Gattuso to pit his grit against Zizou

Duisburg: 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".