Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi has revealed his deep admiration for Steven Gerrard, suggesting that there is no better midfielder in the world.
The pair will go head-to-head when the Azzuri take on England in the Euro 2012 quarter-final on Sunday evening and the Roma icon declared that he possesses the utmost respect for his counterpart.
“Steven Gerrard has always been my idol,” De Rossi admitted according to Goal.com.
“For the last 10 years, he has been amongst the best in the world.
“He is here, he is there. Attacking, defending. I would love to be able to play close to his level.
“He is the ultimate midfielder.”
The 28-year-old has been courted by numerous Premier League clubs over recent years and suggested that he would be open to a move to England
“I have received many offers from English football and I must say that I feel an attraction for them. I like English football very much – I think now it’s probably more interesting than Italian football.
“The Premier League has lots of outstanding and talented players but I think this is the case for Spain as well.
“I like the England team, too. I think it’s actually a very Italian team. You can see the signs of the influence of both [Fabio] Capello and [Roy] Hodgson, who have both coached in Italy.”
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