against and beat the Italian in the 2005 Champions
League final, believes he is even more dangerous
now than he was 10 years ago
By Brian Oliver
Two seasons ago, Juventus lost 4-0 on aggregate
to Bayern Munich in the Champions League
quarter-finals. Last season they did not get past
the group stage, finishing behind Real Madrid and
Galatasaray . So what would Andrea Pirlo have
expected as he kicked off this season?
“Not to be in the final, that’s for sure,” said
Dietmar Hamann, a Champions League winner with
Liverpool in 2005, when Pirlo was in the
beaten AC
Milan team.
“He would have hoped, of course, but given the
way Juventus had folded in the previous couple of
years, and losing to Galatasaray, he wouldn’t have
expected to be playing against Barcelona in the
final.
“But there seems to have been something of a
renaissance in Italian football and he has been a
big part of it. We saw it in the Europa League with
Napoli and Fiorentina, and who knows, maybe at
the start of next season he’ll be looking forward to
more success in the Champions League and then
winning Euro 2016.
“It would be amazing if he finished off with another
Champions League and then the European
Championship. There will be other teams more
fancied but the Italians are very tough, very
streetwise. They may not be the easiest on the eye
but they will definitely be contenders.”
Pirlo has won the Champions League twice, a
World Cup in 2006, six Serie A titles and is still
going strong at 36. Is he even better now than he
was 10 years ago?
“Absolutely, no question,” Hamann told Goal . “He
has definitely improved with age. He doesn’t rely
on pace, and as you get older you understand the
game more, you get ever more experience, and
Pirlo has become one of the greats in that deeper
position.
"The performance that stands out, for me, was in
Euro 2012, Italy v England. He was running the
game and England just couldn't get near him.
“He has really looked after himself. It can come
naturally when you get to your late 20s and
beyond. You know what you can do and what you
can’t, in training and in your lifestyle. You know
when you need an hour’s sleep in the afternoon,
you know when you can train bit harder, or if you
need to ease off. You know your body better than
the coach or the fitness specialist and you
effectively manage yourself.
“I always knew if I had to put in a bit more or a bit
less in training and more often than not, when I
was older it was less. Some players will train at
100 per cent every single time, but in England you
play so many games I could never have done that.
You have to be at your best at game time. And
pre-season is very important.”
Pirlo missed several games with a hip injury last
year but he has managed his season well. He has
made 30 appearances, 15 fewer than Carlos Tevez
and 19 less than Giorgio Chiellini, for example.
“He’s in good nick and I don’t see any reason why
he won’t play the whole game in the final,” said
Hamann. “Of course it depends what the score is
and what Juventus need to do, but he is a key
man in that deeper role and there’s going to be an
awful lot of defending for them to do.
“Gary McAllister showed it can be done back in
2001, when he was in our Liverpool side that won
the Uefa Cup. He looked after himself too, and he
was man of the match in the final at the age of 36.
“One of the big advantages for Pirlo is that he
never suffered a really bad injury. I would love to
have seen him play in England or Germany and I'm
sure he has had plenty of offers, but he chose to
stay in Italy and you have to respect that. It's not
as if he ever played for a club that wasn't
challenging for titles.”
Barcelona’s free-scoring forwards might struggle
against Juventus’ back line, and those in front of it,
Hamann believes.
“Juventus have a chance, for sure. They are
streetwise, functional, and it will be a tough, tough
game for Barcelona. It will be so tight I can see it
going all the way to penalties.”
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