. Italy won the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 against England 4-2 on penalties. Pirlo made 131 passes in the game which was the second most in the history of the European championship.

Pirlo aka 'il professore' aka 'l'architetto' aka 'Maestro' aka 'Mozart' was a unique talent and it will be long before we get to see someone like him. Sitting in the centre of the park, Pirlo was an artist who painted a ravishing picture every game, using 21 brushes.

The world of football will forever remain in awe of what he has achieved in his magnificent career.

“I don’t feel pressure … I don’t give a toss about it. I spent the afternoon of Sunday, 9 July, 2006 in Berlin sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening, I went out and won the World Cup." - Andrea Pirlo