Finding a solution to the Andrea Pirlo ‘problem’ in MLS

Let’s call it the “Pirlo Problem.” Not because the elegant Italian midfield maestro is a “problem” per se. But rather because he perfectly illustrates a brain-teaser that MLS coaches are increasingly dealing with.

We love to see these splashy names coming into MLS. Yes, the narrative of MLS as a retirement home is annoying and possibly problematic. But most fans get past it quickly because it means the great unwashed can personally witness legends – seriously, legends – perform in meaningful competition inside MLS grounds.

Andrea Pirlo, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba (and previously the likes of Thierry Henry, David Beckham and so forth) qualify as legitimate greats of the game. Giovani dos Santos, freshly landed and lauded in Los Angeles, isn’t quite there yet, but he’s not that far away. In terms of popular appeal, the Mexican star clearly is already there.

So these guys fill seats, add a more TV eyeballs and, hopefully, improve the MLS product through higher match-day quality and daily tutelage of the younger and lesser skilled.

But then we get to the “Pirlo Problem.”

Again, it’s not a problem so much as a puzzle that needs careful piecing together. (You see where the “Pirlo puzzle that needs careful piecing together” just doesn’t have the same ring.)

In one way, these guys are a little like those terrible fires out West, the ones that create their own small weather systems. Pirlo at NYCFC, Kaka at Orlando City and others like them, past and present, are hefty enough names and sufficiently talented craftsmen that they create their own little weather systems inside the facility.

So it is up to Jason Kreis, the wise-beyond-his-years manager at NYCFC, and others like him to create the optimum conditions around their new star men, the better to extract all that can be reasonably extracted from them.

Pirlo is the fabulously bearded embodiment of it. The guy can clearly impact an MLS match. We saw it as soon as he took to the small field at Yankee Stadium two weeks ago. In his typically effortless way, Pirlo eliminated one, two or three defenders at a time with precision passes. Not a slew of them, but more in about half an hour than some MLS midfielders will make in a month. That first appearance was a mouth-watering goal fest, a win over Orlando City.

But then we saw his second match, and the reality of the “Pirlo Problem” took hold like a killer leg cramp. Kreis’ club fell at home to Montreal, and the tactical conundrum presented by the Bronx’s newest Italian special brew was there for all to see. He can’t cover ground, and there was frequently a bewildering amount of space to be found in front of two overmatched NYCFC center backs. Clearly, that has to be addressed.

Pirlo works best as a deep-lying playmaker, a regista in Italian soccer parlance.  But when the team loses the ball, well, not to be too harsh about it, but Pirlo is practically useless.

This isn’t a problem for Kreis if his defensive midfielder is “just some guy,” some mid-level man named Jones or Smith or whatever. The manager just switches out personnel, finding someone who better fits the job description of a holding midfielder. But everyone understands the deal when a Pirlo or, most famously, a Beckham signs on the dotted line. The guy is going to feature, even if the entire system must be adjusted to accommodate him. Hence the “Pirlo Problem.”

SEE MORE: Comparing Andrea Pirlo’s life at Juventus to New York City FC.

Even into his 30s (Pirlo is 36 now), the longtime Italian international worked well for Juventus and for the Azzurri because of the players around him. He had versatile, talented men who could also put in the work.

Italy couldn’t get past brilliant Spain at the 2012 European Championship, but that doesn’t mean Azzurri manager Cesare Prandelli didn’t have a great team himself. He did, and it was built around a dazzling darling of a midfield. Daniele De Rossi was the smart and effective ball-winner; Claudio Marchisio was the highly skilled engine; Riccardo Montolivo handled the playmaking. And Pirlo’s ability to stylishly, reliably connect all those pieces made the diamond midfield work beautifully.

The prevailing narrative may be MLS as a “retirement” home for some of these guys, but that overly simplified description ignores the fact that Pirlo was running the show for his team in a Champions League final just two months ago. It all functioned well for Juventus for the same reason it functioned all those years for Italy: because of the players around him and because of a system largely built to accommodate Pirlo. At Juve it was Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba and Marchisio whose collective know-how and craft helped illuminate the maestro, Pirlo.

Well, not to overstate the obvious, but Vidal, Pogba and Marchisio aren’t walking through the Yankee Stadium doors anytime soon.

On the other hand, Lampard is already there. So is a wonderful young talent in Kwadwo Poku. Mix Diskerud is something of a ‘tweener; no one can quite figure out his best spot. Still, that might just work to Kreis’ advantage, as Diskerud’s versatility can potentially be put to good use. The NYCFC manager also has Ned Grabavoy, a highly competent and probably underrated MLS veteran who always worked well in those diamond midfields that Kreis deployed so successfully in previous days at Real Salt Lake.

Lampard was a two-way machine in his best days at Stamford Bridge. But the calculus at Yankee Stadium now includes determining how much wear and tear is on the machine; that is, Kreis not only has to figure how Lampard fits into the evolving mix, but how a potentially diminishing Lampard fits.

See all the moving parts, here? Anybody envy the task ahead of Kreis? The youngest manager ever to win an MLS Cup has it in him, surely – but that doesn’t mean it will come easily.

LA Galaxy manager Bruce Arena has some similar juggling to do at the StubHub Center, where some tinkering will be needed to arrange Gerrard and dos Santos into a mix that also includes talented youngster Sebastian Lletget. (Lletget looks like this year’s prize find in MLS, so let’s hope he doesn’t get pushed into the margins.)  It won’t be easy, but Arena has several advantages that Kreis doesn’t.

First, he has done this before, squeezing the very best out of Beckham through a late-career positional change. More importantly, Arena has military grade talent bookending his midfield under construction. At one end there is reigning league MVP Robbie Keane, a seriously wily type who knows his way through MLS defenses as well as anyone. At the other end, Arena has a veteran back line marshalled by U.S. international Omar Gonzalez.

No, Gonzales isn’t John Terry, but he is night and day better than anything Kreis has on his roster in the Bronx. “Protect a highly vulnerable” back line is at tippy top of Kreis’ list of needs as he assembles the pieces; Arena has way more latitude on that one.

So there’s the “Pirlo problem” illustrated.

What a great one to have – and how fascinating it will be to watch Kreis deal with his tactical conundrums ahead. With a fourth DP now possible – which means more of these guys will eventually land in MLS – this won’t be the last time we see a “Pirlo Problem” addressed in MLS.

Editor’s note: Steve Davis writes a weekly column for World Soccer Talk. He shares his thoughts and opinions on US and MLS soccer topics every Wednesday, as well as news reports throughout the week. You can follow Steve on Twitter at @stevedavis90. Plus, read Steve’s other columns on World Soccer Talk.