Lippi salutes Zidane renaissance
Italy coach Marcello Lippi says Zinedine Zidane's return to form has lifted the whole France team ahead of Sunday's World Cup final in Berlin.
Real Madrid player Zidane, who is to retire after the final, played under Lippi for three years at Juventus.
\"France have recovered the best Zidane and have grown through the tournament. Beating Portugal confirmed that they are in top form,\" he said.
\"Zidane is probably the best player there has been in the past 20 years.\"
Italy believe the best way to deny Zidane a fairytale finish is to unleash midfield hard man Gennaro Gattuso on the France captain.
Defender Marco Materazzi said: \"We have players that can mark Zidane, like Gattuso.
\"There's no need to charge him up, otherwise he is capable of splitting the world in two.\"
Materazzi will also have his hands full as he has been designated to mark Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, with Alessandro Nesta ruled out for the final game through injury.
\"For Alessandro it's a difficult time,\" added Materazzi. \"This is his third World Cup and each time he's had a physical problem.
\"For me, he is an idol and a point of reference.\"
Italy went out to co-hosts South Korea in the second round of the World Cup two years ago and then failed to make it out of the group stage of Euro 2004.
Skipper Fabio Cannavaro: \"We've accumulated a lot of anger after two major disappointments.
\"We put that rage to good use on the pitch and you can see that at the World Cup - we are turning that anger into something positive.\"
