Italy's veteran schemer reached a career pinnacle when he starred in the Azzurri's 2006 World Cup triumph, but there is no indication that Andrea Pirlo's crafty playmaking skills are on the wane. He was a regular in EURO 2012 qualification and has thrived at Juventus after a decade of exceptional service at AC Milan. He began with his home-town club Brescia but had an unsettling start to his career, notably with Inter, before eventually finding his feet at Milan, where he arrived in 2001. A star turn for Italy's U-21 side, he captained the Azzurrini to the European title in 2000, scoring twice in the final against the Czech Republic, and also played at two Olympic Games. Pirlo made his senior debut in September 2002. Pirlo followed a Champions League win in 2003 with Scudetto success 12 months later and a place in Italy's squad for EURO 2004, where he made two appearances. He starred at the 2006 World Cup finals, scoring the first goal in an opening 2-0 win against Ghana, starting all seven games and being named man-of-the-match in three fixtures, including the semi-final and final. Pirlo won an international treble of Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with Milan in 2007. A scorer of a spectacular long-range strike in a 3-2 win at Real Madrid in the 2009-10 Champions League, he was called up to the FIFA World Cup finals the following summer but a calf injury reduced his contribution to a cameo role in the final group game, a 3-2 defeat by Slovakia. In May 2011, a few days after finishing the season as a Serie A winner, Pirlo announced he was leaving the Rossoneri on a free transfer to join Juventus. His first season with the Bianconeri brought a Coppa Italia final, though Juventus were beaten by Napoli, and another Serie A title as Pirlo started 37 games in the league – a career best. — Agencies