THE BEST SOCCER PLAYERS

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. Excluding Olympic Games, Spain have never beaten the Azzurri in a competitive fixture yet, with David Villa's goal earning them a 1-0 friendly victory at the end of March and their form in the group stage – taking maximum points as Italy struggled to progress – the momentum would seem to be with La Furia Roja this time round. 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, explaining: "I admire the Italian footballing mentality. Every Italian player always plays to his absolute maximum and I love that in sport." Albertini, now vice-president of the Italian Football Federation, spent a year alongside Puyol a

Xabier Alonso Olano, commonly known as Xabi Alonso has said he is "fascinated" by Italian football as his Liverpool future remains in doubt with Juve leading the pack to sign him. The playmaker is currently playing a pivotal role in Spain's Euro 2008 campaign preparing to face Italy and with the Serie A side chasing his signature, Alonso could be also facing several future Juventus team-mates during the quarter-final tie. But the 26-year-old is giving nothing away, remaining calm about his club commitments and fully focused on Spain's progression into the final four. "I have little to say about Juve because at the moment I am very focused on Euro 2008 and on Spain," the �16million-rated midfielder said. "We'll see what will happen with Juve. It's difficult to say. Fascinated "I've spent four fantastic years at Liverpool, but I have to admit that I have always been fascinated by Italian football. "However, it's too soon to talk

Zenit St Petersburg coach Dick Advocaat has confirmed that Andrei Arshavin wants to leave the club. The Russian star had a brilliant domestic campaign last season helping Zenit to the league title and Uefa Cup. Arshavin only added to his reputation when he starred in Russia's final Euro 2008 group game - after being suspended for start of the tournament - against Sweden as scored the winner in the 2-0 triumph. He is also mastering Russia's victory over Netherlands at quarter final Euro 2008. He scored a goal and an assist to Dmitri Torbinski to eliminate The Dutch. He later received the Man of The Match accolades. The 27-year-old is being tracked by clubs from Italy, Spain, France, Germany and England - with the likes of Newcastle, Manchester City, Everton and more recently Arsenal said to be interested. Now Advocaat has confirmed that Arshavin want to move to one of Europe's biggest leagues. "Andrei has told us that he wishes to change clubs," Advocaat told repor

Italy's Luca Toni will have extra motivation to score in Sunday's UEFA EURO 2008 quarter-final against Spain as he tries to win a bet with club-mate Miroslav Klose. The FC Bayern München strikers have a private contest to see who can score the most goals at the tournament, and after the German got off the mark in the 3-2 defeat of Portugal on Thursday, the pressure is on Toni in Vienna. "I scored my goal so now it's up to Luca to equalise," Klose said. "I texted him and he messaged back saying he's having a few problems with his best friend, the ball. He said at the moment it's doing what it wants, not what he wants." Between them, Toni and Klose claimed 34 Bundesliga goals for Bayern last season so it is surprising that they have struggled to make an impact here, although the latter did create chances for his team-mates in Germany's Group B matches while Toni won the penalty from which Andrea Pirlo fired the Azzurri in front in their pool d

Milan will intensify their efforts to prise Emmanuel Adebayor away from Arsenal this summer, after the Italian side's vice- president Adriano Galliani said yesterday that the Togolese striker was the club's only transfer target. Galliani had previously stated that Chelsea's Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona and Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov, together with Adebayor, were on Milan's radar as they looked for fresh blood up front after Alberto Gilardino's departure to Fiorentina and the serious injury to Ronaldo. But Galliani's determination to land Adebayor, who scored 30 goals for Arsenal this past season including one against Milan in the Champions League last-16 tie, has hardened. "One single player interests us and that is Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor," said Galliani. "If he doesn't come, then nobody will come and we will keep the team as it is in attack." Adebayor has sent mixed messages since the end of the Premier League seas

At 36 years of age, Croatia captain Niko Kovač recognises his time on the international stage is limited. The evergreen midfielder is expected to withdraw from national-team duties after UEFA EURO 2008 – but there is no room in his plans for quarter-final opponents Turkey to send him into premature retirement on Friday. The two sides meet at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion knowing they lie just three games from glory, so it is sure to be a charged occasion for Kovač as he contemplates the end of his career. "It is a particular joy for me, because I think this is my last big tournament," he told euro2008.com. "I enjoy every single day, not just the matches. There is a special atmosphere in the national team – we feel like we are all brothers, and I already feel sad because I know I will have to retire, but that's life. We have to give more of an opportunity to the younger players, and I'm sure they will continue in the same way." Having made his Croatia deb

After putting two goals past Petr Čech in the last four minutes of their final group game to lead Turkey to the UEFA EURO 2008 quarter-finals, Nihat Kahveci is understandably on something of a high at the moment. Little wonder he can look ahead with confidence to Friday's showdown with Croatia and declare: "If we qualify for the semi-finals, it might seem like a miracle for the rest of the world, but not for us." Even now, though, the 28-year-old Villarreal CF striker admits it is hard to take in what happened in the match against the Czech Republic in Geneva on Sunday. "It is very difficult to sum up this happiness with only one sentence," Nihat, skippering Turkey due to Emre Belözoğlu's absence through injury, told euro2008.com. "After we went 2-0 down, nobody was expecting such a victory from us. But after our first goal, we saw that they were worried. After the goal, we talked to each other and said: 'Let's give it everything. If we lose, i

France's UEFA EURO 2008 hopes may be hanging by a thread, yet Franck Ribéry remains convinced Les Bleus will progress to the quarter-finals and is calling on his team-mates to "give absolutely everything" against Italy. The FC Bayern München playmaker has been one of France's most positive influences both on and off the pitch over the last ten days, making the other players laugh with his infamous practical jokes and giving everybody hope through his effervescent displays. It was no surprise, therefore, when the 25-year-old arrived at Sunday's news conference and immediately looked to raise French spirits. "We're still here and it's vital we keep on believing," Ribéry declared. "We need to give absolutely everything we've got against Italy, win the game, and make the most of the small chance we still have." Central Role Having started on the right wing against Romania, Ribéry was switched to a central role against the Netherlands fr

Internazionale made their long-mooted interest in Chelsea's Frank Lampard public last night after the Serie A champions' president, Massimo Moratti, confirmed the midfielder is their "No. 1 priority" in the transfer market this summer. Inter are yet to make a formal approach to the Premier League club to request permission to speak to Lampard, who has a year left on his current contract, though Chelsea are aware of their interest. Jose Mourinho's appointment as manager at San Siro has opened the possibility of a move to Italy with Lampard's future expected to become clearer when he returns from a family holiday in Ibiza. Mourinho is keen on adding the midfielder, who turns 30 next week, to his ranks at the Nerazzurri for a fee of about £8m. "Everybody considers Lampard a great player, but this doesn't mean that signing him will be easy," said Moratti. "We like him, though, and he's our No1 priority. Mourinho likes Lampard a lot. We all k

Cristiano Ronaldo's personal terms for a move to Real Madrid were agreed 'a long time ago', according to a senior Manchester United source. Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes is now understood to have finalised all the key details with executives from the Spanish club. 'They have been talking for at least two months,' the source told Observer Sport last night, 'and it was all agreed with Real Madrid weeks ago. All this chat from [Real president] Ramón Calderón that he does not want to upset Manchester United, and Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be bought because he belongs to another club, is absolute rubbish. Discussions have gone way beyond the point of no return. Sir Alex Ferguson knows this now so you can imagine how it has gone down.' This explains United's decision to lodge a formal complaint with Fifa, claiming that Ronaldo has been tapped up; a threat that, although announced occasionally by clubs, is rarely acted upon. Last week a national newspaper also