How Long Can Andrea Pirlo Realistically Play on for Juventus?

It's easy to look at a footballer in his mid-30s and write him off. But rather than focusing on Andrea Pirlo's longevity, any prediction on the midfielder's future should be based less on seniority and more on ability.

Pirlo is 35, which these days isn't that old for a professional athlete, provided he takes care of himself. Francesco Totti, who won the World Cup alongside the the Juventus playmaker in 2006, is 38 and still one of Serie A's leading lights. Professional cyclist Chris Horner won the gruelling 2013 Vuelta a Espana at the age of 42. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still a box-office draw at 38, and he quite literally takes a beating for a living. These days it's more about drive than anything else. 

Personal problems, complacency, laziness and injury can end careers before they even reach their peak—just as dedication, hard work and a little luck can prolong them far beyond the average expectancy. To take just one example, Adriano is still only 33, but he was effectively finished as a top player almost a decade ago.

Assuming Pirlo stays fit and out of trouble and still has the will to win and the desire to stay in peak condition, there's no reason why he can't go on for several more seasons. 

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Andrea Pirlo so good—& Italian football so poor—he can carry on until he’s 53, says Camoranesi http://t.co/EAlPRzSoBx pic.twitter.com/xj2Y8RykOu

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) March 12, 2015"

In a recent interview with Turin-based daily Tuttosport (here in English via Football Italia), Pirlo's former team-mate Mauro Camoranesi predicted that we haven't seen the last of the midfielder quite yet.

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Pirlo? Andrea is unique, and to have him back for Dortmund would be essential. Having him on the pitch shifts the balance.

Sometimes I hear criticism against him and I laugh. Pirlo can never be a problem, he solves problems.

I was convinced that Pirlo could play until he’s 40, but given the current level of Italian football he can play until he’s 50 or 53. I don’t see anyone around with his quality or intelligence.

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Also, it's been picked up on by some parts of the media as a slight on Italian football, Camoranesi's comments should be taken more as a compliment for his old colleague. Pirlo is in many ways an anachronistic type of player. A throwback to a different era.

Surrounded by brute force and speed, his languid, studied style is in contrast with almost every other midfielder currently playing, but it also acts as the perfect counter-balance to the physicality and directness of the modern game.

Like Totti at Roma, Pirlo is important not just because he's still a very good player, but also because without him something is missing. Take him out of Max Allegri's lineup and the Bianconeri might still win, but they'll win in a completely different way.

It's easy to become fixated with age. It's a straightforward gauge that we—often incorrectly—read as universally consistent. But it's more helpful to look at other numbers. He is a player who has been consistently vital to his team's success, and since 2002 has only played fewer than 30 games in a season twice. 

In 2015, he remains at the heart of Antonio Conte's Azzurri, almost 10 years after lifting the World Cup in Berlin. With Juve, he's on his way to his fourth consecutive Scudetto.

Three goals and three assists isn't a bad return for a player who rarely runs and who plays in front of the back four. Getting more technical, WhoScored.com's algorithms rank him as the fifth-best player in Serie A this year. 

In the coming seasons, Pirlo's biggest enemy will almost certainly be injury. What's easy to recover from in your late 20s can end a career at his age, and staying match fit will be the biggest obstacle he faces. If he can do that, there's no reason he can't at the very least match Totti, and perhaps even his old friend Paolo Maldini, who at 41 still managed 30 league appearances for Milan in 2008-09. 

Of course, he might soon decide to quit while he's ahead, should Juventus or Italy win another major title. Adding a third Champions League medal to his trophy cabinet, or securing an unlikely success with the Azzurri in France next year, might be enough for him to call time on an incredible career.

If not, it will be largely up to him. Allegri can use him more sparingly, but having written him off once already when the pair were at the Rossoneri, he'll be reluctant to make the same mistake twice. Once Pirlo feels up for it, there's likely to be a place for him in Turin for a long time yet. As Mark Twain put it: Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

What do you think about Pirlo's future? Let me know on Twitter: @ColliOBrien

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