Ex-Celtic star reveals he told Pirlo DURING a game he would name his baby after him – and got perfect gift years later
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RETIRED former Celtic star Beram Kayal has revealed how a bollocking from Neil Lennon led to him naming his child Pirlo.
The Israeli star announced his decision to quit the game last week after a stint at homeland club Bnei Sakhnin at the age of 37.
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Beram Kayal in action
Credit: Kenny Ramsay - The Sun Glasgow
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Beram Kayal and Andrea Pirlo
Credit: Action Images - Reuters
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Andrea Pirlo in action at Celtic Park
Credit: Keith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow
He won six major trophies with the Hoops during his five-year spell at the club before moving to Brighton ten years ago.
He played for Celtic in the Champions League and in one of those matches against Juventus in 2013 in Turin, he was assigned a special task to man-mark Andreas Pirlo.
And Kayal, in an interview in his homeland, revealed the unlikely story about why this was the reason he named his first born child Pirlo.
He said: "All week Neil Lennon, our manager, told me that Pirlo was a legend, but his legs had gone.
"My instructions were to stick with him at all time and to tackle him hard every time he touched the ball
"But I couldn't get near him.
"I came in from the left to tackle him, he turned to the right. The same when I went in at the other side.
"At half time, I got yelled at by Neil Lennon.
"I ended up approaching Pirlo after about an hour and told him that my wife was pregnant and if it was a boy, I would name the baby after him.
"Thankfully, he was substituted soon afterwards, but he waited for me afterwards to swap shirts.
Celtic launch new away kit with trailer featuring Scottish music icon and Hoops legends
"The boy was born and we called him Pirlo as promised.
"A few years later, he sent me one of his shirts and signed it, 'Best wishes from Pirlo to Pirlo.'"
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