Pirlo: Schembri is the Malteser with hard centre
WHEN Italy legend Andrea Pirlo was asked to name his toughest opponent, you would have got long odds on guessing his answer.
Instead of picking a fellow global superstar, the classy playmaker insisted obscure Malta international Andre Schembri was as tough as it got for him.
And the Boavista midfielder is now aiming to frustrate both England and Scotland in their World Cup qualifying group.
Scotland will come up against Schembri first today when they kick off their World Cup campaign in Malta this evening.
And England will then come face-to-face with the mystery man from the Mediterranean minnows on October 8.
Schembri, 30, made a huge impression on Pirlo in a World Cup qualifier in Modena in 2012.
So much so, in fact, that Pirlo had dedicated almost an entire chapter in his autobiography to his encounter against Schembri, who he described as the toughest and most frustrating player he had ever faced.
It came as a surprise to Schembri, who had no idea he had the honour of being in his book until it was pointed out to him.
And he revealed what happened when he met up again with the legend, who now plays in the MLS for New York City FC.
Schembri said: “The game was in Modena and I was marking him, which is what our coach told me to do – I don’t think I was ever more than five metres away from him.
“During the game he didn’t speak to me but he was speaking to the Italian defenders, saying to them, ‘Don’t give me the ball, this d*ckhead is with me all the time’. I understand Italian so I knew exactly what he was saying.
“And you could see their defenders were surprised because normally the first thing they do when they get the ball is look for Pirlo.
“But our idea was to stop him getting the ball and dictating the game. So they were a bit mixed up about it.
“After the game he came to me and said, ‘Why did you play like that?’
“I said, ‘Listen my coach gave me instructions, I had to follow them or I won’t play in the team’.
“But we swapped shirts so he obviously didn’t feel too bad about what I had been doing.
“Normally I don’t swap shirts because my national jerseys mean a lot to me.
“But I have a friend who is a big Juventus fan and I knew he would be thrilled to get it.
“In Malta, all the supporters have either an Italian club or an English one, so that was the main reason I swapped.
“It wasn’t for me. I was more a Roma fan when I was young.
“But we played against one another three years later in Florence and when he saw me, Pirlo gave me a little smile like, ‘Oh no, you again’.”
Schembri is one of three generations of his family who have played international football for Malta and has 72 caps for his country. Star Sunday Daily
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