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Champions League | Round-of-16

Feb 12, 2013 at 7.45pm UK

Celtic
0-3
Juventus

Matri, Marchisio, Vucinic

Scott Brown: 'Andrea Pirlo is one of the greats'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 11 February 2013

Celtic captain Scott Brown hails Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo as a great player ahead of the two sides' meeting in the Champions League tomorrow.

Celtic skipper Scott Brown has hailed Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo as one of football's great players.

Brown will come face to face with the 33-year-old when his side take on Juventus in the Champions League, with Brown having first-hand experience of Pirlo's quality after played against him for Scotland and Celtic.

However, the Hoops midfielder is hopeful that Pirlo's increasing age will make him easier to handle than those previous occasions and insists that his side will not go down without a fight.

"In my opinion he is one of the greats. It has been hard when I have played against him but he is getting that bit older now and hopefully we can catch him. He is fantastic and we need to try to stop him from playing," said Brown.

"He is the main threat and his ability on the ball is second to none. But it is more about excitement than anything else when thinking about this game. Every day we woke up the game was one day closer. There is one day to go and it is the biggest game of our lives so far.

"We are going to be hard to beat defensively and counter-attack as well. We are going to be brave on the ball and take our chances when they come."

Celtic currently lead the SPL by 18 points, while Juventus are also top of their league, leading Serie A by five points.