NEW YORK – Andrea Pirlo has made a living as one of the greatest midfielders of all-time, as someone who can play a perfect ball from deep in the midfield in part because he always had a partner in midfield.
It was true at AC Milan with Gennaro Gattuso and at Juventus with Paul Pogba. It was something that Patrick Vieira – himself a former steely midfielder in that same mold – recognized when he became New York City FC head coach and something he utilized successfully in the club’s home opener.
In a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC, Vieira employed a 3-2-2-3 formation (also described as a 3-4-3), which allowed NYCFC to control much of the game due to extra numbers in the center of the park. In front of the back three were Pirlo and Federico Bravo, who both served as holding midfielders.
In that draw, in which David Villa scored two goals in the opening half hour, Pirlo had more touches (111), more passes (85), tackles (8) and chances created (3) than anyone from either team.
“In the system we played with the two holding midfielders with Andrea and Federico, I believe that worked well,” Vieira said in a conference call Thursday. “I was really pleased with Andrea with the way he played and the number of balls he won in the midfield. I think he was really, really good.”
While Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney said he was perplexed by NYCFC's formation, which is for the most part foreign in MLS, Vieira said he first utilized it at the Manchester City Elite Development Squad.
“That was a shape we worked on when we were in our preseason in Sarasota and I was quite really pleased with the way the team reacted,” Vieira said. “This is the shape we are going to use during the season as well.”
It is the second different shape Vieira used in two regular season games after going with a 4-3-3 in a 4-3 win over the Chicago Fire. Vieira said he will likely go with a 3-3-4 at some point this season.
“This is a system as well we are going to use,” Vieira said. “We may use it tomorrow because of course we will try to control the game.”
One player who will certainly not be part of whatever formation Vieira uses against Orlando SC (7 pm ET; UniMás, UDN) is Frank Lampard, who will miss a third consecutive game with a calf strain.
“He is getting better and better,” Vieira said. “But he will not be ready for the game tomorrow.”
