After his triumph at the 2000 U21 European Championship, in which he was top scorer, Andrea Pirlo’s career took off both at club and national level. This was also due to a tactical change which saw him shift position to a deep-lying playmaker, and he soon developed into one of the greatest players in the history of this role, so much so that he became universally recognised as the ‘Maestro’.

His senior team debut took place on 7 September 2002, in a qualifying match away against Azerbaijan for the 2004 Euros. Giovanni Trapattoni’s team won 2-0 in Baku thanks to a lucky own goal from Akhmedov after Damiano Tommasi’s cross, as well as a masterful free kick into the top corner from Alessandro Del Piero. Alongside those goals and Filippo Inzaghi hitting the woodwork with a header, that match saw 23-year-old Pirlo’s debut, who came on for Piacenza in the 77th minute, an AC Milan teammate of his at the time. For the playmaker from Flero, it was just a few minutes of play, however, in hindsight that was a positive, promising moment.

When speaking to the Gazzetta dello Sport post-game, the ‘Trap’ was very encouraged by the midfielder’s cameo: “Di Biagio came off, so we were missing a playmaker. Pirlo was very good towards the end of the game in those last 20 minutes and I’m looking forward to even more testing examinations.”

It was under Lippi’s leadership that Andrea truly became a key cog in the national team, with whom he would go on to conquer the World Cup on German soil in 2006. Key passes, assists, important goals (both at the World Cup and two European Championships), as well as an Olympic bronze medal at Athens 2004 make him an obvious Azzurri legend.

He spent 13 years representing Italy, years full of victories, joy and unquestionable quality. His 116 appearances, sprinkled with 13 goals, make him the fifth most capped Italian player of all time.

ITALY’S LINE UP ON PIRLO’S DEBUT

Buffon - Panucci, Cannavaro (C), Nesta, Coco - Di Biagio (Ambrosini 68), Tommasi, Gattuso - Inzaghi (Pirlo 76), Vieri (Montella 58), Del Piero