Spain coach Vicente del Bosque believes his side can learn a lot from Italy ahead of Wednesday s international friendly in Bari.
The two European super powers meet for the first time since Euro 2008 when the Italians, then coached by Roberto Donadoni, lost 4-2 on penalties at the quarter-final stage.
Spain went on to win the 2008 tournament and then added to their glory by picking up last year s World Cup in South Africa as Italy were ousted at the group stage.
But despite the visible gap between the two sides, Del Bosque still rates the Italians as a world-class team.
We are only at the start of the season, but our aim is to play a good game and show good football, Del Bosque told El Mundo Deportivo.
We can learn a lot from Italy, a team who have won the World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006).
Italian football has gone through some uncomfortable moments, but we must not forget that they were the world champions just five years ago.
Both sides will use the match as preparation for upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers in early September, and Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi was optimistic Cesare Prandelli s side could cause an upset.
Of course we can beat them, Rossi said. We are a new group, we still have to improve, but we have already shown that we have quality.
They are strong, the best in the world, but this is a chance for us to prove that we can compete with the best.
