Gattuso to pit his grit against Zidane’s mastery

By Simon Evans

DUISBURG, Germany (Reuters) – The elegance and style of
France playmaker Zinedine Zidane is the perfect contrast to the
tigerish determination of Italian destroyer Gennaro Gattuso.

The outcome of Sunday’s World Cup final hinges in good
part, though, on which of the two midfielders comes out on top.

The Italians certainly hope they have the man to limit the
damage that can be caused by the 34-year-old Zidane, who will
retire from the game after the showpiece match.

Defender Marco Materazzi’s response to talk of the threat
Zidane poses to Italy’s hopes of their first World Cup triumph
since 1982 was simple: “We have Gattuso.”

The midfielder himself says it is certainly not that
straightforward — Italy no longer use man-to-man marking and,
in any case, the Frenchman’s qualities cannot be restrained by
simply asking one player to take care of him.

“We have a way of playing that doesn’t involve man-to-man
marking. This is the point people miss when they start on about
‘catenaccio’ this and ‘catenaccio’ that,” said Gattuso
referring to the old defensive Italian tactical approach.

“I remember once asking (Milan coach) Carlo Ancelotti if he
wanted me to man-mark a certain player and from the strange
look he gave me it was obvious it was something we don’t do
anymore.

LUCK NEEDED

“I’ve played against Zidane before but I’ve never
man-marked him. Obviously, if he is in my zone then it will be
more my job to take care of him than (fellow midfielder) Andrea
Pirlo’s but it’s not man-marking,” said Gattuso.

“You don’t stop Zidane,” he added, comparing playing
against the Frenchman’s trickery as similar to the street
gambling game with three matchboxes and a marble.

“Maybe he stops himself if he is not in form. You have to
try and control him and if you want to limit his effect you
need a bit of luck and need to make the sign of the cross.”

“But he’s 34 and playing in his last game. We have to hope
that on Sunday he doesn’t have much petrol left in the engine,”
said Gattuso, adding that he had no doubt he would be playing
against one of the greatest talents of recent times.

“He is one of the players who is worth the price of the
ticket to see,” said the midfielder, who laughed off the notion
that he should be considered in the same class as Zidane and
other top performers.

“You can’t make comparisons between me and Ronaldinho or
Zidane — they are world class players. I have my qualities but
I need to thank those people at Milan who gave me the chance to
work for an extra hour a day to improve myself.”