Whereas initially the upcoming "superclasico" match against Barcelona was viewed with pessimism at Madrid, the recent victory against Steaua Bucarest in Romania has contributed to lift spirits considerably in the Merengues' camp. A feeling that was confirmed during the press conference given by Azzurri captain and new Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro, who was all smiles, determination, and confidence when answering the questions.

"Real-Barcelona is a great match, like Juve-Milan or Juve-Inter. In Italy I watched those games on TV, and dreamed of one daying playing it", he said. "I can't wait until Sunday, so I can get on the pitch and start playing."

Cannavaro feels that the Champions League results won't affect the teams' performance: "The league is a different matter, I don't think the results in midweek have changed a great deal. Barcelona won't care about their defeat to Chelsea, who are a great side. We must get inspiration from that game: the English always got to the ball first, they were very hungry. Ronaldinho is still the best in the world and we have to limit him. How? I don't know, he's a phenomenon. " Pause, then a smile: "Perhaps hitting him, and with a bit of luck. You're saying he's not in form? I think he's always dangerous."

From the disaster at Getafe to the triumph in Bucarest: "That's football, but we also looked into each other's eyes, talked about it, we knew that certain things had to be changed. The Golden Ball? I'm not thinking about it, even though I played well this year and the one before. Defenders and goalkeepers almost never win it, but some part of our great World Cup should remain. Think of Pirlo, Buffon, many have done very well."

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