Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has paid tribute to Inter Milan midfielder Dejan Stankovic.

The pair are teammates with Serbia and Stankovic was a second-half substitute in last night's Champions League triumph for Inter.

Ivanovic told chelseafc.com: "For Serbia he is the most important team player in the last 10 years.

"He is the symbol of Serbian football, the guy who played at the best level in the world for the longest time and he's a very important player, he is a real leader and captain of the team.

"Stankovic plays with his heart and has very good quality, a very good pass and shot and he is special, he is the person who other guys can look to,' continued the 26-year-old. 'When I was younger everyone looked up to him, he started in the national team very young and for a generation he was the favourite player."