Andrea Pirlo Linked With Premier League Move – 10 Things You May Not Know About The Midfielder

Andrea Pirlo – The man who makes both male and female spectators of the game purr with delight. The man who can dictate a game of football with the minimum of effort. The man who ripens with age and continues to stock his overflowing trophy cabinet as he progresses into his final years of playing. There would have been plenty who opened the papers today and spat out their coffee as the Daily Mail are reporting that a move to the Premier League may be on.

The news, even if it doesn’t transpire, has made a lot of grown men in England giddy. So, in anticipation, we have put together 10 things that you may not have known about the Italian playmaker.

1) Born in Lombardy, Pirlo signed with local side Brescia, where he made his debut at the age of 16.

2) Pirlo played 49 games across three seasons for the club, scoring four goals, before being snapped up by Inter Milan in 1998.

3)  In the two seasons he was at Inter, he played 40 times for the capital side, but was loaned out twice – to Reggina and back to Brescia respectively – in that time.

4) Pirlo played 30 games for Reggina in the 1999/00 season, while he made 10 appearances for Brescia in 2001.

5) Then, in 2001, Pirlo left Inter for their Milan counterparts AC where he would really make his name. After 10 seasons with the San Siro side Pirlo have racked up 401 appearances for the club, scoring 41 goals.

6) During his time with AC Milan, Pirlo won 8 major trophies – 1 Coppa Italia, 2 Champions Leagues, 2 Super Cups, 2 Serie As, 1 Supercoppa Italia, 1 Club World Cup, 1 intercontinental cup.

7) Pirlo left Milan in 2011and was snapped up by Juventus. He led the Turin side to back to back Serie A titles and has racked up 86 for the side and scored 8 goals. He also won 2 Supercoppa Italias.

8)  As well as a glittering club career, Pirlo has represented his country right from U15 level to the senior side, earning 104 caps for the latter. With Italy, Pirlo won the U21 European Championships, the World Cup in 2006 and a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics.

9) Pirlo has won a host of individual awards, including the Serie A midifelder of the year 2012, the Serie A Italian player of the year 2012 and the Serie A player of the year 2012. He has also been in the running for the Ballon d’Or on numerous occasions.

10) Andrea Pirlo runs his own vineyard which produces around 15-20,000 bottle of wine a year.