Cannavaro backs spirited Italy
20 Jun 2008 - 12:18:45
Injured Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro is backing his Azzurri team-mates to repeat their run to World Cup glory two years ago at the European Championships.
Veteran Cannavaro has had to watch on due to an ankle injury as the Azzurri have made it through to the quarter-finals, where they will face an in-form Spain side.
He told UEFA's official website: "Sometimes you get off to a false start in tournaments, but now we've got it together again and have rediscovered our team spirit.
"The great high we experienced at the World Cup can be repeated again. The boys know what they've got to do and they are mature enough to rise to the occasion.
"Spain have an excellent side which we respect, but we are confident we can win.
"All teams have weaknesses and we'll have to exploit theirs by taking advantage of the space they sometimes leave when going forward.
"Sometimes they are so enthusiastic about attacking that they leave one-on-one situations in defence, so that's something we'll look for.
"We won the World Cup because we were united as a team, so we know that if we are concentrated and together, we can beat anyone."
