Photo by Adam Hunger/USA Today Sports

By RYAN TOLMICH

It was finally Andrea Pirlo time in the Bronx, and the Italian superstar brought quite the party.

Inserted into the game early in the second half, Pirlo entered the Yankee Stadium field in his signature jog, one that would become all too familiar as the Italian midfielder sprayed passes left and right throughout his 30 minutes on the pitch.

Frequently dropping back to get on the ball, Pirlo’s every touch was met with a raucous applause, applause that only grew louder as the game grew on and goals flew in to an eventual 5-3 NYCFC win over fellow expansion side Orlando City.

For an NYCFC team in need of a bit of a calming influence in the center of the park, Pirlo provided exactly what the doctor ordered. For Pirlo, NYCFC is providing something just as special: a chance at a new experience and the opportunity to develop a relationship with the NYCFC faithful.

“It was great because that they wanted me to play,” Pirlo said following his debut on Sunday. “When I got on the pitch, it was great to feel. Great applause, very emotional and I really appreciated it.

“It was very emotional when I got on the pitch. Despite the heat, I felt great, and since we won, it’s even better.”

The NYCFC victory is one that many an NYCFC player attributed to Pirlo’s play, even though the Italian maestro produced neither a goal nor assist.

For Pirlo, Sunday’s experience was one that was vastly different than those back home. With music blaring and the heat of a warm afternoon, the Italian admitted Sunday was a bit of a culture shock. However, for those that have followed the midfielder’s career, Sunday proved to be more of the same in terms of on-the-field play.

Fellow Designated Player David Villa pointed to Pirlo’s calming presence in the midfield, something NYCFC has lacked in recent weeks. The Spaniard says that, in recent games, NYCFC has been to reliant on the long ball, a deficiency that Villa said won’t be an issue anymore with Pirlo pulling the strings.

Villa went so far as to say that Pirlo is one of the best he’s seen on the ball in his highly-regarded career, stating that few players in history are as special as the Italian maestro. Along with the yet-to-debut Frank Lampard, Villa is proud to be joining Pirlo in mentoring NYCFC’s stars of the future while helping to lead the team to big results in the present.

“I’ve said that many times that I am trying to help the team the most I can and give them confidence,” Villa said, “but out of the position I play, it’s difficult to do that. The only way I can help is just to have good aim and score the most I can. But then, Pirlo and Lampard are those type of players that can give a lot of confidence to the team because they play next to them.

“In the future, not only will we see a great Pirlo and a great Lampard, we’ll see a great Mix (Diskerud), a great Jefferson (Mena), a great (Javier) Calle, everyone who plays around him will benefit from that. Everyone is going to be better because they play next to him.”

Orlando City star and Pirlo’s former AC Milan teammate Kaka echoed Villa’s sentiments after the game, stating that Pirlo was among the great teammates in the sport. That fact was not lost on fellow NYCFC newcomer Angelino, as the young fullback says that he is already learning from Pirlo, despite only training with him since the Italian’s arrival on Wednesday.

“Pirlo makes everything look so easy,” Angelino said. “The things he does, I don’t know, I can’t even explain what he does. It’s just class. He came in and started switching the ball with long passes, and I think in the future that will help me.

“In going forward, he’ll find me more easily, and I’ll get more time on the ball. I think we were a little bit more relaxed because he can keep the ball, and he came deeper to get the ball. That shows that he wants to be on the ball. ”

With his family set to join him at the end of the month, Pirlo is just hoping to continue to improve after getting his feet wet on Sunday afternoon.

Stating that he wasn’t at his best due to his lack of training, Pirlo says the real production will start coming when he, along with Lamaprd, adjusts to his teammates. That, Pirlo says, will take time and practice, but if Sunday’s performance was any indication, Pirlo, and NYCFC, aren’t far away from a major leap forward.

“I hope that I’ll continue to improve my game,” Pirlo said. “I’ve only been training for three days, so I also need to feel closer to all of my teammates so that we can all play well together.

“Everyday you keep improving,” Pirlo added. “Hopefully soon I’ll be at my top form. Obviously it takes time to get close to my teammates, but I’m getting used to my new team.”