Leeds fans have been calling Kalvin Phillips the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ for a few years now, but recently the legendary Italian midfielder himself commented on the nickname.
With Kalvin Phillips playing a starring role for England at the Euros this summer, the wider football world was introduced to the light-hearted nickname for the first time. Many rival fans found it cringey, but now Andrea Pirlo himself has had his say.
“In England, there’s never been this kind of player… There’s the boy at Leeds, who’s a bit of a regista.” Pirlo shared to The Athletic. However, he doesn’t quite agree with the Phillips comparisons. “But… we’re a bit different. He doesn’t have the same characteristics I had.” He goes on to compare Phillips to Frank Lampard, which does seem like an even stranger comparison considering Phillips doesn’t carry the same goal threat Lampard did and is much more defensively aware. “You’ve always had box-to-box midfielders, like Frank Lampard.”
The Yorkshire Pirlo nickname has always been used in jest, but it may hurt some fans to see the man himself dismiss the comparisons.
