" A traditional regista, Pirlo boasts the highest number of successful passes per game in the whole of Serie A, completing roughly 80 passes a game, with about an 86 percent success rate.
Furthermore, he is gifted in short, medium and long range passing. He completes 12.7 accurate long balls per match, (again, number one in Serie A). He’s not hoofing them over the backline, either- instead, searching passes spread play out wide to the likes of Pepe or Vucinic, players who can then break quickly.
He’ll provide an average of 2.3 accurate crosses a game as well, an average that lands him at sixth in the league, and he’s also contributed three assists and three defense-splitting goalscoring chances as well. He’s also quite good on the ball, faking or outdribbling an opponent at least twice over the course of 90 minutes.
As befitting a World Cup champion, Pirlo has the tendency of stepping up to the more important matches, most impressively against his old club. The Juventus-AC Milan game saw Pirlo receive the ball 103 times, complete 84 passes at an 89 percent success rate, including a whopping 18 long passes. Against Inter he was just slightly less superlative, with 97 touches, 85 percent success and 14 long passes.
Statistics alone cannot capture Pirlo's invention and grace. His play is simply superb, effortless, flowing from one end to the other. A beacon has been missing from Juventus for some time and the smoothness and consistency of this season are largely a product of his rejuvenation. "