Was Andreas Pirlo underrated?

[Gio]

I don't think so - he's fairly recognised. Mostly because did a lot of his best work in front of the huge audiences of major international tournaments and the Champions League.

I'd say he was always just a "little bit" overrated amongst many. He had a great ball and good vision but so did other players. Remember Park being all over him in that 4 0 hammering. Don't think he would cut it in the Prem though

He was miles ahead of any English midfielder when the two countries met in 2012 and 2014. He would have strolled the Premier League in the same way he bossed the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012.

 

[led_scholes]

Pirlo, Scholes, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Carrick etc are players that in the recent years have been praised for their endeavours during their later career. In contrary with players like Gerrard, who depended more on their physical aspect in their game, these players were able to perform in the highest level up until their mid 30s, because of their vision and good understanding of the game. Just to clarify, I am not claiming that for example Carrick was better than Gerrard overall of course.
Then when some people saw these players playing at the highest level in their 30s, they developed a misconception that these players in their 20s were the greatest thing ever. Fact is that a 32 years old Pirlo or Xavi were better than their 22 years old selves.

 

[André Dominguez]

No.
[/close thread]

 

[mariachi-19]

No he didn't. Scholes got replaced big Giggs. Was on the bench in the 2009 final aged 33 where as Pirlo was starting in the CL final at that age

Aye, we’ll completely ignore 2008 then...

 

[Pink Moon]

Extremely underrated before the England game. Extremely overrated after the England game.

He was never anywhere close to Xavi's levels but towards the end of his career it seemed more and more debates about who was better were cropping up.

 

[Mickson]

Underrated in his prime, slightly overrated towards the twilight of his career.

Paul Scholes-esque.

 

[Based Adnan]

He was overrated after that England game imo. Probably underrated prior to that.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

No...thread

 

[harms]

When always talking about great players I feel Pirlo's name is forgotten or not mentioned. Just looking at this video made me realize how amazing was he and how didn't big clubs like Real or Barca or even United ever try to sign him. Or how did Ac Milan let him go for free.

Pep tried to sign him for Barca. Not sure if it would've worked out well though.

Incredible player, although a player that required a team well-suited to his strengths and weaknesses. Absolutely magnificent performance in 2006 — and a great resurgence at Juventus after everyone thought that he was done.

 

[RedRonaldo]

I rate him among top 5 or 6 midfielder I've ever seen playing:

Zidane, Xavi, Iniesta, Pirlo, Scholes, De Bruyne

 

[giorno]

Fact is that a 32 years old Pirlo or Xavi were better than their 22 years old selves.

True. Also 27 year old Pirlo or Xavi were the two best midfielders of the last 20 years

 

[Stacks]

Aye, we’ll completely ignore 2008 then...

He played half the season and got subbed off in the CL final! 1st half of the season Scholes was injured. He only played 1800 mins in the league which is equivalent of 20 games.

We were fine with or without him because our front 3 was basically a better version of Liverpool's today and our defence was beastly. He played 1st 2 CL games then missed the remaining 4 group games. He played in the 2nd round draw vs Lyon and was on the bench for the return leg. He played in the 1st quarter final game vs Roma and was benched for the return leg.

For once in our history, midfield was not as crucial. The current Liverpool team is kinda similar.

The arguments in this thread could be made about Scholes as well but I don't really want to go into the whole legend/mythology of Paul debate again as there are pages and pages of it as it is a contentious topic and very emotive for some.

 

[justboy68]

AC Milan's midfield of Pirlo, Gattuso, Kaka was quality. I don't think he was really underrated, everyone recognised him as one of the best midfielders in the world around 05/06.

 

[Handré1990]

Underrated in his prime, slightly overrated towards the twilight of his career.

Sometimes one post is all you need

 

[Stacks]

AC Milan's midfield of Pirlo, Gattuso, Kaka was quality. I don't think he was really underrated, everyone recognised him as one of the best midfielders in the world around 05/06.

Was regarded one of the key figures to Italy world cup win

 

[norm87cro]

He played half the season and got subbed off in the CL final! 1st half of the season Scholes was injured. He only played 1800 mins in the league which is equivalent of 20 games.

We were fine with or without him because our front 3 was basically a better version of Liverpool's today and our defence was beastly. He played 1st 2 CL games then missed the remaining 4 group games. He played in the 2nd round draw vs Lyon and was on the bench for the return leg. He played in the 1st quarter final game vs Roma and was benched for the return leg.

For once in our history, midfield was not as crucial. The current Liverpool team is kinda similar.

The arguments in this thread could be made about Scholes as well but I don't really want to go into the whole legend/mythology of Paul debate again as there are pages and pages of it as it is a contentious topic and very emotive for some.

Yeah Paul's season way not that great but he still scored that screamer against Barca didn't he?

 

[Stacks]

Yeah Paul's season way not that great but he still scored that screamer against Barca didn't he?

Indeed he did. He is the type of player you can use sparingly and he will deliver quality when called upon. one of Scholes' best strengths

 

[Irwin99]

It wasn't just the game against England in 2012, he was fantastic the whole tournament. He was the one player I felt really sorry for in the final where they lost to Spain in the final. Also i think he was voted in the team of the tournament for Italy's 2006 world cup win.

 

[VeevaVee]

The real wonder is why he's always looked well in to his 30s.

 

[billybee99]

He played half the season and got subbed off in the CL final! 1st half of the season Scholes was injured. He only played 1800 mins in the league which is equivalent of 20 games.

We were fine with or without him because our front 3 was basically a better version of Liverpool's today and our defence was beastly. He played 1st 2 CL games then missed the remaining 4 group games. He played in the 2nd round draw vs Lyon and was on the bench for the return leg. He played in the 1st quarter final game vs Roma and was benched for the return leg.

For once in our history, midfield was not as crucial. The current Liverpool team is kinda similar.

The arguments in this thread could be made about Scholes as well but I don't really want to go into the whole legend/mythology of Paul debate again as there are pages and pages of it as it is a contentious topic and very emotive for some.

Gee...What a surprise. I was wondering how long it would take for stacks to come into this thread to slam Paul Scholes; it's his favorite pastime. He does it every single time someone compliments Scholes in a thread. You call yourself a United fan? Pathetic. P.S. - you conveniently left out Scholes' game winning goal against Barca in the UCL semi final but that's to be expected because it doesn't fit your agenda.

 

[SlimDizzle075]

When always talking about great players I feel Pirlo's name is forgotten or not mentioned. Just looking at this video made me realize how amazing was he and how didn't big clubs like Real or Barca or even United ever try to sign him. Or how did Ac Milan let him go for free.

How much do you all rate him?

I feel like he was properly rated.

 

[devilish]

Actually I think he's slightly overrated. I like Pirlo. He was central to Italy winning the WC etc. However let's forget that

a- Unlike Scholes, Pirlo was an average forward. His move in midfield saved his career
b- he never really had to work his socks off or defend. That was done by others including Vidal and Gattuso, the latter being severely underrated especially on this forum

If I had to choose I'd rather have Scholes to him.

 

[Stacks]

Gee...What a surprise. I was wondering how long it would take for stacks to come into this thread to slam Paul Scholes; it's his favorite pastime. He does it every single time someone compliments Scholes in a thread. You call yourself a United fan? Pathetic. P.S. - you conveniently left out Scholes' game winning goal against Barca in the UCL semi final but that's to be expected because it doesn't fit your agenda.

Think you need to look up the definition of "slamming. "
I stated some facts after someone compared him to Pirlo but I guess as Tommy Lee said "YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!"
The Barca goal is discussed further down and I don't need your verification as a United fan.
I did say this brings out an emotional responds eh?

 

[RyRoc]

Think most Italians and Seria A fans consider him as one of the best CM's of his generation. Unfortunately players who tended to only play in Serie A between 2000-2010 get overlooked in certain convos regarding the very best of that time period.

 

[giorno]

He was the third or second best player on a milan team that ruled europe for 5 years during his prime, being perhaps their single most important player throughout except for 2007 when Kaka went supernova. He was the best player with Zidane in 2006 WC and absolutely run the show for Italy. In 2008 he was tired and out of form and we kinda sucked, in 2010 he was injured and we were a joke, in 2012 he was in form and we made the final

Seriously

 

[Davicho]

At the end of his career he was overrated. A CDM that could not defend.

 

[Brightonian]

Underrated at his peak.

Overrated when he remained good at football slightly later than some other midfielders and had cool hair and a beard.

 

[FéNaSeleção]

I remember him as being very admired and talented, especially towards the end of his career. I would't say he was underrated.

 

[SaintMuppet]

I don’t really care about who rates him and whether it’s too much or too little etc etc.
He played the beautiful game beautifully! How it should be played. That for me is all that matters.

 

[berbatrick]

He then got taught a lesson by Ji Sung Park over 2 legs when we played against Milan in 2010 and he added virtually zero to the tie. He was 30 around that time. For a midfielder of his type, he should have been at the peak of his powers. Swings and round abouts.

Great player, but there were better midfielders in every position he played in from his generation. I also wonder how many other players would have benefitted from a "resurgence" playing for Juventus in Italy from 2011 onwards... in fact at the same age bracket, Scholes had a much larger imapct on the success of United than Pirlo ever did for Juventus...

When he joined Juve they hadn't won the league in years.

 

[thepolice123]

Pirlo, Scholes, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Carrick etc are players that in the recent years have been praised for their endeavours during their later career. In contrary with players like Gerrard, who depended more on their physical aspect in their game, these players were able to perform in the highest level up until their mid 30s, because of their vision and good understanding of the game. Just to clarify, I am not claiming that for example Carrick was better than Gerrard overall of course.
Then when some people saw these players playing at the highest level in their 30s, they developed a misconception that these players in their 20s were the greatest thing ever. Fact is that a 32 years old Pirlo or Xavi were better than their 22 years old selves.

Older player better than younger player shocker.

 

[led_scholes]

Older player better than younger player shocker.

I didn't simplify it this way though. I meant that some people saw a 32 years old Pirlo and thought that when he was 22,23 etc was the same player but with more stamina etc, which is not true at all, thats why the over appreciate sometimes these type of players. Usually, the peak for a football player ends around 29-30. However, these players were at their peak still at 34. A 33 year old Pirlo was bossing it in Italy, and Scholes was leading us to CL final. Carrick's best year came when he was 32.

 

[Stacks]

He was the third or second best player on a milan team that ruled europe for 5 years during his prime, being perhaps their single most important player throughout except for 2007 when Kaka went supernova. He was the best player with Zidane in 2006 WC and absolutely run the show for Italy. In 2008 he was tired and out of form and we kinda sucked, in 2010 he was injured and we were a joke, in 2012 he was in form and we made the final

Seriously

doing it at world level counts for nothing to these lot. If you don't do it on a cold windy.........

 

[Ish]

Where’ve you been hiding OP? I’d say he was very “well” rated - up there with the best.

 

[giorno]

I didn't simplify it this way though. I meant that some people saw a 32 years old Pirlo and thought that when he was 22,23 etc was the same player but with more stamina etc, which is not true at all, thats why the over appreciate sometimes these type of players. Usually, the peak for a football player ends around 29-30. However, these players were at their peak still at 34. A 33 year old Pirlo was bossing it in Italy, and Scholes was leading us to CL final. Carrick's best year came when he was 32.

Pirlo was indeed better or at least just as good at 21-22 in the DLP position as he was at 32.

Same goes for Xavi, who was just coming out of his peak by 32(and in his case the fall was a cliff)

 

[Dante]

Brilliant player, but overrated if anything.

The fact he was good looking and had a cool persona made him a hero for lots of teenage boys at the time.

 

[Righteous Steps]

I don’t see how you can say he’s overrated personally, he’s the best cm in the last 20 years alongside Xavi, he won nearly as much as Xavi and never played with Messi or in a system and team which he had the benefit of playing and being coached through, from infant all the way to the first team.

He won 6 Serie As, two Champions Leagues and a World Cup, as a player he was every bit in fact better technically than Xavi, more varied with his passing, able to play more variety of passes and a better dribbler.

 

[Champ]

My favourite ever player. Absolute class.
Unbelievable with the ball, smart without it.
Was simply unplayable at times, only Scholes comes close to passing ability.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Wtf, no?

 

[led_scholes]

Pirlo was indeed better or at least just as good at 21-22 in the DLP position as he was at 32.

Same goes for Xavi, who was just coming out of his peak by 32(and in his case the fall was a cliff)

Perhaps, I would agree about Pirlo. However, regarding Xavi I would argue that despite the fact that he was an internal part of Barca, the pre Ronaldinho Barca for me was a top team, but nowhere near the other top teams. Alas, valencia at that time was a far better team. I remember watching him in CL and Barca would struggle alot in the midfield vs Real, Valencia and needed a huge amount of luck against a greek team in the quarter finals. I am not blaming Xavi for Barca's poor showings, all I am saying is that for me he was not then a world class player who could elevate or stabilise a team. He was like Veratti for me then. A great player but not quite there yet.