Tonali vs Pirlo at 22
The Old and New Testament of the Calcio Bible
Serie A resumed with Milan securing victory at the Stadio Arechi. Led by a chic assist and an exquisite drive by Sandro Tonali, the defending Champions nudged aside Salernitana 2–1.
And with this result, Il Diavolo has cut Napoli’s lead to five points, largely thanks to the outstanding efforts of Tonali. The 22-year-old was awarded another Man of the Match accolade for his industrious leadership and silky smooth creativity from midfield.
It’s an undeniable truth that Tonali’s performances throughout the 2022 calendar year have earned him the reputation of best Italian midfielder in Serie A.
Now contesting his third season at AC Milan, it’s time to see how he’s measuring up against former Brescia and Milan alumni, Andrea Pirlo. Some might scoff at such a thought, and some will be amazed at how similar their trajectories actually are.
But WHY?
Think of this exercise as The Old vs New Testament in a kind of Calcio Bible. Bethlehem is interchanged with Brescia while Nazareth is replaced with the San Siro.
For those who are unaware, Sandro Tonali and Andrea Pirlo began their professional careers at Brescia while moving through the ranks of the Italian national teams. Both then signed respectively for Milan at the young age of 20 and 22.
The clear affinity is undeniable. Apart from operating as deep-lying central midfielders, both won a Serie B title with Brescia as teenagers, both were recognised as senior players of the Azzurrini, and both won the Scudetto with Milan soon after transferring over.
Back in February 2020, Tonali perhaps reminded Pirlo of himself when asked by Gazzetto dell Sport: “He (Tonali) has everything to be a champion … he could already play for a great team; he is the best in this league.”
At the time Tonali was 19 and playing his debut season of Serie A with Brescia. By then, he’d scored what would be his only goal of the season (in 35 appearances) against Genoa in a 3–1 defeat as La Leonessa ended the Campionato in the relegation zone.
Even the Serie A media team asks the question in this Top Moment clip from 2019: The New Pirlo? Tonali Scores Outstanding Freekick!
Pirlo’s first-ever Serie A season also ended with demotion in 1997/98 but with a superior goal tally of four in twenty-nine matches, three of those goals contributing to earning maximum points against Vicenza, Empoli and Napoli.
Back then, The Professor-a nickname given to Pirlo by Clarence Seedorf-was just 18 and featured mainly as a second striker or attacking midfielder in a competitive squad that contained Emiliano Bonazzoli, Dario Hübner and the Filippini Brothers.
A Similar Path
Given the obvious talent on show, Calcio’s giants stepped in to secure the pair after a solitary season in Serie A. Inter Milan signed Pirlo for €2m in the summer of 1998 and Tonali went to AC Milan in 2020 for €14.5m twenty-two years later. Inflation’s a bitch.
The symbiosis of a big club and colossal pressure was something that both midfielders endured with a tremendous degree of difficulty.
After being linked with a move to Inter, Tonali progressed from leading Jaromir Zmrhal and Mattia Viviani in Diego Lopez’s Biancazzurri midfield to tussling for a spot with Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie as Lucas Paquetà was moved on from Milan.
Pirlo went from big piranha in a small lake to tadpole in crocodile-infested waters.
Coming into Luigi Simone’s Inter side of 1998 as an attacking midfielder was literally like being stuck between a rock-the midfield of Djorkaeff, Cauet and Simeone-and a hard place-the task of ousting Ronaldo, Zamorano and Roberto Baggio.
Needless to say, there were limited opportunities at Inter as Pirlo started in just five games for a grand total of 586 minutes and failed to get on the scoresheet before being shipped off on a loan spell to Reggina in 1999 where he played 1800 minutes of top-flight football for a substantial return of 6 goals, all of which facilitated survival for the Calabresi.
The Maestro had turned 21 and Marcello Lippi opted to reintegrate him back into an Inter side that added Vampeta, Robbie Keane and Hakan Sükür to an already star-studded squad. Game time dried up for Pirlo as Lippi was fired. Same club, same story.
I guess Inter was repaid months later by the Karma Poliziotti.
So, after four appearances off the bench for the Nerazzurri in 2000–01, Pirlo followed his childhood idol Roberto Baggio from Inter to Brescia for the remainder of the season.
It took then-Brescia coach Carlo Mazzone a handful of weeks to recreate Pirlo and his metamorphosis began as a deep-lying midfielder which culminated in one of Serie A’s best-ever assists.
Behold the Andrea Pirlo-Roberto Baggio synergy which sank Juventus.
Named Player of the Tournament after scoring the match-winning thirty-yard free kick for Italy in the U21 Euros Final, he capped off a super summer by wearing the number ten in Sydney at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Rewinding to Tonali’s earlier years, the Lodi local was named Serie B Best Footballer and UEFA u19 Euro Team of the Tournament of 2018, Serie B Best Young Player in 2019, and was Tuttosport’s Italian Golden Boy of 2020.
By 2021–22, and at 22 years of age, Tonali had impressively shot to the top of the Pioli pecking order, starting 31 league games, 16 more than Bennacer and 6 more than Kessie, to guide Il Diavolo to its 19th Scudetto.
Pirlo, who assisted Milan to Scudetti 17 and 18, won his first Serie A title in 2003–04 at the age of 25. That’s taken Mozart three more years.
Remarkably, Tonali celebrated a Scudetto at an earlier age however Pirlo secured his first UEFA Champions League title at 24 as Carlo Ancelotti’s Rossoneri took down Marcello Lippi’s Juve in May of 2003 at Old Trafford.
Allora, Sandro has 18 months to catch up. Milan faces Tottenham in the UCL Round of 16 at the San Siro on February 14th with the return leg against the Lilywhites in March. But can Tonali get to the Atatūrk in Istanbul come June, just as Pirlo did back in 2005?
Knock Knock
Tonali also has the opportunity over the next five months to spearhead Milan to consecutive League titles, something that Pirlo could only do in Turin later in his career.
So Who Wins?
Up until the age of 22, and on a collective level, Tonali has the upperhand by winning the 2021–22 Serie A title. Both failed to keep Brescia from being relegated from Serie A but Pirlo rectified that by shepherding Reggina to a mid-table finish in 1999.
Interestingly, Pirlo became Brescia’s youngest player (16) to make an appearance in Serie A. Tonali was the youngest midfielder to have scored five or more goals in 2020–21 and provided three assists.
Individually, game for game and goal for goal, the correlations are evident. Pirlo’s impact was arguably greater, especially with the Azzurrini shirt.
Pirlo would sign for Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan in the summer of 2001 for €17m. That’s another story for another day.
Bromance?
Tonali, a Milan fan since his childhood, admitted that Pirlo was his boyhood idol. Perhaps this influenced him to avoid that nearly-move to Inter? Lesson learned, grazie ad Andrea?
Pirlo has lauded Tonali, stating that he will carve out his own legacy. I’d tend to agree.
Bambini
Pirlo’s transcendence at such an early age from attacker to deep-lying midfielder was a masterstroke. The inspired genius of Tonali is authentic. Another glaring observation is that boyhood idols matter. Baggio for Pirlo, Pirlo for Tonali.
Regardless of who you think was better, Milan and Italy fans are reveling in Sandro Tonali’s undisputable talent.