Andrea Pirlo interview: The legendary Italian midfielder at PSG and how football changed | ‘You need fast players’ football news

“Football always changes and it changes fast,” says Andrea Pirlo Sky Sports. “It’s become much more physical, much faster. In fact, if you want to win now, you need players who are fast and technically good with someone else. Otherwise, you’re going nowhere.”

Talking to the great Italian midfielder his verdict on modern football can feel like a lament. “The teams that win now have fast players. It wasn’t so bad once. You could afford technically skilled players without speed, whereas now you need players of this level.”

Even in his prime, Pirlo appeared something of an anachronism. Now 47, his career seems otherworldly as he rotates into the base of midfield. After starting in a more attacking role at Inter, he was famously deployed there to find more space.

It worked brilliantly, winning the Champions League twice with AC Milan either side of Italy’s World Cup win in 2006. He controlled games well into the mid-thirties but perhaps hinted at the future in his final appearance in European club football.

Pirlo lost the 2015 Champions League final with Juventus when they were defeated by Barcelona. Their coach that night in Berlin? A Luis Enrique, won the trophy for the first time. He said, Luis Enrique is the best coach in the world right now.

Notably, that match also marked Xavi’s final game for Barcelona. Such was Pirlo’s admiration for that Barca midfield of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets that he once admitted to playing the Catalan club for hours on PlayStation.

But Luis Enrique made them rivals in Paris. “He’s built a strong team, a strong mentality with the young players. It’s a real joy to see them do well and get better because it’s fast, dynamic, technical football that everybody loves.”

As many others have pointed out, Paris Saint-Germain’s great success in Europe only came after the departures of Neymar, Lionel Messi and eventually Kylian Mbappe. Pirlo is one of those who see it as a milestone and a testament to Luis Enrique’s work in Paris.

“It’s all thanks to the coach. He wanted to get rid of all the stars before him and he liked to start over with guys who did what the coach told them to do. This is a team that runs, runs again, defends and in the end the result is in his favor.”

One would assume that Pirlo’s own experiences in his career would encourage him to believe in the power of the individual, the benefits of indulging in talent. In his youth, he was at Brescia with Roberto Baggio, a team built around a very special player.

Pirlo would go on to play eight seasons at Milan under Carlo Ancelotti, who always tried to accommodate talent. Cristiano Ronaldo was in Juventus as a coach. And yet, he is firm in his assessment that Luis Enrique is right.

“There is no longer a player who can do what he wants,” Pirlo said. “The individual has to be part of the team. You have to attack and defend like everyone else, do the same things. At this level, you can’t just lose one player defensively.”

While the reinvented Ousmane Dembele and tireless Khvicha Kvaratskhelia epitomized this attitude in the forward line, Pirlo was drawn to their diminutive playmaker presence. Vitinhar’s passing is clean and sharp but he is forever on the move.

“I like him a lot. He’s a player with a great vision for the game. He’s always calm under pressure.” Pirlo 2.0? Vitinha is busier and doesn’t have the range of the Italian but it doesn’t take a genius to find some similarities between the two men.

That uncanny ability to hold possession in tight spaces was a hallmark of Pirlo’s own game. His delivery was phenomenal but it was that he did it all completely unprepared. “It’s easy if you don’t lose the ball under pressure,” he sums up.

See things before they happen

But how did he make it look so effortless? “Technology is important,” he says. “It’s important to know how you’re going to receive the ball with your body position. But it’s also important to understand beforehand where your teammates are on the pitch.”

He explained: “You need to anticipate what’s going to happen before it happens. Then, of course, to have control and personality when on the ball, that’s another thing. But having the picture already, being able to look ahead is important.”

Pirlo certainly was. He has played in four Champions League finals, winning two and losing two. “It’s easy to remember the ones you win,” he says with a laugh. It happened with Milan in 2003 and 2007, with Pirlo providing the assist for the opener in the latter final.

Pippo Inzaghi diverts his free-kick against Liverpool. “A well-prepared routine.” It avenged a famous defeat to the same opposition in Istanbul two years earlier. “Even less happy moments can help you thrive,” she notes.

Champions League final verdict

Set-pieces, a staple of the Premier League season, may yet also define Europe’s showpiece occasion. Arsenal are ahead there. “They have two central defenders and a striker who are very good in the air. They will want to take advantage,” Pirlo argued.

“Arsenal have the ability in this situation because they study it. I follow them a lot in the Premier League and the Champions League. They have had a great run in the last few years, not just this year, and they deserved to win the Premier League title.

“PSG don’t have that big jumper so they have to find a different solution. It’s set up well because it’s the first (final) in 20 years for holders PSG, Arsenal but they’ve only won one Premier League. I’ve got it 60-40 for Paris.”

Football has changed.

But Andrea Pirlo still reads the game better than most.