Torres Better Than Raúl, Ruud A Cheat - Matthaus

Matthaus, a winner of Euro 1980 (as well as the 1990 World Cup) is an undisputed legend of the game; there are few higher places for praise to come from.

He is tipping Torres to shine at this month's tournament in Austria and Switzerland, after being particularly impressed by the Spaniard's performances this season despite the "burden" of a high-profile, big-money transfer. He added that the displacement of Raul was testament to his achievements, despite the fact that the Real Madrid and Spain legend's omission seems to be far more of a political decision than anything else.

"He is a man who has dislodged a popular hero like Real Madrid's Raul and scored goals at will with Atletico and Liverpool, despite the burden of a €35 million transfer fee.

"A lad like that must have class. It is very hard to be better than Raul. Torres is that.

"He is a player like Stuttgart's Mario Gomez, only more effective. The blond Spaniard is very strong in the air, makes effective runs, turns in an instant, has a fantastic shooting technique and is also dangerous with his left foot.

"He can become a superstar at the European Championships."

Poacher

The German gave a somewhat less glowing review of Raul's strike partner at Real Madrid, Dutch international Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The former Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven star has one of the most impressive goal-to-game ratios of all the top strikers of recent generations - but Matthaus believes he has used far too many "tricks" in his time.

"I cannot claim to be a fan of Ruud van Nistelrooy," he told Bild. "He has scored goals at will with Real Madrid because he is a poacher, using all kinds of tricks, holding, pulling, falling and talking - whether it be with the opponent or the referee.

"You can tell why I don't like him so much."

Matthaus added that he believes Van Gol's recent injury lay-off could work in his favour, comparing the situation with his own 18 years ago.

"Van Nistelrooy has the advantage of being out for three months with an ankle injury and this break allows him to come into the tournament refreshed," he explained.

"That was the same with me at the 1990 World Cup. I was injured for almost six months while at Internazionale and the break did me good - we became world champions."

Fernando Montabon, Goal.com