Interview with Andrea Pirlo: The legendary Italian midfielder at PSG and how football has changed | ‘You need fast players’ | Football news

“Football is always changing and changing fast,” Andrea Pirlo said Sky Sports. “It’s already disappeared, it’s too fast. In fact, if you want to win now, you need fast and technically efficient players individually. Without that, you’re not going anywhere.”

Speaking to the great Italian midfielder his verdict on modern football can sound like a lament. “The winning teams now have fast players. It wasn’t bad at all. You couldn’t afford players with skills without speed, but now you need players of this level.”

Even in his first season, Pirlo seemed somewhat mysterious. Now 47, a career spent hovering around midfield feels like another world. Having started in an attacking role at Inter, he was sent there to gain more space.

It worked incredibly well, winning twice in the Champions League with AC Milan either side of winning the World Cup with Italy in 2006. He dominated games until the mid-30s but perhaps the future was written when he made his last appearance in European football.

Pirlo bowed out with Juventus when they were beaten in the 2015 Champions League final by Barcelona. Their coach that night in Berlin? One is Luis Enrique, winning the trophy for the first time. “Luis Enrique is the best coach in the world right now,” he said.

Importantly, that game also marked Xavi’s last game for Barcelona. Pirlo’s great admiration for that Barca player of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets was such that he once agreed to spend hours playing as the Catalan team on PlayStation.

But Luis Enrique has built a side that will compete with them in Paris. “He has built a strong, strong-minded team with young players. It’s a real pleasure to see them do well and even better to watch them because it’s fast, powerful, technical football that everyone loves.”

As many others have said, Paris Saint-Germain’s great success in Europe came after Neymar, Lionel Messi and finally Kylian Mbappe left. Pirlo is among those who see this as important and a testament to Luis Enrique’s career in Paris.

“Everything is because of the coach. He wanted to eliminate all the stars that were there before him and he preferred to start over with people who did what the coach asked. It is a team that runs, runs again, defends and in the end the results are in his favor.”

One would think that Pirlo’s experience in his career would inspire him to believe in the power of the individual, the benefits of intellectual enjoyment. In his youth, he was at Brescia alongside Roberto Baggio, a team built around one very special player.

Pirlo would go on to spend eight seasons playing under Carlo Ancelotti at Milan, a man who always tries to welcome talent. As a coach, he had Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus. However, he is firm in his assessment that Luis Enrique is right.

There is no longer a player who can do what he wants,” said Pirlo. “Each person must be part of the team. You have to attack and defend like everyone else, doing the same job. At this level, you can’t afford to lose one player in the defense.”

While the rejuvenated Ousmane Dembele and the tireless Khvicha Kvaratskhelia create this attitude in the forward line, Pirlo is drawn to the presence of their playmaker. Vitinha’s passing is clean and sharp but she keeps on going.

“I like him a lot. He is a player who has a good view of the game. He is always calm, even when he is under pressure.” Pirlo 2.0? Vitinha is very busy and has no Italian style at all but it doesn’t take a genius to see some similarities between the two men.

That uncanny ability to keep possession in tight spaces was part of Pirlo’s game. His distribution was remarkable but he did it all looking very unattractive. “If you don’t lose the ball under pressure, it becomes easier,” he said in a nutshell.

Seeing things before they happen

But how did he manage to make it look so trivial? He says: “Strategy is important. “It is important to know how you will receive the ball with your body position. But it’s also important to understand early on where your teammates are on the field.”

He explains: “You need to have already seen what is going to happen before it happens. Then, of course, to have control and personality when you have the ball, that is another thing. But to already have a picture, to be able to look ahead, is important.”

Pirlo certainly had that. He played in four Champions League finals, winning two and losing two. “It’s easy to remember the ones you’ve won,” he said with a smile. That happened with Milan in 2003 and 2007, Pirlo provided the opening assist in the last game.

It was his free-kick that was deflected by Pippo Inzaghi against Liverpool. “A well-prepared schedule.” It avenged the famous defeat of the same team in Istanbul two years earlier. “Even the not-so-happy times can help you improve,” he noted.

The final decision of the Champions League

Set-pieces, a key feature of the Premier League season, can still define Europe’s showpiece event. Arsenal have the edge there. “They have two defenders and a striker who is very good in the air. They will look to take advantage,” said Pirlo.

“Arsenal have the ability in these situations because they learn. I followed them a lot in the Premier League and the Champions League. They played well in the last few years, not only this year, and they deserved to win the Premier League title.

“PSG do not have these big players so they will have to look for different solutions. It is well organized because PSG is in charge, and for Arsenal it is the first time. [in the final] in 20 years but they came in having just won the Premier League. I make it 60-40 in Paris.”

Football has changed.

But Andrea Pirlo still reads the game better than most.