Ferdinand: United Star Would Be A Nightmare For Italian Hero

Rio Ferdinand has revealed he was gutted by England's loss to Italy in the 2012 Euro quarter finals last night, but the Manchester United defender still believes that Park Ji-Sung could show Italian hero Andrea Pirlo some tips on the pitch.

England kept the scores with Italy at 0-0 into extra time at Kyiv, and when neither side could convert after 130 minutes, it was up to Pirlo to seal the victory which he did in stunning style with his penalty kick.

And while the England squad are understandably disappointed following their loss, Ferdinand took to Twitter to express his condolences.

"Wow, out on penalties again. Gutted for the lads," he wrote.

"On a pure footballing note Pirlo just put on a pure footballing master class + the penalty was too much.

"Pirlo is an inspiration + Heart breaker too."

But Ferdinand, who wasn't selected for the England side despite a relatively successful season with United, insisted that Park was right up there with Pirlo in terms of marking opposition.

"When Park ji Sung played against Pirlo at the San Siro I swear it was a master class in man marking...." he explained. "Pirlo would of seen Ji in his sleep!"

When a tweeter asked how far that got Park in his career, the United star snapped back: "Got him loads of medals!"

Park has been a standout star for United for the last seven years, and Sir Alex Ferguson has come to rely on the South Korean in the games that matter as the side look to build on their already-bursting trophy cabinet.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand couldn't help but express his dissatisfaction with not being able to travel with the England squad to the Euros, in the aftermath of John Terry being accused of racially abusing his brother Anton.

But despite his unhappiness at not being included in Roy Hodgson's line up, the United man has been tweeting regularly in the hopes that England would pull off the seemingly impossible with a group of young and inexperienced players.