Query: Andrea Pirlo has always been an American hockey player.

Relevant passages:
Andrea Pirlo <=SEP=> Andrea Pirlo , Ufficiale OMRI ( born 19 May 1979 ) is an Italian professional footballer who plays for American club New York City FC and the Italy national team . Pirlo is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield for both his club and national sides , and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever exponents of this position , due to his vision , ball control , creativity and passing ability ; he is also a free-kick specialist .   Pirlo began his club career as an attacking midfielder with his home-town side Brescia , where he later helped the team to win the Serie B title and obtain Serie A promotion in 1997 . His promising performances led to a move to Internazionale in 1998 , but he struggled to gain playing time at his new club , due to his lack of pace , as well as heavy competition with other players in his position , and was subsequently sent on loan in 1999 . Despite successful spells with Reggina , and Brescia once again , Pirlo was still unable to break into Inter 's starting line-up , and was sold to cross-city rivals Milan in 2001 . At Milan , manager Carlo Ancelotti decided to shift Pirlo in front of the defence as a deep-lying playmaker , which allowed him more time on the ball to orchestrate his team 's attacks . Pirlo excelled in his new role , and soon developed into a world-class midfielder , playing a key role in Milan 's subsequent successes , as he won two UEFA Champions Leagues ( 2003 and 2007 ) , two UEFA Super Cups ( 2003 and 2007 ) , two Serie A titles ( 2004 and 2011 ) , a FIFA Club World Cup ( 2007 ) , a Supercoppa Italiana ( 2004 ) , and a Coppa Italia ( 2003 ) with the club . After joining Juventus on a free transfer in 2011 , who had gone trophyless since 2003 , he added four more Serie A titles ( 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , and 2015 ) , which he won consecutively , as well as two Supercoppa Italiana titles ( 2012 and 2013 ) , and a Coppa Italia ( 2015 ) . After playing in Italy for over 20 seasons , Pirlo joined MLS expansion side New York City FC in 2015 , helping the team to reach the playoffs in his second season .   At international level , Pirlo is the fourth-most capped player in the history of the Italian national team with 116 caps . He has played for the Italian youth teams at U15 , U18 and U21 level , captaining and leading the latter to victory in the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship as the Golden Player and Top Scorer of the tournament . He joined the Italian senior side in September 2002 and captained the Olympic team to a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics . Later , he was instrumental in their victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He was named Man of the Match three times , including the final , more than any other player in the tournament , and ultimately won the Bronze Ball ( awarded to the third best player of the tournament ) also being elected to the Team of the Tournament . He was also elected as part of the UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament , after leading Italy to the final , winning three Man of the Match awards in the process , the most of any player along with Andrés Iniesta . He has also represented the Italian senior side at the 2004 and 2008 UEFA European Championships , the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups , and the 2009 and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cups , finishing third in the latter edition in Brazil , where he was also elected to the Team of the Tournament .   Pirlo came in third , second , fourth , and third twice more in the IFFHS World Playmaker of the Year awards in 2006 , 2007 , 2012 , 2013 , and 2015 , respectively . He placed fourth in the 2012 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award , and seventh in the 2015 edition . He placed 7th in the 2007 FIFA World Player , 5th in the 2007 Ballon d'Or and 7th in the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or award . He was also named as part of the 2006 FIFPro World XI and the 2012 UEFA Team of the Year . In 2012 , 2013 , and 2014 , Pirlo was also elected as Serie A Footballer of the Year , and was also named as part of the Serie A team of the Year . After helping Juventus to the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final , he was named to the squad of the season . In 2012 , Pirlo was named the eighth best footballer in the World by The Guardian , and in 2013 , Bloomberg ranked him the fifth best player in Europe . In 2015 , France Football rated him as one of the 10 best footballers in the world who are over the age of 36 .