Lucescu gave Pirlo his debut as a 16 year-old at Brescia and the Romanian coach revealed: "Andrea has debuted with me at Brescia when he was 16 years old. I know him well and I know what is true technically. He is exceptional at a technical level and it will be a nice challenge to coach against him tonight.

"However, when Pirlo is 32 years old, I will bring him here with me."

Lucescu also admitted he wasn't overly impressed by Milan ace Kaka.

"He's still too inconsistent," said the Shakhtar coach. "Sometimes he wakes up in a bad mood and doesn't do well, other times he wakes up in a great mood and is spectacular."