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Rino looks to the future
Friday 2 May, 2008

Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso knows that defeat isn’t an option in Sunday’s derby and has discussed the possibility of life after the Rossoneri.

The world champions need to pick up maximum points from now on if they are to remain in the hunt for a Champions League spot next term, but they have their work cut out against an Inter side who can secure the Scudetto with victory.

“Playing in these huge games like Sunday’s derby is the best thing,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia. “They are the matches that give you a huge adrenaline boost.

“We certainly can’t lose the derby. It could go either way. They are missing lots of players and we are going to go for it.

“Since December 23, however, Inter have only picked up two more points than us.

“If you look at the records at home and away it’s clear that something didn’t work. And recently we have made ridiculously hard work of the so-called ‘small’ teams.”

The Azzurri star will come up against one of his Italy teammates in Marco Materazzi, who is a close friend.

“I met Marco one evening in a bar in Perugia when I was very young,” Rino explained.

“There was a bouncer causing trouble and he helped me because he was a little older.”

Paolo Maldini is set to retire at the end of the season, leaving the side looking for a new captain.

“It’s only right that Massimo Ambrosini is the next Milan captain and I’ve said that to the directors lots of times,” Gattuso said.

“The captain’s armband should go to a player who has been with the Rossoneri for many years like he has.”

As for Gattuso’s future, many think that he will leave in a summer clearout and he is weighing up his options.

“I would like to have the chance to play in the Premier League because I think that I have the characteristics to play there,” he stressed.

“It is my dream and I have never denied that. When I leave Milan I will only wear the shirt of a foreign side. But Spain would be hard because it isn’t a League that suits the way I play.

“It would certainly be impossible to play for Inter, just as it would be to represent Celtic.”


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[Warchant]

Gattuso 'dreams' of Prem switch

AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has put the Premier League's big guns on alert by revealing he dreams of one day playing in England.

The Italian World Cup winner, who spent a short spell in Scotland with Rangers earlier in his career, has endured a tough season in Italy as his side struggle to obtain the fourth and final Champions League spot in Serie A.

Milan lie in fifth place, two points behind Fiorentina with three games remaining.

Gattuso has publicly announced his displeasure at his club's position in the Italian press, and was not shy in discussing his future in an interview with the Corriere dello Sport newspaper.

"I'd like the chance to play in the Premier League," he said. "It's a dream I've always had and have never hidden. I think I have the right characteristics to play in that championship."

For Gattuso, the Champions League semi-finals have perfectly highlighted the similarities in style between Italy and the Premier League.

Three English sides made up the final four teams involved, with two of them - Manchester United and Chelsea - advancing to the final.

While no Italian side progressed beyond the quarter-finals, Gattuso says the Italian style of counter-attacking football known as 'catenaccio' was there for all to see.

"I have to say that what I've seen in these semi-finals has been a very Italian style of play. Plenty of catenaccio," he added.

"When I started playing football everybody said that the Italian style of play was 'anti-football', that teams only thought about defending.

"Instead it turns out that everyone else has copied us."

by RivalsDM