Former Brescia assistant Adelio Moro has claimed that Andrea Pirlo is the closest thing Italy have had to legendary ex-AC Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera.

The 50-year-old is of the opinion that his former player is the natural heir to the former national team midfielder, and will also prove to be an astute piece of business by the Old Lady in his eyes.

"His performance in the Juventus Parma game displayed even more of the attacking qualities he possesses, and even now when he has the ability to support an attack, he has talent I had only seen in Gianni Rivera [until now]," he told the radio show Radio Sport.

"He told me he slept last season, and I hope this move to Turin will allow him to extend his career. However, what is certain is that he is the right man at the right time for Juventus."

The coach was Mircea Lucescu's right-hand man at Brescia between 1991 and 1995, and he proceeded to tell the radio show about his promising experiences with the 32-year-old and when he took the role of caretaker after the Romanian's departure.

"We all expected it [Pirlo's breakthrough], I was [Mircea] Lucescu's deputy at Brescia, but then he was sacked and I coached him for the next seven days," he said. "I gave him a start against Reggiana, where he impressed me with his personality and had exceptional vision as well as a unique technique."

According to Moro, Pirlo's big break came under the stewardship of Carlo Mazzone, who brought him back on loan at Brescia, and it was there where he truly began to flourish, after being handed a deeper, more mature role.

"His career changed when Inter loaned him back to Brescia, and it was here where a great master like [Carlo] Mazzone was there to guide him," he continued.

"It was he who first moved Pirlo into central midfield and allowed him to express his truest footballing qualities. He used to play just behind the strikers and probably could not express himself fully."

Rivera is considered one of the game's most gifted deep-lying playmakers to have graced a football pitch, having appeared in four World Cups and given 19 years of outstanding service to the Serie A champions between 1960 and 1979.