Andrea Pirlo was born on May 19, 1979, in Flero, Italy. After spending most of his schoolboy days as a youth player with Brescia, he made his first team debut for them against Reggina at the age of just 16.
The midfielder captained Italy to victory in the European Under-21 Championships in 2000, winning the Golden Player and Top Scorer awards.
On 30 June, 2001, Pirlo joined AC Milan from local rivals Inter for a fee 18 million. It was a move that would that kickstart his career at the highest level.
During his ten seasons at the San Siro, Pirlo scored 41 goals in 401 appearances.
His trophy cabinet from that spell boasted winners medals in the Champions League (twice), Coppa Italia, UEFA Super Cup (twice), Serie A (twice) and the FIFA Club World Cup.
In 2011 he joined Juventus, after Milan inexplicably let him go. In four seasons at Juventus the midfielder won four Serie A titles, as well as two Italian Super Cups. In the summer of 2015, aged 36, he started a new phase of his career in the MLS, signing for New York City. He made 60 appearances over two seasons with the club, where he eventually retired from professional football.
He was nicknamed "The Architect" and " The Professor" during a fabulous career for club and country. Both tags are in honour of his intelligence and creativity.
Following his retirement, Pirlo was appointed as head coach of Juventus in 2020. He led the club to the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana finals in his debut season, before being dismissed in 2021.
At international level Pirlo was the top assist maker at the 2006 World Cup, where he inspired Italy to an unforgettable triumph. Unsurprisingly he was named in the official team of the tournament.
Pirlo also won three man of the match awards for Italy en route to a second-place finish at Euro 2012.
