Growler Gattuso refusing to change style to avoid card

Italy's uncompromising midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, pictured, insisted here he won't shirk a tackle against Germany, even though a booking would rule him out of an eventual final.

Italy's uncompromising midfielder Gennaro Gattuso insisted here he won't shirk a tackle against Germany, even though a booking would rule him out of an eventual final.

Gattuso is one of three Italian players on a yellow card, but the man known as 'The Growler' is refusing to change his combative style when he faces the host nation in Tuesday's semi-final in Dortmund.

"It's a test of maturity, but it won't be a problem for me," said the 28-year-old AC Milan dynamo Sunday.

"I never go into a match worrying about whether I am going to get a card or not."

Gattuso is indispensable to the Italian team and his performances have won rave reviews in the international press.

Spanish paper El Pais described him as "more emblematic in world football than Ronaldinho", but the self-deprecating Calabrian believes their evaluation is unfair.

"That's an insult to football, I dream of having his class," said the former Glasgow Rangers player.

Gattuso hasn't won everybody over, but he isn't out to make friends.

"Some people have called me a clogger because technically I'm not a gifted player, but they can say what they want about me and my style of play - I don't care," he said.

Gattuso believes his one season in Scotland helped his development as a player and a person.

"They made me understand the importance of hard work and determination," he said.

"It was a very important part of my career. I had a lot of responsibility at a big club. It shaped me as a person and a player.

Italy are now two matches away from becoming world champions for a fourth time against all odds.

They have had to contend with the Serie A match-fixing scandal, a string of injuries to key players and the emotional upheaval of the apparent attempted suicide of former Italy international Gianluca Pessotto.

Now the Italians are beginning to feel they can win the trophy, and Gattuso puts that self-belif down to their coach, Marcello Lippi.

"He has given this squad a different mentality, a winning one," he said.

"He's meticulous in his planning and has made us more solid.

"We haven't always dominated matches and we haven't always been 100 per cent, but we have been able to score."