By IVES GALARCEP
Rumors of Andrea Pirlo joining New York City FC have been floating around for months, but the talk reached a fever pitch over the weekend after Pirlo spent a few days in New York City, and also spent a day at Yankee Stadium with NYCFC leadership.
Multiple reports began dropping of a Pirlo-NYCFC deal being done, starting with a Sporting News report late Saturday night that state he would be unveiled on Friday. Italian  newspaper Gazzetta dell Sporte claimed Pirlo would join NYCFC in 2016, while the New York Daily News reported on Sunday that Pirlo was “on the verge” of signing with the MLS club, and says the acquisition will give NYCFC the most expensive roster in league history.
The series of events are, on one hand not all that surprising, but Pirlo’s arrival would be somewhat surprising if only because of comments made by NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis back when the club was linked with Xavi earlier in the season. Kreis suggested the club wanted to sign a younger third Designated Player to go with the two DP signings currently on the books (33-year-old David Villa and 37-year-old Frank Lampard).
The Daily News report suggested Pirlo’s acquisition was driven by NYCFC’s parent company, City Football Group, which owns Manchester City. That might explain how it went down even after Kreis’ previous comments about wanting a younger DP.
However it actually went down, everything is pointing to the World Cup winning midfielder joining Frank Lampard as summer reinforcements for an NYCFC team that suddenly looks like a real threat in just its first year of existence.
What do you think about Pirlo’s impending arrival? See NYCFC being a force in year one with the arrivals of Pirlo and Lampard?
Share your thoughts below.
I don’t give a damn how well he kicks a ball, he’s slow!
I would love to see Kevin Hart on the Howard Stern show. Would be a great interview to listen to
Uh, ok…
@Rob… Pirlo has done a lot more at Juve the past years than “walk around and make two or three passes per game.” The man has been a vital cog for that midfield and dictates the way that the 4x defending Italian Champions and European Runner-ups have played. Show him the respect he deserves
He sits in the 300 level. Don’t they pay them in Italy?
I’ve sat in those seats. It’s a suite type area. Although there are nicer places to sit at Yankee Stadium and I’m sure he could afford them so a bit of a strange choice.
He probably doesn’t care enough about baseball to really throw down, or maybe they were a gift. Who knows, maybe he just likes the privacy of being farther away from the big wigs.
you guys act like Pirlo just flew to NY and bought a ticket at the stadium… he’s clearly sitting in a club suite with suited execs. Pirlo didn’t pay anything to attend that game.
Too old. He does fine in Italy where he can walk around and make two or three fancy passes per game. Here he’ll have to actually run…… Or walk around and sell shirts.
I was a recreational runner for a long time and have followed track for even longer. When a person gets older, they slow down. However, a person his age can still run long distances. In fact, for marathoners, the peak age is usually around 32 or 33. To say he can’t run is just plain ignorant. He won’t be able to run as fast, but if he puts in the work, he can certainly run for as long. At his age I was running half marathons (13.1 miles) and I was never an elite athlete. Pirlo was never known for his speed anyway.
Stupidest argument ever, NYCFC it’s not a running club, they’re a soccer club. The demands for a footballers and distance runners are not even close to the similar. There’s a reason footballers retire by their early to mid thirties.
Soccer requires much more than just running …unless you get hired to sell shirts, then a little jogging around the field will do.
(facepalm) you completely missed the point.
So, you think Pirlo is lacking skill, vision, and the sense of the game? Yours is the stupid comment. I have played soccer and run half marathons. When it comes to the demands on your body, running a half marathon is harder. Beckham was still playing well at Pirlo’s age and Totti scored goals last season when he was, what, 39, I think.
What is Rob talking about? Pirlo is the the three time reigning Serie A player of the year and just played in the Champions League final. Sure, he may have declined some since his peak and Serie A suits his style of play better than MLS but as long as he takes MLS seriously, he’ll be a good addition. I’d like to see MLS teams go for younger DPs but for the rest of this year and 2016 he should be fine.
yea i agree, I’d like more Gio’s etc but there are a handful (or two) of 30+ players that I’d be more than happy if they finished their career in MLS (Zlatan, Drogba, Ronaldo, Messi etc). Sure, it’s not as ideal as having 24-28 year old stars come but just because it’s not ideal doesnt mean it’s not a good thing. It doesn’t hurt the league (overall) and, actually (arguably) helps the league whether its from ticket sales or a snowballed word-of-mouth effect (e.g. Pirlo consulting Gio about the league before coming). The main factor of a player helping or hurting the league is less to do with his skill and more to do with his attitude. Stars that don’t like it in MLS leave (Defoe, etc); ones that enjoy it and believe in it stay.
When is he coming,January or now?
If he comes till January,will nyc get another dp like drogba.
Also, will MLS add the new dprule this season.
I also gotta wonder, will ronaldinho and drogba land in mls this summer.
“suddenly looks like a real threat”… um, no.
My one question is, how will they line-up with Lampard, Mix, and Pirlo all in the midfield? 4-3-3 with Pirlo playing deep and Mix and Lampard doing all the running in front of him? Or will Kreis try to force them to play in the diamond with somebody else on one of the “wings”?
They will get overun in the midfield, especially during the summer months and their D will leak goals like a sieve, Basically not much different than now.
in your sad attempt to throw hate, you completely failed to answer the question that you replied to… Francois simply asked how they would line up, not whether their midfield would get “overrun”…
Yeah if only they played in the NASL. Then they could sign a bunch of scrubs and still beat everyone.
Considering that Kreis is one of the best US coaches and almost certainly the best young US coach, I would expect that he will find a way to best utilize the talent he has.
what they really need is some defense; could use a whole new backline to add to Facey and Wingert. but in front of a back 4 they could do:
————–Villa———-
——Lampard—Mix——
–Poku—-Pirlo–Grabavoy-
or
——-Villa—Shelton—-
————Lampard——
—-Mix———Grabavoy/Poku-
————Pirlo—————
I Love love love the Christmas tree… “The Wingless Wonder ”
But I doubt we will be seeing that in MLS anytime soon
————––Villa————
Velas——Mix—–Shelton
–——Pirlo–— Frank —–
Or
———-Nemec———-
—————————-
Villa—-Mix—Frank–Shel
————Pirlo———–
Instead of Nemec up top It should probably be Patrick Mullins or Tony Taylor
I live in NY. It was very warm this weekend. Why was he wearing a sweater?
I was just about to post the same thing – how is this guy wearing a sweater when it’s 90 degrees.
Euros man. Euros
Pirlo is just cooler than you.
Did anyone watch Pirlo play last season? He is still a tremendous player achieving at high levels. Any thought that Kreis wouldn’t want him is ridiculous. This is not a “retirement” signing.
Lets see how he looks when surrounded by a bunch a chumps instead of world class players in Turin. Its a lot easier to look good doing your own thing when you have a ton of talent cleaning up for you or dominating possession so your liabilities are not exposed. At 36 years old this is a typical MLS retirement signing.
Yup Poku,Mix,Lampard,Villa, Mullins, Mcnamara,Angelino & Andoni Iraola are all chumps.LOL. And since when does a club that signed Raul & Senna, have the right to call MLS a retirement league? Raul was struggling in the a Middle East & Senna didnt see minutes at Villarreal before his move to the Cosmos. But you are right Giovinco,Martins, Piatti, Pedro Morels….ex, are old players.lol
*etc, not “ex”…
It’s not like there isn’t any precedence. Beckham managed to win the MLS cup with the Galaxy, Henry still did well in NY and without the support that Pirlo would have. I thought this might be a problem with Kaka in Orlando and Villa at NYCFC, but after about one third of the season, both these guys started to click and their teams have begun playing well. Adding Pirlo to Lampard, Diskerud, and Villa doesn’t have any down side that I can see.
The question is not whether it is a retirement signing….
The question is how he will treat the league. If he doesn’t take is seriously, he will get crushed. Proven over and over.
Second, he is not in a league where his team is the favorite. Big difference leading your sub-par parity team, then being one of many of the best players. Can he handle it?
His son placed a NYCFC crest on his instagram account so it looks more and more like this will happen.
The Pirlo who just started in the Champions League final for repated Italian Serie A winner Juventus? Yeah, he’s acceptable.
I remember when we would put all of our attention into the transfer silly season hoping to see what yank will be moving to Europe to improve their game… I’m happy that now we can also focus on who will MLS sign from Europe to bring stateside.
I dont know. I don’t know. Pirlo to NYC??
good luck Pirlo. U gonna have fun there! Lol
To paraphrase the principal in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”:
Curtis? . . . Curtis?
Don’t kid yourself. The razz–ma–tazz we got in March/April is all the club is going to offer.
17 points out of a possible 45. Approximately 1/3 of possible point won.
Hopefully marsh can get a grip on this. They through 3 points out the window on Saturday.
*threw…
What a joke that CFG would force Pirlo on NYCFC.
Yup a joke, that owners whospend their money, would have a final say.
Joke because it’s purely a marketing decision rather than a soccer one. Owners can spend their money how they wish, but when it doesn’t appear to be in the best interests of the on-field product (and seemingly against the wishes of the club), it just looks a bit dysfunctional. And the stuff that happened with Lampard when he signed doesn’t cover anyone in glory either.
The problem is that it’s a short-sighted move. Fans only show up to see stars a couple of times. Once they’ve done that, it’s old hat. What they’ll keep showing up to see is a winning team. Splashing money on stars who may not actually fit into the team will fill the stands for a few months, but a year or two from now the stadium will be half empty if the team isn’t winning.
NYCFC is averaging 26k a game. They continue to get 20 plus a game, even after goimng 11 games winless. But you guys siging Andoni Iraola,Angelino & Pirlo does nothing, for the on field Product. A team that has Poku,Mix,Lampard,Villa, Mullins, Mcnamara,Angelino,Pirlo & Andoni Iraola, wont do anything in MLS right? And BTW, NYCFC arent finished siging players this summer.
DC United are a winning team, but has one of the lowest attendances in the league. Certainly a factor in that is Bill Hamid is the biggest star on the team. So you need both, a winning team with stars.
I think a bigger factor is that horrendous stadium. Teams in third-world countries would be embarrassed to play there. Luckily, it looks like a new stadium may be on the way.
lol lost 11 games still avg 20-25k fans alot of those game villa didnt even play and lampard well not there yep fans only show up to see stars. sounds very silly kid
Yup signing a guy that just played in the UCL final, is purely a marketing decision. lol
Pirlo in the cheap seats. Nice touch NYCFC!
I thought so, too, but look to the left (and the guys in suits)– you can see they are box seats.
But I think Pirlo lost his luggage.
“Sweater-Wearing Dad and Yankee Fan Looks to Become Major Summer Signing for NYCFC”
who wears a sweater in june?
cold front sweep though NYC?
That picture. Is it me, or does he just resemble a 50 year old dad taking his kid to the “ball game”?
You beat me to it. I was thinking the same thing.
great trash talking quote by the 106 yr old fan of the Warriors named Sweetie: “some said he [Lebron] 30 yrs old. I don’t know bout that but he look like he 40 […] like maybe he should put that basketball away.” Yep, some athletes look much older then they are.
Not just you. Looks like Pirlo’s dad.
Wow.
he’s too good for NYCFC. He should go to SKC.
no one wants to go to SKC