What Hearts star Andy Irving makes of the 'Porty Pirlo' nickname, getting on the ball and his dad's advice

Andy Irving is always there in the Hearts midfield, surveying, plotting, offering himself to team-mates.
Fans have dubbed Irving the 'Porty Pirlo'. Picture: SNSFans have dubbed Irving the 'Porty Pirlo'. Picture: SNS
Fans have dubbed Irving the 'Porty Pirlo'. Picture: SNS

"I want to be on the ball," he said. “If I give the ball away, get the ball again."

It could easily be the player’s mantra. Get it, pass it. Again and again.

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Irving's ability in possession, the technique which he possesses, the awareness and the vision are what have endeared him to the Hearts support. So much so, following a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen back in December 2019, a Hearts fans podcast christened him the ‘Portobello Pirlo’.

It is a moniker, shortened to the snappier ‘Porty Pirlo’, which has not only gained traction but stuck. And the player himself has taken notice.

"I think it is funny considering Pirlo is one of my idols," Irving told the Evening News. “There's lots of players but Pirlo is one I’ve always looked up to so it’s funny. I don’t think I’m close to that yet!

"Obviously if that’s what they want to call me that’s fine by me."

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It is hard to envisage the 20-year-old posing nonchalantly with a glass of red wine in a Lombardy vineyard just yet, as the 116-cap Italian legend once did. It is, however, much easier to picture Irving crafting a key role in Robbie Neilson's midfield in the mould of the former Juventus and AC Milan ace.

BERLIN, GERMANY - JUNE 06: Andrea Pirlo of Juventus applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and FC Barcelona at Olympiastadion on June 6, 2015 in Berlin, Germany.  (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)BERLIN, GERMANY - JUNE 06: Andrea Pirlo of Juventus applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and FC Barcelona at Olympiastadion on June 6, 2015 in Berlin, Germany.  (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - JUNE 06: Andrea Pirlo of Juventus applauds the fans after the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and FC Barcelona at Olympiastadion on June 6, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Like Pirlo, Irving is not going to win any sprint races anytime soon, and with his slight build and curly hair, he could easily be mistaken for a Portobello High School pupil. But what he may lack in power and athleticism, he makes up for in sheer footballing ability.

That was on show last Friday in the friendly with Partick Thistle where he scored a quite sumptuous goal. Then on Tuesday night, in the 1-0 win over Inverness CT in the Betfred Cup, he was one of the best players during his 62 minutes on the pitch

Scanning, fatherly advice and the owl

What really makes Irving so captivating and encouraging to watch is the responsibility he is willing to take to get on the ball, even in difficult situations.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 02: Hearts' Andrew Irving (right) celebrates with teammates after he curls home to make it 2-0 during a friendly match between Partick Thistle and Hearts at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill, on October 02, 2020, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 02: Hearts' Andrew Irving (right) celebrates with teammates after he curls home to make it 2-0 during a friendly match between Partick Thistle and Hearts at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill, on October 02, 2020, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 02: Hearts' Andrew Irving (right) celebrates with teammates after he curls home to make it 2-0 during a friendly match between Partick Thistle and Hearts at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill, on October 02, 2020, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)
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But he is aided by an acute awareness he has developed since a young age on advice from his father. If he was playing in South America there is every likelihood he would have a cool nickname like El Buho (the owl) such is his ability to see all that is around him.

"When I go on to the pitch I want to take as much responsibility as I can,” he said. “If my team-mate is in trouble I want to take the ball off him and give him an option, help him.

"I want to be on the ball, that’s what my game’s about, to be on the ball, that's when I can be at my best.

“It’s the way I was always brought up with my dad. It was always pass and move, scanning. Scanning was drilled into me at a young age. It was always check your shoulder. I got into a habit of doing that.

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"Most people will tell you, it's more instinct than anything. You know when you are under pressure, you know where people are. When receiving the ball always try to face forward so you are hopefully never in the situation where you're facing your own goal with pressure on you because you don't want that.”

The competition

While there are those amongst the Hearts support who want the team to be built around Irving, the player, who started alongside Olly Lee at the base of the 4-2-3-1 on Tuesday, faces tough competition in his position this season having been replaced by Andy Halliday.

He said: “There's a lot of good players in there, senior players, but it is a chance for me to keep training well and keep playing well when I get the chance. Really try to develop and improve as a player this season.

“Every game we want to win. The cup games, the league, be a good team, play good football.

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“Personally I want to play a big part in that. I want to play games, I want to do well and be part of a team which wins the league.”

Transition from a No.10

Robbie Neilson is a fan of Irving but notes fans are not seeing the finished product with potential still to be fulfilled and nuances of his game which require learning and improving having been moved from a more attacking role during his early years at the club.

"Andy controls the game,” he said. “I think there is still a lot to come from Andy. He’s still a young kid.

"I’ve known Andy since he was 14/15 when he came here. He was played as a No.10, off the striker. He started to move a little bit deeper to control the game. I still think he's in between those two positions.

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"I see him more as someone who sits at the base and dictates the game for us. But he has to figure out how to do that, how to control the game a bit more.

"You can see the quality he has got, his range of passing, understanding of the game. But he still needs to understand his position and where he has to be in the game for us.”

Neilson is Irving’s third boss in less than a year at Tynecastle.

Each manager has their own understanding and requirements from the midfielder, and the different aspects is something the player continues to add to his game on his road to becoming the best he can be.

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He said: “If it is Olly that goes, or whoever I’m playing alongside, to make the box, I sit and get the full-back in beside me. And vice versa.

"I’m trying to concentrate on that more than I probably have in the past.”

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