World champion Andrea Pirlo also joins the Kings League

Andrea Pirlo (44 years old) is the latest bombing of the Kings League, the competition promoted by Gerard Piqué and the Bilbao streamer Ibai Llanos, leader of Porcinos, one of the twelve teams in contention. Ex-soccer players with a past in LaLiga such as Ibai Gómez, Joan Verdú or Joan Capdevila have regularly played for this league, with some rules different from traditional football. But in addition, the success of the format, reflected in powerful audiences, has ensured that several of the best players in history, already retired, have also dressed in shorts again on the 7-a-side soccer field.

Iker Casillas and Kun Agüero, presidents of 1K and Kunisports, already participated in a first split in which ‘Chicharito’ Hernández and, above all, Ronaldinho, both in Porcinos, were also seen. Special was the participation of the Brazilian genius, winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2005. His performance was unforgettable, with a presentation in style where there was no lack of homage to Brazilian culture. On the pitch, he was unable to prevent his team from winning despite coming close to scoring on several occasions. On the opening day of the second split, it was Los Troncos de Perxita who won another retired star: the Frenchman Djibril Cissé.

Therefore, Pirlo will be the umpteenth star to grab the spotlight in the Kings League. I’m sure it won’t be the last, because from time to time Piqué and his team surprise with another signing. Pirlo’s, forged this Monday at the last minute, was different from the rest, since a bid was made between all the clubs. It must be remembered that from this second edition the teams play with fictitious money that they have used in an internal transfer market, to buy weapons for the matches and, now, to try to win over Pirlo.

Gerard Romero, a journalist who follows Barcelona news (Jijantes also wears Barcelona), won the first game of the night, which consisted of guessing the player’s identity through clues. A victory that later allowed him to match the highest bid, which ended up being that of PIO (18 million), precisely the team against which he will dress short. It is chaired by the Mexican youtuber Rivers. The game will be played on Sunday and will occupy the golden strip, the one at 8:00 p.m., the one that is broadcast by Cuatro openly. A priori, it will be the only game in which the Italian genius will participate. His shirt sells for 70 euros on the competition website, the same price as the rest of the clubs.

A record of vertigo

In this way, Pirlo will return to the pitch six years after his retirement, when after wearing several Serie A jerseys (Brescia, Inter, Reggina, Milan and Juventus) he moved away from the elite in New York City, where coincided with David Villa, Andoni Iraola and Frank Lampard. The Flero footballer accumulated a vertigo list of winners where only one title was missing: the Euro Cup. He was close in 2012, but Vicente del Bosque’s Spain beat Italy in kyiv (4-0). Even so, he is dizzy just by naming everything that Pirlo has achieved. He was world champion in Germany in 2006 (that final with Zidane’s header) and at the club level he lacks none: two Champions with Milan, six Leagues, two Cups…

Yes, he did win a Euro under-21 with the Azzurra (in 2000, he was the top scorer). He participated in three World Cups, as many Euro Cups, 2 Olympic Games, 2 Confederations. In all of them he saw a door. The Brescian lost two Champions League finals, the last one in 2015 in the ranks of Juventus against the unstoppable Barça of Luis Enrique. On an individual level, he was named Italian of the Year three times and came close to the podium in the Ballon d’Or on several occasions. Since 2019 he has been a member of the Italian Hall of Fame and is part of the second best team in the history of the Ballon d’Or. He was a footballer with technical quality and intelligence superior to the rest. Elegance personified. Some attributes that can work against him in the Kings League, where the pace of the game is frenetic, with constant comings and goings.

In 2020 he began his coaching career in the Juventus under23 team. However, nine days later he took charge of the first team, a challenge he agreed to after the dismissal of Maurizio Sarri. Despite his inexperience as a coach, Pirlo won the Italian Cup and Super Cup in his only season, since in 2021 he was fired from him. Fourth place in the League and a poor elimination in the Champions League round of 16 against Porto meant his goodbye. He spent a year until he signed for another team, this time with a lesser cachet. Fatih Karagümrük SK of Turkey bet on him in August for two seasons, but a few days ago he confirmed his dismissal. The Ottoman team finished the league championship in ninth place, far from European positions. Now, and waiting for new challenges on the benches, Pirlo embarks on the Kings League. He won’t be the last to do it.