Italy star Andrea Pirlo spoke of the honour he felt when Lionel Messi recognised him as the source of inspiration for the mimicked free-kick that clinched Argentina's victory against Uruguay on Saturday.
The Barcelona ace deftly slipped his shot under a jumping wall to fool custodian Nestor Muslera, and subsequently credited Pirlo for the original idea.
"I am very happy to hear Messi say something like that," the 33-year-old told reporters at the Italy training compound. "That it came from Messi just made it better."
Pirlo will next face off against Juventus team-mate Nicklas Bendtner on Tuesday, when Cesare Prandelli's Azzurri host Denmark at San Siro next in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Barcelona ace deftly slipped his shot under a jumping wall to fool custodian Nestor Muslera, and subsequently credited Pirlo for the original idea.
"I am very happy to hear Messi say something like that," the 33-year-old told reporters at the Italy training compound. "That it came from Messi just made it better."
Pirlo will next face off against Juventus team-mate Nicklas Bendtner on Tuesday, when Cesare Prandelli's Azzurri host Denmark at San Siro next in their World Cup qualifying campaign.