Andrea Pirlo is, by far, one of the classiest operators the footballing world has ever seen. Everything was done at the wavy-haired central midfielder’s own leisurely pace – and his passing range was otherworldly, perhaps only rivalled by his English counterpart, Paul Scholes.
But, in the eyes of the one-time World Cup winner, is the Ginger Prince among the four best English footballers of all time?
In 2012, Pirlo – widely regarded as one of the greatest central midfielders since 1990 – spoke to the Daily Mail and revealed which four Englishmen were the four toughest of his career. Spoiler alert: the aforementioned Scholes doesn’t make the cut.
Wayne Rooney
Matches against Pirlo: 8
Manchester United’s do-it-all striker, Wayne Rooney, is one of the greatest strikers to ever play the game. Secured by the Red Devils as a teenager in the summer of 2004, what the line-leader would go on to achieve could not be foreseen: attaining legend status at Old Trafford and becoming the club’s all-time top goalscorer.
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As alluded to, the art of goalscoring was the Liverpool-born talisman’s forte – but Rooney, a 120-cap, 53-goal England international, was a jack of all trades: he could hunt for the ball, be the focal point in aerial duels and string together neat passing sequences. They just don’t make them like Rooney anymore.
Steven Gerrard
Matches against Pirlo: 6
Being an engine room patroller himself, Pirlo knows full well what it takes to become a world-beating midfielder – and Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard has got the nod of approval from one of the best midfielders of his generation. And for good reason, too, as there were few aspects of being a midfielder that he didn’t perfect.
Pirlo and Gerrard went to battle on six different occasions between 2005 and 2016 – including that Champions League final – with the Italian reigning supreme on four occasions. Don’t let that cloud your judgement, however, as Gerrard is commonly admired as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history.
John Terry
Matches against Pirlo: 2
John Terry was on the pitch when Pirlo produced one of the cheekiest Panenka penalties of all-time – relive it below, while you weep, if you’d like. The Chelsea man was a brute force in the heart of the west Londoners’ backline between 1998 and 2017 before moving to Aston Villa to see out the swansong of his illustrious career.
Other than England’s penalty shootout loss at Euro 2012, the pair met just once in a domestic setting – a 2-2 draw between the Blues and Juventus in the Champions League, but Barking-born Terry, 44, is still considered to be a tough opponent in the eyes of Pirlo – which is as true as testaments come.
Frank Lampard
Matches against Pirlo: 2
The face of Chelsea’s glory days, Frank Lampard was tasked with thwarting the passing threat of Pirlo on just two occasions during his career – for England’s U21s in 2000 and for Chelsea against Juventus in the 2012/13 campaign. A goalscoring midfielder of the highest calibre, the London-born ace was terrifically talented.
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Lampard played 648 matches – and plundered 211 strikes – in the English capital as he emerged as one of the best players in the long and storied history of Chelsea. His final third exploits aside, the West Ham United prodigy bossed Premier League midfields with relative ease and used his concoction of talent and physicality to do so.