AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti on Friday hailed World and European Footballer of the Year Kaka's decision to extend his contract with the club.
On Thursday night the Brazil midfielder reached a deal with the European champs to extend his contract by two years, until 2013.
''The contract renewal is a great thing for him and for Milan, allowing him to become even more the symbol of this team,'' Ancelotti said.
In the immediate future, Kaka will be key to Milan's bid to beat Arsenal in Tuesday night's Champions League last 16 second leg, Ancelotti said.
The first leg at the Emirates ended 0-0.
Kaka is still carrying a niggling injury which has kept him below his best but ''he's training to become decisive on Tuesday night and I'm convinced he will be,'' the coach said. Earlier, Milan CEO Adriano Galliani called Kaka the ''symbol'' of the style of play that brought Milan its seventh European Champions title last year. Kaka, who turns 26 in April, had been linked to Real Madrid but repeatedly stated his desire to stay in Milan.
Since joining Milan in 2003 Kaka has scored 51 goals in 145 appearances for the club.
Arguably his most impressive performance came in last season's Champions semi-final against Manchester United.
The clash had been billed by many as a battle between the Brazilian and the English giants' danger man Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.
Over the course of the two legs, Kaka clearly came out on top, scoring three of the five goals that set his side on their way to their victory over Liverpool in Athens.
In the process he took his Champions League goal tally for the season up to ten, two short of Ruud van Nistelrooy's all-time record.
As well as having superb control and dribbling skills, Kaka seems to be able to anticipate the intentions of team-mates and opponents alike to choose the right pass every time.
He is also blessed with an explosive turn of pace - from a standing start he can cover 30 metres in 3.8 seconds - and is a tireless worker whose movement off the ball is as good as it is on it.
His coolness in front of goal has led coach Carlo Ancelotti to play him further forward than his usual attacking midfield position, almost as a support striker.
Ancelotti believes the Brazilian is even more complete than French great Zinedine Zidane because he has finer goalscoring instincts.
''Zidane was fabulous, but Kaka is more concrete,'' said the Milan boss, who coached Zidane for two years at Juventus.
Kaka, whose full name is Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite, learned his trade with Sao Paulo, where he scored 21 goals in two seasons in Brazil's top flight before joining Milan in 2003.
For Brazil, Kaka has turned out 57 times and scored 19 goals.
He made his Brazil debut against Bolivia in 2002 and played a minor role in the World Cup triumph later that year.
Kaka is now a regular with the seleçao, which he captained in a friendly against Switzerland last November.
He is married and is a devout Christian - every time he scores he looks up to the sky as a sign of thanks to God.
