I write this in some amount of pain, because I want Andrea Pirlo to serve up wizardly, laser-guided balls for NYCFC well into his forties. And he’s good for it. You know he is. But the stinging truth of it is that Andrea Pirlo’s deficiencies become increasingly apparent the more New York City sticks to Patrick Vieira’s preferred philosophy.
In essence, “The City Way” is Pirlo Kryptonite. And since it’s a downright terrible look to bench a $5 million designated player, Claudio Reyna & Co. need to finagle a graceful exit strategy for the Italian legend, and they need to do it as soon as a willing (and athletic) DP replacement becomes available.