lo zio
International
- 24 October 2005
- Team
- Palermo
Re: Serie A Thread - 2010/11 Season
it was most definitely allegri's decision... and it was a tactical decision, wich had nothing to do with pirlo's age (despite what berlusconi says). pirlo is 32 years old and he's a regista, wich means he still has about 3 more years of football (at this level) ahead of him. registi usually play till they're 36\37 and at 34 years old they usually still perform almost on the same standards they used to play when they were on their peak (just think of corini and liverani, to mention a couple of examples).
in his last 2-3 seasons with milan, everyone forgot about pirlo. he wasn't delivering as he used to, so most people thought he was washed up. i've talked about pirlo with lots of people over the years (on this forum and with my friends) and almost nobody shared my opinion on him (infact i believe u were the only one who had my same opinion about pirlo, zeem
).
i used to say always the same things... that milan had no off the ball movement and that was the only reason of pirlo's uninspired performances. i also used to remark that pirlo was by all means "not old at all" (at least for the position he plays in), as he's just 6 months older than xavi (who's been on insanely high standards over the last seasons). i always got the very same answer "yeah but look at xavi! he's amazing, while pirlo is just not the same player he used to be".
at this point i used to reply "yeah, but that's because milan is not the same team it used to be.... have xavi and pirlo swap clubs for a few months and u'll see pirlo performing like he used to in his prime (and xavi will most likely become the shadow of his former-barça-self)". but i guess my arguments were just not convincing enough.
anyway this season proved me right, as pirlo is now performing on an even higher standard than xavi. now, if i was able to see that in pirlo, then there's no way allegri didn't. i'm absolutely sure allegri was perfectly aware of what pirlo could still do.... allegri is just too good to have missed something that a layman like myself realised.
the thing is allegri had different plans for milan. people say he likes to work with a muscular midfield, but i'm not entirely sure that's the case. sure this milan midfield is pretty muscular, but his cagliari midfield was more about talent than about strenght (besides conti, who is a regista, used to be the cornerstone of cagliari's midfield under allegri, didn't he?!).
i'm more inclined to believe that the defenestration of pirlo from milan was the simple conclusion allegri drew from milan's recent history. he probably realised that a player like pirlo was just not fitting for this milan. and since u can't have a player like pirlo demoted to a backup (he's not just a world class player, he's along with xavi THE best player in the world in his role... besides his wage clearely makes it impossible to have him as a backup), allegri realised he had no other choice than letting him go.
the real question now is... was it a mistake by allegri to let him go?
the other question (is pirlo still a God?) already got his proper answer from pirlo himself this season. but the simple fact that right now pirlo is playing on the very same standard of 2006 doesn't necessarily mean allegri made a mistake.
and since so far i've been gloating about the whole "i was right about pirlo all theese years", i think it's only fair if i admit i was one of those who thought allegri was doing a huge mistake by getting rid of pirlo.
but fact proved me wrong, as milan is doing great without pirlo. allegri found a balance milan missed since ancelotti's glorious days and it's pretty obvious that this current midfield configuration plays a big role in this new balance.
one might still argue "yeah but still, by letting juve snatch pirlo for free, allegri strenghtened a rival"... wich is undenyably true.... but then again, that was an inevitable consequence, as there are only a handful of clubs which can afford a player like pirlo and they're all top clubs (and therefore, milan's rivals).
so i guess it's a win-win situation. milan is finally back on track and pirlo is showing the world his magic back again.
edit: i just realised there's gonna be a huge clash between milan and juve tomorrow in the coppa italia semifinal!!! now isn't that a nice unexpected surprise!!
it was most definitely allegri's decision... and it was a tactical decision, wich had nothing to do with pirlo's age (despite what berlusconi says). pirlo is 32 years old and he's a regista, wich means he still has about 3 more years of football (at this level) ahead of him. registi usually play till they're 36\37 and at 34 years old they usually still perform almost on the same standards they used to play when they were on their peak (just think of corini and liverani, to mention a couple of examples).
in his last 2-3 seasons with milan, everyone forgot about pirlo. he wasn't delivering as he used to, so most people thought he was washed up. i've talked about pirlo with lots of people over the years (on this forum and with my friends) and almost nobody shared my opinion on him (infact i believe u were the only one who had my same opinion about pirlo, zeem
).i used to say always the same things... that milan had no off the ball movement and that was the only reason of pirlo's uninspired performances. i also used to remark that pirlo was by all means "not old at all" (at least for the position he plays in), as he's just 6 months older than xavi (who's been on insanely high standards over the last seasons). i always got the very same answer "yeah but look at xavi! he's amazing, while pirlo is just not the same player he used to be".
at this point i used to reply "yeah, but that's because milan is not the same team it used to be.... have xavi and pirlo swap clubs for a few months and u'll see pirlo performing like he used to in his prime (and xavi will most likely become the shadow of his former-barça-self)". but i guess my arguments were just not convincing enough.
anyway this season proved me right, as pirlo is now performing on an even higher standard than xavi. now, if i was able to see that in pirlo, then there's no way allegri didn't. i'm absolutely sure allegri was perfectly aware of what pirlo could still do.... allegri is just too good to have missed something that a layman like myself realised.
the thing is allegri had different plans for milan. people say he likes to work with a muscular midfield, but i'm not entirely sure that's the case. sure this milan midfield is pretty muscular, but his cagliari midfield was more about talent than about strenght (besides conti, who is a regista, used to be the cornerstone of cagliari's midfield under allegri, didn't he?!).
i'm more inclined to believe that the defenestration of pirlo from milan was the simple conclusion allegri drew from milan's recent history. he probably realised that a player like pirlo was just not fitting for this milan. and since u can't have a player like pirlo demoted to a backup (he's not just a world class player, he's along with xavi THE best player in the world in his role... besides his wage clearely makes it impossible to have him as a backup), allegri realised he had no other choice than letting him go.
the real question now is... was it a mistake by allegri to let him go?
the other question (is pirlo still a God?) already got his proper answer from pirlo himself this season. but the simple fact that right now pirlo is playing on the very same standard of 2006 doesn't necessarily mean allegri made a mistake.
and since so far i've been gloating about the whole "i was right about pirlo all theese years", i think it's only fair if i admit i was one of those who thought allegri was doing a huge mistake by getting rid of pirlo.
but fact proved me wrong, as milan is doing great without pirlo. allegri found a balance milan missed since ancelotti's glorious days and it's pretty obvious that this current midfield configuration plays a big role in this new balance.
one might still argue "yeah but still, by letting juve snatch pirlo for free, allegri strenghtened a rival"... wich is undenyably true.... but then again, that was an inevitable consequence, as there are only a handful of clubs which can afford a player like pirlo and they're all top clubs (and therefore, milan's rivals).
so i guess it's a win-win situation. milan is finally back on track and pirlo is showing the world his magic back again.
edit: i just realised there's gonna be a huge clash between milan and juve tomorrow in the coppa italia semifinal!!! now isn't that a nice unexpected surprise!!
Last edited:
Seriously tho, this italian team is looks pretty awful. Maybe Prandelli can have them playing amazing collectively, but individually its just not up to the usual standard. I mean Buffon still on goal, Barzagli as first choice CB, no obvious out-and-out striker
Preferably the Netherlands of course, but if they get eliminated, and Italy is still in I will cheer for them. 
i got the feeling i already read a very similar comment... infact i believe "someone" on this very thread made that remark about a year ago, when pirlo was about to leave.... 
) > Peruzzi > Toldo = Van der Saar > Pagliuca > Marchegianni
Perfect example vs Napoli, was perfect up till the point where he gets assraped by Cavani sans vaseline (not even sure he can sit straight after that)... and then in the next game vs Palermo he was rubbish again (needs to be flogged after that). Very frustrating.