Take it from Gennaro Gattuso, Italy’s midfield workhorse: the days of “catenaccio” are long gone. The World Cup champions have become more offensive with coach Roberto Donadoni’s three-pronged attack.

“You have to call a team that plays with three forwards a very offensive squad,” Gattuso said. “Look at how we played Scotland, when all we needed was a draw and we fielded three forwards.”

In November, Donadoni fielded his preferred 4-3-3 lineup when Italy beat Scotland 2-1 to seal a place at the European Championship. Now that the Azzurri have arrived at Euro 2008, Donadoni is sticking with the three attacking players he used in Glasgow - Luca Toni, Antonio Di Natale and Mauro Camoranesi.

“Donadoni has a pretty good idea of how he wants to play, and he’s shown that over the past two years,” Gattuso said Thursday.

Italy’s second-string offence of Alessandro Del Piero, Antonio Cassano and Marco Borriello combined to score 50 goals in Serie A this season.

Not too long ago, Italy was infamous for its “catenaccio” - lock down - defensive style.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Italy’s squad now and when it won the World Cup two years ago is that playmaker Francesco Totti has retired from international play. Gattuso believes Toni could become a player who carries the team the way Totti once did.

The six-foot-four Toni scored 39 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich last season. He also has 15 goals in 34 appearances for Italy.

“Toni showed this year that even though he’s not aesthetically a standout, he can still make a difference,” Gattuso said. “The thing that makes Luca stand out is that he’s able to take bad passes and still make things happen. And he helps out the rest of the squad. Besides the fact that he’s a great scorer, he’s a real team player.”

Gattuso, of course, is considered the ultimate team player. He’s the one assigned to stop the opponent’s fleet-footed strikers from venturing too close to Italy’s area, doing the dirty work of getting the ball back to his own more talented teammates.

Sporting the same full head of hair he had at the World Cup - including a wealth of facial hair - Gattuso wants to put a disappointing season at AC Milan to rest.

“I realize that I didn’t play great this season, but now I’m with the national team and I’m going to make my contribution wearing this jersey,” he said.

Gattuso nearly joined Toni at Bayern Munich before deciding to stick with Milan for a few more seasons. He could become captain of the Rossoneri when Paolo Maldini retires.

With Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro out injured, Gattuso is already providing more leadership among the Azzurri.

“We don’t have our captain anymore, but our spirit and approach is the same. We’re full of desire,” Gattuso said, responding to critics suggesting Italy has become too complacent after its World Cup victory. “My stomach is starting to growl.”

Gennaro Gattuso is confident an attack-minded Italy will be able to survive arguably the toughest group of UEFA EURO 2008 and believes striker Luca Toni will be the guiding light to show them the route past the Netherlands, Romania and France.

Genial mood
Gattuso was in genial mood as he joked with reporters at Italy’s Casa Azzurri base, ahead of their opening match against the Netherlands on Monday, almost falling off stage before the news conference. But true to form, the tenacious AC Milan midfielder was deadly serious when evaluating his team’s Group C prospects, deeming it “an even section”.

Even group
“Romania might not seem the best side on paper but they are a very strong outfit,” Gattuso said. “Adrian Mutu is a brilliant player and they play in a very Italian way. They came first in a group including the Netherlands so they shouldn’t be underestimated. The Netherlands, meanwhile, have fantastic forwards and midfielders and everyone knows what France can do so it’s a very evenly balanced group.”

Lady luck
If Italy are to survive what many observers are calling the ‘group of death’, Gattuso says they will need a slice of the good fortune they enjoyed when winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, with skipper Fabio Cannavaro ruled out by injury, it could be said the fates have been unkind to them so far. “Having seen reruns of our World Cup matches on TV, it’s clear we came close to losing almost every match. We played to the best of our abilities but I’ve also realised you need the odd slice of luck.”

‘Knife between teeth’
Luck may have been on Italy’s side in Germany, yet they also worked hard for their success. More of the same is required now. “We certainly can’t afford to go into any match thinking we are world champions,” the 30-year-old cautioned. “We will have to go into every game with the knife between our teeth.” While Gattuso would be happy to carry the knife, the cutting edge should be provided by striker Luca Toni. The statistics back up Gattuso’s belief in his colleague, given the FC Bayern München man just scored 39 goals in all competitions in his first season in Germany.

‘Special Toni’
“Luca Toni is a special player,” he said. “The way he controls impossible balls and turns them into good passes is incredible. He is also a great team player who will come back to help out the side. I think he could make the difference for us.” Italy are certainly not short of attacking options, and Donadoni’s willingness to deploy a 4-3-3 formation could herald an exciting round of Group C matches. “When a team play with Toni, Mauro Camoranesi and Antonio Cassano up front, it’s fair to say we have an offensive approach,” he said. “And we’re playing against sides with a similar mindset.”

Midfield enforcer
The same cannot be said of Gattuso, whose role is very much that of midfield enforcer. “I know I haven’t had the best season with Milan. It’s been tough for us but if I play I will give my best as always. This is the European Championship and wearing the Azzurri shirt is something special, though there’s a lot of competition for places. Along with Steven Gerrard, Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo are the best midfielders in the world.”

Gennaro Ivan "Rino" Gattuso, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born January 9, 1978 in Corigliano Calabro) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. His main position is defensive midfielder; however, he sometimes plays on the right side of midfield. He currently plays for Italian club A.C. Milan, with whom he has twice won the UEFA Champions League, in 2002-03 and 2006-07, and also the Serie A title in 2003-04.

Club career

Early career

Gattuso started his career at the Italian side Perugia, but transferred in July 1997, at the age of 19, to the Scottish team Rangers. Walter Smith, who brought Gattuso to Glasgow, left the club in 1998. Smith’s successor, Dick Advocaat, did not favour Gattuso and, after being played out-of-position as a right-back, the Italian was sold in October 1998 to then recently promoted to Serie A Salernitana for £4m. Despite his good performances, it was not enough to prevent the relegation of his side.

AC Milan

Milan spent £8m on Gattuso in 1999. His style allowed Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti to place the midfielder Andrea Pirlo to adopt an attacking approach. Gattuso, who sometimes is listed as a winger, does not deliver many crosses in a way the more conventional winger would normally do. Instead, he plays deeper moving up to central midfield in defence. He will often move forward to win the ball for the forward players and then return to his defensive position. His style of play is characterised by fierce tackling and hard work - a style which has earned him the nickname of Ringhio ("Growl" or "the Snarler").

In December 2005, at the final whistle of Milan’s 3-2 defeat of Schalke 04 in the UEFA Champions League, Gattuso was seen seeking out and taunting Schalke’s midfielder Christian Poulsen as a reaction to Poulsen’s fierce marking of Kakà in the first leg. Gattuso insisted though that the press exaggerated the significance of the incident. However, his temper has caused him problems in the past. In a Champions League group stage match against AFC Ajax in September 2003, he was sent off during second-half injury time after slapping Ajax striker Zlatan Ibrahimović in the face with the back of his hand. He signed a contract extension in June 2003 and in October 2004.

He played his 300th game for the club in a goalless Champions League draw against Lille on September 26, 2006, and he extended his current deal with Milan until 2011 on February 1, 2007.

On May 23, 2007, Gattuso won the Champions League for the second time in his career when AC Milan beat Liverpool 2-1 in the final.

On the 27 December 2007, Gattuso trained with his former club Rangers F.C to regain fitness during the Serie A winter break whilst he was visiting his wife’s family in Scotland over Christmas.

On May 19, 2008 it was announced, that after transfer speculation, Gattuso would remain at AC Milan following talks with chief executive Adriano Galliani over his future at the club.

International

The current high profile Gattuso now enjoys is due to his time at Milan and his participation as part of the Italian national squad. He has been capped over fifty times for his country and played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, the Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, being one of the key players for the Italian team, winning the Man of the Match award in the 2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage match against Ukraine. Gattuso achieved a measure of notoriety for his postmatch celebration after Italy won the World Cup, during which he removed his shorts and ran around the pitch pantless, until FIFA officials forced him to cover up.

Personal life

Gattuso is married to Monica, whom he met while playing for Rangers at an exhibition game in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The couple dated for a long while before marrying. They have a daughter, Gabriella, and also a new-born son Francesco. Monica is the sister of GMTV’s Los Angeles correspondent Carla Romano.

Gattuso and several of his teammates shaved their heads during a post-match celebration after winning the 2006 World Cup. He kept his hair cropped for a season in honour of the occasion but has since grown his hair back.

Honours

Club

A.C. Milan

• Serie A: 2003-04
• Coppa Italia: 2002-03
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
• UEFA Champions League: 2002-03, 2006-07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2007

Country

• FIFA World Cup: 2006 Winner