Alinghi says former skipper Coutts could return

Alinghi is holding talks with former skipper Russell Coutts about a possible return to the America's Cup holders.

"It's a real scenario, I've been putting a lot of pressure on him to come back," skipper Brad Butterworth told Reuters after the Swiss team's season-opening news conference in midweek.

"Russell is good at this game and I keep telling him he should be in it."

Coutts led Alinghi to a 5-0 whitewash of his former Team New Zealand crew mates in the 2003 America's Cup.

It was the first time in the competition's 152-year history that a European-based challenger had won the trophy.

The celebrations, however, did not last long. A year later Coutts was fired following a row with Alinghi's billionaire backer Ernesto Bertarelli.

"What happened (in 2004) was bad at the time," said Butterworth, who worked alongside Coutts as tactician when Team New Zealand successfully won and then defended the Cup in 1995 and 2000.

"This sport involves a lot of strong individuals though and in the end it just didn't work out. I know that Ernesto and Russell were both disappointed at how it panned out but Ernesto has told me he would be positive if Russell wanted to return."

Butterworth said the only thing standing in the way of a return was Coutts.

"The problem is he's enjoying himself a bit too much at the moment. He's really into designing his own boats and he also has a young family.

"We'll carry on coaxing him, though, and even if he doesn't come back full-time it is possible he might agree to help us out for a few months at least."

Although Butterworth is now skipper, he said he would be more than happy to have Coutts aboard his boat.

Speaking during winter training in the ski resort of Lenzerheide, Alinghi said they were confident about their title defence in Valencia in June 2007.

"I think we have a great chance," said Butterworth. "We just have to make fewer mistakes than our opponents and learn from the mistakes we do make because that is the way to win the Cup."

Working with a budget of 100 million euros, the team have been based in Valencia since February 2005.

Alinghi take possession of their new race boat this May and Butterworth was typically secretive about any changes in design.

"I think it's the colour scheme," he joked when asked about the main differences from the 2003 boat.

"It will certainly be hard for the untrained eye to spot any differences but the crew will see a difference because hopefully this boat will be faster."