AS Roma ace Daniele de Rossi is set to face his idol on Sunday when Italy plays England in the Euro2012 quarterfinals.

De Rossi admits he's a huge fan of Liverpool's England captain Steven Gerrard.

"Gerrard has always been my idol and has been playing at a high level for years. England are very strong and play in an Italian style, also being very strong in defence. Perhaps we'd have preferred to face Ukraine, but this is fine," said De Rossi.