Andrea Pirlo is a legend, but at 36 years of age he’s not the player he once was during the prime of his career.
The Italian midfielder signed with New York City FC to great fanfare over the summer. Thus far, though, his performances have been muted and he hasn’t exactly taken Major League Soccer by storm. He also looked lacklustre for Italy in a recent Euro 2016 qualifying match against Malta—he was benched for the subsequent qualifier against Bulgaria.
Pirlo’s slow start to his MLS career has led to some pretty strong criticisms and questions about how seriously he’s taking this league.
Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney thinks Pirlo is still a “phenomenal player,” and he’ll be especially leery of the Italian when TFC plays New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.
Pirlo hasn’t been quite the impact player yet, Vanney argues, because it’s not always so easy for foreign stars to come to MLS and immediately adapt.
“It wasn’t that long ago he was doing things at the highest level. But you come to this league and you put a Pirlo in the middle of an expansion side, it’s tough. He’s not in the middle of Juventus with 10 other players on the field that are at his level and of his mindset,” Vanney said in a one-on-one chat with Sportsnet.
“He’s trying to integrate into a team that’s very defensive, very hard working, scrappy, and a team that’s going to make mistakes, and is going to fight and scrap to recover from those mistakes. That’s not his game. He’s an artist; he’s a poet on the field. New York is at a point in their history where they’re still grinders so that’s a bit of a mismatch for him.”
It doesn’t help that NYCFC plays at Yankee Stadium on a much smaller field than most MLS pitches—that handcuffs Pirlo’s game even more, according to Vanney.
“They play on a tiny field so that doesn’t give him a lot of time and space, and he’s a guy who’s very clever about finding the time and space on the field to do the things that he can. There isn’t that much time on that field, so the adaption process is going to take a lot of games for him. It doesn’t take anything from him as a player, but I think it some ways it’s putting a square peg in a round hole,” Vanney offered.
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Wednesday’s match is a big one for a TFC side that has lost its last two games, including a 3-1 decision at home to the New England Revolution on Sunday. That setback dropped the Reds six points back of the Revs for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The top six teams in the East qualify for the post-season, but you want to finish in the top four to ensure a home playoff game.
TFC needs to earn three points to close the gap and remain in the fight for a top-four finish.
Toronto and New York battled to a thrilling 4-4 draw in July at Yankee Stadium, a game that saw Sebastian Giovinco score three goals in nine minutes (he also had an assist) and referee Ted Unkel point to the penalty spot four times.
In June, David Villa bagged a brace for New York in a 2-0 win at BMO Field. It was a physical contest at times with New York cynically and systematically fouling Giovinco off the ball to minimize his impact.
New York has lost three in a row—and is winless in its last four—and sits ninth in the East, three spots and four points out of a playoff berth.
“They’re a desperate team right now. They’re a team that’s on the outside looking in with not a lot of games left and not a lot of home games left and a difficult schedule in front of them. They’ve had a tough run over the past few gams so anytime you’re catching a team in that position they can be dangerous,” Vanney warned.
Vanney was tight-lipped when asked about Toronto’s injury situation ahead of this game, but he did reveal Robbie Findley, who scored on the weekend against New England, has a minor toe injury.
TFC has a quick turnaround after this game as it hosts the Colorado Rapids on Saturday afternoon.
