IFD senior editor Alex Mascitti was at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the following is his eyewitness account of Andrea Pirlo’s debut in the Bronx, where his impact will be felt for quite some time.
After traveling almost one thousand miles at night to make it to the game, I found myself on the subway going through Brooklyn and Manhattan on the way to the historic and quite different borough of the Bronx. New York, which is steeped in its strong Italian heritage, is now the home of one of Italy’s most decorated and beloved players in the form of Andrea Pirlo. Before leaving Italy he had won the last 5 Scudetti, and left Europe nearly as a Champions League winner for the third time.
Yankee Stadium, as odd a venue as it is for soccer, is arguably one of the most well recognized sporting arenas in the world. It’s hallowed ground has Italian influence all around it. Players like Joe Di Maggio, Yogi Berra, Pepitone and many others have carved their names into the history books of America’s most fabled team. Today, it was Pirlo’s turn to make his claim for history.
The buildup of excitement was clear well before kickoff. Yankee Stadium usually holds a capacity of around 24,000 spectators for soccer matches, only about half of the total available seats. Today, the stadium opened its third tier and was set to welcome around 32,000 people. All just for the chance at seeing ‘Il Maestro’ debut for his new club.
Prior to the match, there were whispers in the halls of the media center, “Will we see Pirlo today?”, “Is he ready today?”. This level of anticipation to see a player debut for a club has never been reached before in MLS, the vastly expanding top flight of American soccer.
As warmups were beginning a new face, or more noticeably, a new head of hair emerged from the dugout. His number, 21. The pedigree of an unmatched man was preparing to go into battle today. This game against Orlando City was by no means a friendly, this game is not a summer tour, or a farewell to soccer game. It was a game that could either propel NYCFC back into the playoff race, or send them adrift into the abyss in their inaugural season. Coach Jason Kreis was asked by an IFD correspondent last week about his plans for Pirlo and responded saying that “he will be a perfect fit” into the team’s tactical scheme: looking in retrospect now, Kreis’ prediction may have been an understatement.
The game against Orlando City kicked off at 2:45 in the afternoon, around the same time Americans would tune in to watch Pirlo play in Europe week in and week out for the better part of the last two decades. With the #21 on the bench, NYCFC fans started to chant “We want Pirlo!” all around the stadium.
The difference in quality was immediately apparent. Absolutely, MLS is not yet at the standard of its European counterparts, but in a tightly knit game, where the quality of player is lower, the addition of someone who has the talent of Pirlo is like the difference between the sun and the moon – unquestionable.
David Villa opened the scoring in the final minute of the first half, and NYCFC headed into the locker room with a full head of confidence in a game that could very well define their season, with their biggest weapon still on the bench. Coach Kreis earlier this week confirmed Pirlo to be “day-by-day”, even with the 1-0 lead there was still no guarantee of seeing the new signing, but the fans made it perfectly clear who they wanted to see. “Bring on Pirlo! We want Pirlo!” rang out from the stands of the stadium. And when Pirlo began to warm up early in the second half, the fans and journalists alike began to get really excited.
In the 57th minute, Il Maestro stepped next to the fourth official, and the change was made. Andrea Pirlo stepped onto the the field for the first time in America, and the crowd went into an uproar. Pirlo had set the Bronx ablaze, like many of the Italians before him in a different sport, on the same piece of land.
As an Italian-American myself, I felt a great sense of pride, excitement, and joy to see a player I had looked up to for so long finally playing in the United States, in front of 32,000 people who felt the same way.
Pirlo’s presence made an immediate impact. Like he did for Juventus for four dominant years, he switched play, created opportunities, set up attacks, and stunned the Orlando City SC defense. The fans who paid to be there would agree that Pirlo was worth the price of admission.
Andrea’s side, NYCFC, won the match in a thrilling 5-3 game. Where David Villa scored a double, the Captain had sent the fans into the stars with one of the best performances in the club’s young history. The team headed into the locker room victorious and right back into the playoff hunt with a crucial game against Montreal coming up in the Bronx next Saturday.
After the match, the media had descended into a “Pirlo-frenzy”. In the locker-room there was music playing, players celebrating and Pirlo, who is known not to like an excessive amount of attention, heading over to his locker to talk on the phone. Cool, calm, collected, like he had already settled well into the team.
Center back Shay Facey told me, “Playing with him is something I am going to talk about for a long, long time… He’s a legend”. Another teammate and goal scorer Tommy McNamara said, “In training, there’s just some things he does that makes you say, whoa, okay, this guy is good.”
The general atmosphere in the locker room at NYCFC is that this may be a new team, with a whole new environment to adapt to, but there’s a lot to be excited for. Players like Villa, Pirlo, Lampard and Iraola bring a wealth of experience that no other MLS team can remotely offer. If the rest of the MLS can follow this route that NYCFC is beginning to pave, we as American soccer fans have a lot to look forward to and a lot to be optimistic about in terms of the league.
And while he did not score, or rack up an official assist, today was without a shadow of a doubt Andrea’s day.
The post Andrea’s Day: Pirlo Sets the Bronx Ablaze appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
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