Andrea Pirlo could have the same impact in MLS as David Beckham

New York City FC finally made the signing of Andrea Pirlo official on Monday morning. The 2006 World Cup winner joins Major League Soccer at an interesting time in the league’s development. Older stars are flooding the landscape, but the common thread in this older generation of players is that they still have the ability to play at a high level and grow the sport beyond its current quality of play.

When David Beckham came to MLS, he had marketable good looks that could be tattooed on billboards across Los Angeles. Beckham advanced the sport by bringing in sponsors and selling out stadiums. Andrea Pirlo exemplifies coolness on the ball with a rather famous beard.

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The Brooklyn hipsters can marvel at the 36-year-old’s famous facial hair, but this Italian football legend provides more than bristling facial hair, just as Beckham provided more than hair styles and a pretty face. Pirlo can still play. For heaven’s sake, he started in the 2015 Champions League final on June 6.

While Beckham slowly transitioned deeper into the midfield as he aged in MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy, Pirlo comes into the league as a deep-lying quarterback. The Italian great has long played deep in the midfield and made a living by finding the open man. “Keep calm and pass it to Pirlo” shirts have long been spread across Italy for several years in a successful attempt to capitalize on Pirlo’s calmness on the ball and that beautiful beard. The Maestro comfortably finds his teammates whether they are five yards away or 40 yards away, but the latter is where the Italian needs to focus in order to make his move successful on the pitch.

Overall, Pirlo is a better passer than Beckham, but when it came to the 40-yard ball from deep in the midfield, the former Manchester United maverick had a right foot sent down from the heavens. Beckham had 37 years to his name when he walked away with the 2012 MLS Cup in tow, hinting that aging skill can still conjure silverware in America.

While the delivery may not be identical, Pirlo can mirror Beckham’s results. When it comes to free kicks in scoring positions, few players offer more precision than the bearded one. When a pass must be dropped into the box, Pirlo has long been one of the best service men in Europe. Transferring that talent to New York should be as effortless as sipping a glass of wine.

The major difference between Beckham and Pirlo is fragility. While MLS may not be up to European standards when it comes to skill and technical ability, the physicality of American soccer trumps most European leagues. Staying healthy will be Pirlo’s biggest challenge, as the central midfielder has a light build.

More confident in possession than Beckham, Pirlo could learn from the Englishman’s style of play by getting off the ball quickly in order to avoid the rough challenges that will be coming his way. Pirlo can hit the same 40-yard diagonal balls Beckham pinged from deep in the right side of the midfield. No longer advancing the ball via quality players like Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal in midfield, the Italian transplant would best preserve his body and help his team by connecting on long-range bombs to David Villa.

With Frank Lampard running through the middle, a long ball to Villa eventually falling to Lampard in the box, where the former Chelsea man made a career of finishing chances, would be the ideal set up. Similarly, Beckham would often look for Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan with his accurate long balls, and the attacking duo went on to create and finish chances with regularity.

Pirlo’s arrival in New York is a gift for MLS, and now, the goal should be to keep this special talent intact and on the pitch as long as possible.

Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports helping covering the beautiful game globally. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass