(supersedes previous).
Veteran Italy midfielder Andrea
Pirlo's transfer to New York City FC from Juventus was confirmed
officially Monday.
With a tribute on their website, Juve thanked the
36-year-old for his four seasons in Turin, in which he won four
successive Serie A titles.
The 2006 World Cup winner also helped Juve reach their
first Champions League final since 2003 in May, where they lost
3-1 to Barcelona.
During his career at Juve the consummate playmaker and
deadball virtuoso played 164 games and scored 19 goals.
The Italy international will play alongside Frank Lampard
and David Villa at the Major League Soccer club after leaving
for a side not from his homeland for the first time in his
career.
New York City FC confirmed the signing on their official
website, outlining they are "delighted" to have Pirlo as part of
their squad.
Pirlo said: "I have been wanting this experience for a long
time and now that the opportunity materialized I wanted to take
it. This is a club on the rise and shares my same hunger to
achieve important results in the league. I am hoping to win.
"I had several opportunities to play outside of Italy, but
I never had a doubt in picking New York for the enthusiasm of
the people that come watch the team.
"I met with the coach, Jason Kreis, and he gave me a
fantastic impression of the club. He has well defined ideas in
mind, and I am sure we will get on well and create a good
relationship to train well and try to win together."
"Thanks, Maestro," a tribute on Juventus' official website
read. "This tribute -- a homage -- to Andrea Pirlo at the end of
his adventure with the Bianconeri could only start with those
two words. Thanks for all you have shown, lived and won in these
four years.
"'Maestro,' because of all the nicknames, that was always
the one we liked the most. His teammates called him 'the
professor,' and actually, for them, proven champions, finding
themselves alongside Andrea was like following a master class.
"For those who are not professional footballers, though,
understanding the refined simplicity of his game was a
continuous revelation, like discovering the actual essence of
football. This is why, for us, 'maestro' is more suitable. It is
also the name given to artists, be they painters, film directors
or orchestral directors.
"Pirlo is all of these on the field: silent charisma, ball
control, the dummy which floors one, two or three opponents in
one go. The unexpected game-opening pass, the ball lifted over
the defence.
"The brain with a perpetual engine, when the play is still
far from him. A glance to the right, one to the centre and one
to the left, to keep an eye on all of his teammates and
opponents. To know before anybody else what will happen. It's
not presage, it's not intuition. It's pure and simple
intelligence."
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