The legendary Andrea Pirlo turns 39 today and what better way to celebrate the Italian's genius talents by watching a compilation of scoring free-kicks.
For some players, a long run-up is required to find the ultimate 'sweet spot', but former AC Milan, and Juventus midfielder Pirlo only needed a few steps and the goal quivered in fear. Accuracy was the Italian's biggest strength and didn't Serie A know it.
BT Sport have put together a wonderful compilation of his finest free-kicks, showing youngsters out there that 'knuckleballing' isn't the only way to score from 25 yards:
No matter the distance, no matter the angle - Pirlo was a set-piece specialist in every sense and will go down as one of the greatest players in our generation.
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Pirlo, who has forged a glittering career after spells at Juventus, AC Milan and Inter, will host one of the most star studded testimonials of all time at the San Siro on Monday.
The likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Dida, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Camoranesi, Gennaro Gattuso, Frank Lampard, Rui Costa and Clarence Seedorf were the first names confirmed but it went up another gear again when the strikers were announced.
His World Cup-winning colleagues such as Alessandro Del Piero, Alberto Gilardino, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni all feature, as do his compatriots Pippo Inzaghi, Christian Vieri and Antonio Cassano.
Andriy Shevchenko and Alexandre Pato are also in the mix.
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But undoubtedly the huge news is that Brazil boys Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, who have three Ballon d'Ors between them, will both return to their old stomping ground on May 21, adding to a star-studded list of names.
What a spectacle it promises to be.
Featured Image Credit:Topics:Β Football News, Football, Andrea Pirlo, AC Milan, Juventus, Italy
