Puyol urges Spain to raise their game

On the eve of the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-final between the sides in Vienna, Spain defender Carles Puyol paid fulsome tribute to the winning mentality of Italian footballers as he acknowledged that one of the biggest tests of his career lies ahead.

'Absolute maximum'
Excluding Olympic Games, Spain have never beaten the Azzurri in a competitive fixture, yet with David Villa's goal earning a 1-0 friendly victory over Italy in March and given their form in the group stage – taking maximum points while the Italians struggled initially – the momentum would seem to be with La Furia Roja. As a close friend of former FC Barcelona and Italy midfielder Demetrio Albertini, and a long-standing admirer of Paolo Maldini, Puyol does not expect it to be that simple though, explaining: "I admire the Italian footballing mentality. Every Italian player always plays to his absolute maximum and I love that in sport."

Albertini link
Albertini, now vice-president of the Italian Football Federation, spent a year alongside Puyol at Camp Nou in 2005 and the Barcelona captain revealed that the pair have been in regular contact since Italy booked their last-eight place on Tuesday. "Over the last few days, since we knew who our quarter-final opponents were going to be, I've been chatting a fair bit to Albertini because he's a good pal," the 30-year-old said. "It's been a mixture of discussing the game and joking about which of us is going out. Beyond trying my best to make sure it's us in the semi-final, I was happy to wish him good luck."

Toni threat
One of the major obstacles to Spain's hopes of progress will be Luca Toni, whom Puyol is likely to be given the responsibility of marking at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. The FC Bayern München striker has not found the net in these finals but, having scored five times in six qualifying appearances, his threat is obvious. "He might not have scored in this tournament so far but there are plenty of goals in his boots," Puyol said. "Toni's team constantly look to feed him and you have to be attentive not just to stopping him scoring, but to where the second ball lands and to who is working off his knock-downs. It will be a physical battle, he's very strong but it will also be a case of paying total attention for over 90 minutes and offering no chances. Italy are a strong team and don't need to play well to win. We will have to be at our very best if we are to defeat them."