Gattuso touts Del Piero as Italy captain

Alessandro Del Piero should captain Italy at Euro 2008 because he holds the most caps, team-mate Gennaro Gattuso said yesterday.

Defender Fabio Cannavaro, who has 116 Italy appearances, was due to skipper the world champions but was ruled out of the tournament after tearing ankle ligaments on Monday.

Del Piero is next in line in terms of caps with 86, but the striker is not assured of playing having not started for Roberto Donadoni's side since September.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, with 82 appearances, is widely expected to be handed the armband for the Group C matches against the Netherlands, Romania and France.

"I think at this moment Del Piero is captain because of appearances," midfielder Gattuso told a news conference.

"If he doesn't play, the captain is Buffon. We know that for us Buffon is very important."

Gattuso was in his usual jovial mood, tripping up and falling into a revolving advertising board before cracking jokes throughout the news conference. The tough tackler was serious when it came to Italy's task ahead, however, saying humility was the key.

"We must prepare well for the games and when we go on the field we must grit our teeth and not think we are world champions," he said.

"We have a group made up of good teams and we must be careful."

Gattuso looks certain to start Monday's first game against the Dutch and tipped fellow midfielder Alberto Aquilani as a surprise package for Italy.

Aquilani, 23, set up the second goal in last week's 3-1 friendly win over Belgium having played instead of regular starter Massimo Ambrosini.

"I like Aquilani a lot. I like the way he behaves and how he is on the field," Gattuso said, adding that striker Luca Toni was among the most important players because of his selflessness when holding up the ball.

"He truly is a man of the team," he said.

Gattuso, who reiterated his belief that the European Championship is more difficult than the World Cup, pointed to Italy's 4-3-3 formation as proof they are no longer defensive.

"With three forwards it shows we are an attacking team," he said.