Gennaro Gattuso has led Pisa to promotion to Serie B. Andrea Spinelli/Corbis via Getty Images

Gennaro Gattuso has likened leading Pisa to promotion to Italy's Serie B to winning the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003.

Gattuso led the Tuscan side to promotion to the second division thanks to a win over Foggia in a playoff on Sunday, sealing their return to Serie B after an absence of seven years.

Speaking at a news conference after the match, the 38-year-old former Milan star -- who also won the Champions League in 2007 -- said it ranked highly on his list of achievements.

"My dream was always to win the Champions League with AC Milan and that's why I have a tattoo on my arm with the date May 28, 2003," said Gattuso, who has previously coached Sion, Palermo and OFI Crete. "The next date I get tattooed will be this one.

"When I was a player, people said I was never going to be good enough, but with my desire and the passion I had, I was still able to celebrate some hugely satisfying moments.

"My coaching career started in the same vein, but this is a new adventure starting today. It's going to be hard, but I can feel a fire burning within me.

"I've never been given anything for free in football, be it as a player or as a coach. Last year, I was being massacred, but these last six months have been on a great level. Getting 18 points with Crete, who were bankrupt and were struggling even to feed their players, was like winning the league."

While Gattuso expressed his motivation at leading Pisa in Serie B next season, he also admitted that he cannot guarantee he will stay around.

"The only thing that is definite in my life is death," Gattuso said. "If I suffer, I don't like it and since this is a job I do for love and not for money, I always want to improve.

"I have to sit down at a table with the club and, if I do stay, this team will not be taken to pieces because we've got some great human values in this squad. We would need four or five new arrivals, but I still need to sort a few things out because we're not going to have a year like this again next season."