|
|
 |
| Wesley snipes at Pirlo |
| Italy take on Holland this evening in a game which could see Andrea Pirlo and Wesley Sneijder do battle. Lorenzo Zacchetti profiles the midfield masters |
|
 |
|
There are subtle but important resemblances Wesley Sneijder and Andrea Pirlo have in common, they are two of the hottest central midfielders in recent years. They have different roles in different settings, but have the commensurate ability to add weight and shift the balance of their teams.
Their presence on the pitch never goes unobserved while their absence is always conspicuous. If you are not convinced just ask Ajax and Milan. The Dutch side went out of Europe uncharacteristically early after Sneijder left for Real Madrid while the Rossoneri looked slow and mechanical whenever opponents turned off the shining light of Pirlo.
The Dutchman has won a lot in Holland, the Italian has been victorious everywhere. The former recently arrived at one of the most prestigious clubs in world football, Real Madrid, while the latter finds himself at the peak of his powers, an authoritative candidate for the Ballon d’Or. Both are slight of build yet pack a punch, they are indispensable rather than fragile. These are the parallels and differences between two geniuses of modern football.
Origins: When Pirlo debuted in Serie A with the jersey of Brescia at the age of 16 he was burdened with the title ‘Italy’s new Gianni Rivera’. He had the hunger of an exquisite trequartista trapped in a tiny body, earning him the nicknamed ‘Campanellino’, which translates as ‘little bell’. Meanwhile, Wesley Sneijder was taking his first steps in the Ajax youth set-up, an academy with the best reputation in the world for producing talent.
Brought to the Amsterdam giants from DOS, a local team based in Utrecht, the city of his birth, Sneijder always had a sporting pedigree. His father, Barry, was a former amateur footballer – with DOS and Odin – while his older brother Jeffrey also tried out as a professional, playing for Ajax youth teams, Stormvogels Telstar, Den Bosch and many others.
The trend is not set to end with Wesley either, his younger brother Rodney is also currently on Ajax’s books and has earned caps at Under-16 level with Holland. It appears Wesley has inherited the traits of his father and evolved into a champion – he recently won La Liga with Real Madrid – exemplifying the characteristics indoctrinated into every professional that spends time at Ajax learning the famous TIPS formula: Techniek (Technique), Inzicht (Insight and Vision), Persoonlijkheid (Personality) and Snelheid (Speed).
They called him Mannetje, little man, because of his strength and determination, which compensated for his slender figure. Sneijder made his debut for Ajax on 22 February 2003 against Willem II – he helped the ‘sons of god’ to a 6-0 victory. How old was he? Just 18 years and six months.
Career: Behind the explosion of every great footballer there is always the hand of a Coach who knew how to value and when to use him at the right moment. After experiences at Brescia, Reggina and Inter, Pirlo found that man. His name is Carlo Ancelotti. Sneijder did not have to do as much soul-searching as his Italian counterpart, for Danny Blind is a part of Ajax folklore.
Under Ancelotti, Pirlo was persuaded to try new things and change position, he moved from trequartista to a playmaker role in front of the defence. Sneijder benefited from Blind’s persistent harrying of first team Coach Ronald Koeman. The former European Cup winner endorsed Sneijder week after week until Koeman selected the precocious wunderkind.
Pirlo, meanwhile, had to shed his skin and leave behind the No 10 he ineptly wore at Inter to become the architect of Milan’s midfield. Sneijder, by contrast, grew up in an environment where no one doubted his ability. Pirlo, even at 23, was still a ‘promise’, an example of unrealised potential. At the same age, Sneijder was held in such high regard he was valued at £22m.
90th minute: A minute often comes to be worth an entire season, 60 seconds can define a player’s future in the game. Cast your mind back to the spring of 2003 when Milan met Ajax in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Rossoneri’s Danish striker Jon-Dahl Tomasson scored the winner with a handful of seconds to spare. Milan were on to win the Cup – for Andrea Pirlo it was a victory with a particularly sweet taste, he had conquered the greatest honour in club football in a new position in his first season as a starter with the Diavoli.
For Pirlo, it would mark the beginning of a cycle that would carry him to a World Cup Final in Berlin and another two Champions League Finals, one of which he would win. The Rossoneri and Pirlo, however, wouldn’t have reached Old Trafford in 2003 if it wasn’t for Tomasson, Sneijder and Ajax would have been there.
That Ajax, comprised of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristian Chivu, Maxwell and Rafael Van der Vaart could have won the 2003 edition of the Champions League. Among them was a young Sneijder, enjoying, perhaps, the greatest year of his blossoming career. He had debuted for the first team, made his first appearance in the Eredivisie , was a protagonist in the Champions League, opened his account, scoring in Ajax’s 3-0 win at NAC Breda a couple of weeks later, and pulled on the Oranje of the national team all by the end of April.
Rivalry: Pirlo wore the colours of both Milan teams, coming from a reserved and cautious Inter – to the regret of Nerazzurri fans – to the daring and enterprising Milan. Sneijder cannot be said to have enjoyed the same treatment at Ajax after his decision to up-and-leave Utrecht. Whenever Ajax meet Utrecht on the football pitch the rivalry is so visceral it stretches the limits of public order and civil society.
The Galgenwaard of Utrecht – the club’s Ultras – pour whistle after whistle and chant after insulting chant on Sneijder and his family, invoking his betrayal. “I cannot wait to go on the pitch and grind him down,” announced Utrecht captain Gregoor Van Dijk, before their match against Ajax in November 2006. The saying: “No one is a prophet in their own country,” comes to mind, suggesting why Sneijder chose to end his time in Holland and move to Spain last summer.
National Team: Both are pillars for the Azzurri and Oranje. Pirlo won the European Championship as an Under-21 international and a World Cup two years ago, he was voted the third best player of the tournament in Germany. Sneijder, who was brought straight into the Holland first team, is still to quench his thirst for international success. He has put in some good performances, but has yet to replicate his fantastic club form with Ajax and Real Madrid for the Tulips. Holland Coach Marco Van Basten tried him – a la Pirlo – at the heart of a midfield three, but the prodigy is known to enjoy a freer role, which allows him to exploit his dynamism and get behind defenders.
Future: Sneijder’s departure from Ajax wasn’t unexpected and follows a trail blazed by some of Holland’s history-makers, from Johann Cruyff to Ruud Gullit. Every season passed in his homeland appeared to limit his development, and even if, as a captain, he never wanted to make such sentiments public, Sneijder was always set to become another famous Dutch export.
This isn’t to say it was a foregone conclusion. After scoring 18 goals in his final season, collecting a League, two Cups and three Super Cup medals and a whole host of individual honours, including the 2004 Young Talent of the Year award and 2007 Dutch Player of the Year title, Sneijder was an icon at Ajax. His Dutch employers had already said no to Valencia, an offer Sneijder himself had doubts about, but both could not ignore the interest of Bernd Schuster’s Real Madrid – at the age of 22, Sneijder became the second most expensive player in Eredivisie history after Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
Sneijder’s impact with the Merengues has been excellent and it didn’t take long for him to become the new darling of the Madrid public. Having lifted the Spanish League title in his first season at the club, Sneijder is looking to bring success to his country in Austria and Switzerland this summer.
The Oranje haven’t won anything on the international stage since their victory in the European Championship 20 years ago. Pirlo, on the other hand, can find solace after a disappointing season with Milan by leading Italy to a second successive International trophy. The Rossoneri failed to qualify for the Champions League, giving Pirlo an axe to grind at Euro 2008. Only two medals are missing from the 28-year-old’s collection – the European Championship and UEFA Cup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
