Football Dynasty

"Sir—Boss, do you like watching rugby?"

Instead of replying, Pirlo—caught off guard—asked back, clearly confused by the question.

Instead of answering right away, Richard simply smiled and crossed his arms. "I wouldn't say I'm a fan, but I watch it from time to time. Football here in the UK has evolved into something closer to what Americans call rugby—it's physical, aggressive, and fast. And strangely enough, it's now the most popular form of the sport here."

When people think of American sports, the NBA might come to mind in the next decade. But in reality, the NBA has never truly surpassed the popularity of rugby or baseball in the U.S.—and before its commercial boom, it was even less followed than professional ice hockey

Richard then got to the point. "Andrea, let me give you an example," he said calmly. "But first, let me ask you something—do you know which position on a football team is usually seen as the star?"

Pirlo shook his head.

"The quarterback," Richard said. "That position represents the heart of American sports culture—it's the brain and soul of the team. Just look at how often the quarterback wins MVP; no other position comes close. The biggest games are often called 'quarterback showdowns,' just like how we talk about battles between two world-class number 10s in football. Do you understand what I mean?"

Just like how fans have debated the most iconic football duels across generations—from the classic rivalry of Johan Cruyff vs. Franz Beckenbauer, to the golden-age clash of Pelé vs. Maradona, and finally to the modern-day "GOAT" debate of Messi vs. Ronaldo—every era has had its own defining showdown that captures the very soul of the game.

The 1980s and 1990s were the golden age of attacking midfielders. During this period, a large number of outstanding attacking midfielders were produced, and the attacks were mainly centered around these midfielders.

The tactic developed to counter this is the pressure tactic, which has become a trend in modern soccer. Pressure soccer was created to counter them, and it was quite effective, but one crucial thing was the rule change that prohibited backpasses to goalkeepers, which made it difficult or ineffective for attacking midfielders to show good performance throughout the 90 minutes of every game.

Even with the rise of pressure soccer, it was the heyday of attacking midfielders before the goalkeeper's backpass prohibition rule, but after that, it gradually began to decline. And with the revision of the offside rule, the efficiency of playing with the ball from the back has increased and the deep-lying playmaker has emerged.

In other words, like in modern soccer, forward pressure must be extremely active, so the player who moves the ball from the back becomes important.

In this case, even if you apply forward pressure hard, if you backpass the goalkeeper and catch it with your hand, the error rate is close to 0, so forward pressure is important. This is because it has become a meaningless loss of stamina.

At that time, forward pressure did not have as much meaning as it does now, as instead of giving a short pass to the goalkeeper like now, a wide back pass was given and caught even close to the halfway line. .

Pirlo listened intently, sensing that Richard was building toward something deeper.

"In football," Richard continued, "we've clearly defined roles like the number 9, the number 10—even the so-called 9.5. But the number 4? For a long time, it lacked a clear identity. That changed when a Dutchman brought his vision to Barcelona. His name was Johan Cruyff. And during his tactical revolution, he found success by shaping a young midfielder—Pep Guardiola."

"He became the centerpiece of Barcelona's rise, helping them win four consecutive league titles and gain prominence across Europe. That 'Dream Team' Cruyff built? It's still etched in football's memory."

Richard paused, letting the weight of the story sink in.

"Andrea, maybe you didn't follow all of that when it happened—and that's okay. But today, just sit back and watch this Super Bowl. Focus on the quarterbacks—how they read the game, how they lead, how they control the tempo. Once you understand that, I'll tell you whether I believe you can become a player who helps define the future of football."

Let alone Pirlo—even O'Neill and the others were unsure what Richard was up to.

But Richard offered no explanation. He simply clapped his hands, gathered their attention, and began the session—with Pirlo as the clear focus.

At this point in his development, Pirlo had one major flaw: he was too eager to drive forward the moment he received the ball—too focused on attacking, just as he had been at Brescia. Richard saw it clearly, and he intended to break that habit.

'He suffered when he was fielded as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers.'

That was Richard's blunt assessment of Pirlo's game.

This is also why the current Pirlo still hasn't earned the full trust of O'Neill or Robertson. At the moment, he's still behind the likes of Neil Lennon, Mark van Bommel, and Jackie McNamara in the pecking order.

The classic number 10 role doesn't quite suit Pirlo's style—he lacks the explosive pace and physicality needed to shake off defenders or hold his ground under pressure.

Day one: Richard introduced the core concept of how he wanted Pirlo to play.

"Your main role is to receive the ball from the defense and connect it to the front—dictating the position, direction, and rhythm of the team's attack through your passes. You'll move freely among teammates, acting as the key link in every passing sequence."

"Like a Regista?" Pirlo asked immediately, recognizing the description.

In English, the position is known as the deep-lying playmaker, while in Italian, it's called the regista. This player acts as the director of the team's play—dictating tempo, orchestrating transitions, and often operating from a deeper, defensive midfield role.

The impact of a regista can vary greatly depending on how they're utilized tactically.

"Exactly," Richard nodded. "A Regista needs precise passing technique, a wide field of vision to see the whole pitch, and the stamina and intelligence to make constant tactical decisions."

The reason the Italian term regista is more widely used than its English counterpart is rooted in tradition. In the past, the Premier League favored dynamic, box-to-box midfielders—like Paul Scholes, Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard, and Frank Lampard—over deep-lying playmakers. As a result, the role of the regista wasn't in high demand, and the concept remained underdeveloped in English football for years.

Day Two: Positional Awareness & Spatial Intelligence

The focus shifted to teaching Pirlo how to operate in front of the defense, rather than behind the strikers—a fundamental shift in mindset and responsibility.

"You need to get used to this," Richard said calmly as he observed from the sidelines, watching City's training unfold.

To simulate real-match conditions, cones and mannequins were set up to mimic pressing opponents.

Pirlo was tasked with receiving the ball under pressure and releasing it quickly, encouraging instinctive decision-making. His movement was restricted to the middle third of the pitch, forcing him to constantly scan his surroundings, anticipate passing lanes, and choose smart angles when receiving the ball from defenders.

Day Three: Decision-Making & Distribution Timing

By the third day, a few more first-team players were brought into the session. The focus now shifted from positional understanding to how and when Pirlo should distribute the ball under pressure.

Robertson gathered the players and gave a clear instruction—especially for Pirlo.

"In these training games, you're limited to two or three touches. No exceptions."

This rule was meant to sharpen reflexes and force quicker decision-making—a critical skill for anyone operating just in front of the defense.

From across the pitch, Walford shouted, "Mark! Robbie! Come here—you'll rotate with Andrea in this drill. Marco! Gian! Over here—your job is to press and win the ball. William and Ro, get ready—you'll rotate in next."

All the named players jogged over. Their assignment was clear: harass the playmakers, force mistakes, and test each candidate's ability to distribute the ball under match-like pressure.