Los Angeles: New York City FC boss Patrick Vieira’s shock decision to omit Italian star Andrea Pirlo from his squad failed to pay off Saturday in a 2-0 Major League Soccer defeat to the Union in Philadelphia.
Vieira stressed that Pirlo wasn’t injured, and his absence was strictly a coach’s decision.
“I’m just trying to choose the best team to win football matches, regarding the team we’re going to play against - on how we can hurt them and how we can defend their strengths,” the former France star said.
Vieira shook up his midfield, dropping Mix Diskerud, Thomas McNamara and Pirlo in favor of Federico Bravo, Kwadwo Poku and Mikey Lopez. Diskerud and McNamara were on the bench and came on as substitutes, and, overall, Vieira said he was happy with how his players performed.
