Andrea Pirlo played what seems certain to be the final match of his career, as New York City FC failed to overturn a first leg loss to Columbus Crew.
The 38-year-old came on for a brief cameo in the 2-0 win, which followed a 4-1 loss in the first leg.
Pirlo announced last month that he’d hang up his boots after the MLS season, so it appears this may have been his final match as a player.
Andrea Pirlo played what seems certain to be the final match of his career, as New York City FC failed to overturn a first leg loss to Columbus Crew.
The 38-year-old came on for a brief cameo in the 2-0 win, which followed a 4-1 loss in the first leg.
Pirlo announced last month that he’d hang up his boots after the MLS season, so it appears this may have been his final match as a player.
Known for his range of passing and pinpoint free-kicks, Pirlo was capped 116 times by Italy, scoring 13 goals and winning the 2006 World Cup.
He also won two Scudetti and two Champions Leagues at Milan, before leaving on a free transfer to join Juventus in 2011.
Pirlo won a further four Scudetti in Turin, and played his final match for the club in the 2015 Champions League final, a 3-1 defeat to Barcelona.
He then made the move to New York City FC, helping them to reach the play-offs in each of the last two seasons.
In total, Pirlo has made over 750 club appearances, scoring 73 times.
He remains joint top of the all-time Serie A free-kick goals table, tied with Sinisa Mihajlovic on 28, six ahead of Alessandro Del Piero.