- Title: BRAZIL: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Italy squad marks Pirlo's 100th cap
- Date: 18th June 2013
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JUNE 17, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ITALY SQUAD SEATED AT GROUND ANDREA PIRLO SWATS A FLY SQUAD WALKS ONTO PITCH FLOODLIGHTS ITALIAN SOCCER FEDERATION VICE-PRESIDENT AND FORMER PLAYER DEMETRIO ALBERTINI PRESENTS PIRLO WITH A SPECIAL TROPHY, SQUAD MANAGER CESARE PRANDELLI HANDS HIM A SHIRT WITH '100' WRITTEN ON IT AND ITALY CAPTAIN AND GOALKEEPER GIANLUIGI BUFFON GIVES HIM A HUG AND A KISS WIDE OF GROUND
- Embargoed: 3rd July 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- City:
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA7WXUDYLFEA7U6CC96A31LN092
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: The Italian soccer federation and national squad celebrate playmaker Andrea Pirlo's 100th cap with a trophy and special shirt.
Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo received a special trophy and shirt from the national soccer federation and squad on Monday (June 17), a day after marking his 100th international appearance by orchestrating his side's 2-1 win against Mexico in the Confederations Cup in Brazil.
The notoriously difficult-to-please Maracana crowd was united in its adulation of the 34-year-old on Sunday, appreciating the sort of player their own country has struggled to produce and even shunned.
Pirlo's role as a deep-lying playmaker is an alien concept in Brazil, where any midfielder who sits just in front of the defence is expected to perform a purely destructive role.
On Monday, Italian soccer federation vice-president and former player Demetrio Albertini presented Pirlo with a special trophy, squad manager Cesare Prandelli handed him a shirt with '100' written on it -- and Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon gave him a hug and a kiss. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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