He may have been tossed on the scrapheap like a soiled rag in 2011, but just two years earlier, Silvio Berlusconi had fought tooth and nail to keep Andrea Pirlo, as former manager Carlo Ancelotti attempted to lure him to Stamford Bridge.
''It was August 2009 and Id reached agreement with Chelsea, the club where Ancelotti had just come in as manager. Carlo Ancelotti was my motivation for agreeing to head to London. Milan wanted too much cash, and they were also pushing for Branislav Ivanovic to be included in the deal. Chelsea hadnt the slightest intention of letting the defender go. - Andrea Pirlo, April 2014.
That season, Ancelotti guided Chelsea to a league and cup double, while Milan finished in a disappointing third place. Pirlos pride would be dealt a huge blow, as two years later the Rossoneri deemed him no longer good enough and showed him the door. Determined to prove his former employers of ten years wrong, he subsequently linked up with Juventus where he won three league titles in a row. But one cant help but feel that he probably rues missing out on the chance to link up with his father figure at Stamford Bridge, and staying at a club who would devalue and under-appreciate his undoubted talents.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
