Reviews

Metronome, architect, maestro, Andrea Pirlo.

If you ever watched Pirlo play he was composed, calm and technically brilliant, that is mimiced fairly well by this card. I was abit apprehensive to complete this SBC, 500k+ for a very non-meta card but I'm very glad I did, he's just so much fun.

Pace:

His pace is 80, I feel like that's an average pace for a midfielder right about now. Shadow gives it a boost but it's nothing amazing, certainly below the likes of Llorente but inline with most other midfielders, nothing really of note.

Shooting:

He's like a sniper but instead of a 50. cal rifle he's got a nerf gun, if he had more shot power his shooting would be significantly better. His high attack positioning (88) means he is always in the right place as the right time but 9 times out of 10 I use him to pass off to someone with a bit more firepower.

Long shots are okay and fun to have a crack now and again but if you don't green time them it's not worth it. Freekicks and penalties however, postage stamp every time.

Having deadball specialist+, Pirlo's freekicks are unbelievably good, having said that if the freekicks edge close to the 30 metre mark they just don't have enough power.

Another thing to add, as most people got to witness Pirlo embarass Joe Hart with that panenka back in 2012. The penalties I've won people think you want to chip them with Pirlo, so they just don't move the keeper. Overall, great positioning, phenomenal set pieces but just lack that power to really be considered top level.

Passing:

Right, here we go. So can Andre Pirlo pass the football? Yes. His passes split defences like Moses did the Red sea, it is otherwordly.

So I've got him playing as a CDM in either a 4-2-2-2 or a 4-2-3-1 with the instructions set to him being my deep lying playmaker. This tactic works wonders, it can be a little difficult to play through the press sometimes granted, but he'll drift around pick up the ball and when he delivers a pass it is absolutely pin point. I try keep the ball on the ground and use driven passes more than lobs but regardless all his passes are always spot on. We all know passing isn't ideal this year but Pirlo's passing is on another level, consistent pings to everyone.

He doesn't seem to get many assists for me though. He might not get the assist but his passing is the reason I get through defenses, his pin point outlet passing allows my CAM's or ST to play amongst themselves. A true unsung hero of Goblin's XI.

Every single pass is great, obviously this is heavily user dependant assuming you know what passes to make, they'll be spot on every time. I mean come on man, it's Andrea Pirlo! He can pass the ball.

Dribbling:

Elite, I thought that he would be the ultimate pivot due to his passing but his dribbling has been surprisingly good. Having those 5* skills, I've found myself reverse elastico-ing myself out the way of over-committed pressing opponents and subsequently arrived at the buffet of passing options. His control is fantastic and able to dribble out of pressure consistently. Unfortunately his mediocre balance and poor strength sometimes does mean those with bruiser absolutely bulldoze our tricky Italian but hey-ho. Overall, very good dribbling, skilling is very very smooth and he's able to weasel out most situations. You will get caught out every now and again if you try dribble out from that CDM position but that's more down to user error in my opinion.

Defending:

Interceptions? Great. Everything else? Ehhhh, not so much. I play him with a shadow chem style and his interceptions go up to 87 so if you put cut passing lanes, he'll do an okay job defensively but he's relatively easy for stronger opponents to shrug off. 5'10 so again, okay in the air but yeah nothing spectacular. I play him next to a solely defensive CDM partner, for me it's Trailblazer Rice, and this paring works really well. I highly doubt he can play CDM solo.

Phyiscal:

Do you judge a Ferrari on it's capability to go off-road? No, so don't do it here either. He won't win much in the air nor will be charge around as a midfield bully. His stamina is, okay, it's only 82. As he's a deep lying playmaker for me, that stamina isn't much of an issue but if you played him as a CM and he had more of a box to box duty that stamina might be exposed.

Overall

With this card you get a man that can and will orchestrate your team into a symphony of attacking prowess, if you set it up right. He's weak, he's not fast, he's not meta. He is an absolute elite passer that you will notice the difference with. He can dance around defenders with ease and he will make freekicks feel like cutbacks.

I'm in Div 2 and get 11-14 wins in Champs so I ain't great but he shines for me. I've heard the promised land of the Elite Division is absolutely horrible and just pure meta only gameplay with meta only players, there he might not shine to bright.

He's very fun, a cult hero and as I find it more enjoyable to play with players I like, I enjoy him more than most cards. The price isn't great, if he was closer to the 300-400k mark, I'd say it's a must do but at 600k... Unless you like Pirlo as much I as do, it's understandable why you've given this one a miss but always remember no Pirlo, no party.