DUISBURG, Germany -- Gennaro Gattuso isn't one of Italy's flashy strikers or renowned defenders.

He's a hustling midfielder who does the team's dirty work.

Italy is the only World Cup semifinalist with all 23 players based in its domestic league. Gattuso is one of the few who played in a foreign league, and he attributes much of his success to his stay with Glasgow Rangers at the beginning of his career, in 1997 and 1998.

"Eight or nine years ago I never thought I would play a semifinal of a World Cup and two Champions League finals. I have to thank Rangers," said Gattuso, who has spent the past seven seasons with AC Milan. "They installed belief in me.

"My experience abroad was crucial," he added. "It shaped me as a player, made me mature as a man and gave me an international approach to sport and life."

Italy plays Germany in the semifinals Tuesday in Dortmund. The Azzurri will probably be without Alessandro Nesta, who has missed the last two games with a right thigh injury. Nesta's leg is improving, but his chances of playing against Germany are "very remote," team spokesman Antonello Valentini said Sunday.

This is the farthest the Azzurri have advanced since 1994, when they lost to Brazil in the final, and Gattuso said much of the credit belongs to coach Marcello Lippi. Lippi took over after Italy failed to make it out of the first round at the 2004 European Championship.

"We have a new coach and a different mentality," Gattuso said. "It's nothing against the previous coach, (Giovanni) Trapattoni, but right now the manner in which we prepare games is much more solid."

Besides wanting to win the World Cup for fans at home upset by a massive soccer corruption scandal, the Azzurri are also playing for the 600,000 or so Italian immigrants living in Germany. Most of the immigrants come from Italy's southern regions of Calabria, Puglia and Sicily. Gattuso, who is from Calabria, has three aunts living in Germany.

"It would bring them a huge amount of joy if Italy were able to beat Germany, although we've got to remember it's just a game of soccer," Gattuso said Sunday.

Gattuso grew up near the Ionian Sea, and learned to play soccer on the beach using fuel cans from fishing boats as goalposts. His early days on the beach are about all he has in common with Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho.

Yet after Brazil's loss to France on Saturday, a local newspaper reported that this World Cup is showcasing players more like Gattuso than Ronaldinho.

"I think that's an insult to soccer, with all respect," Gattuso said. "I can steal the ball, but the spectacle and class that Ronaldinho puts on display are things I can only dream about."

Gattuso has scored only one goal in his 45 appearances for Italy. Goals are not what he's after, though. His job is to stifle the opponent's offense before it gets organized and turn the ball over to his more flashy teammates.

He does other things, too. When Marco Materazzi was sent off midway through Italy's second-round win over Australia, Gattuso slipped back into central defense for a few minutes before a substitute came on. His versatility is hard to ignore, and FIFA chose him man of the match in Italy's 3-0 win over Ukraine in the quarterfinals.

Gattuso picked up a yellow card against Australia and will miss Italy's next match if he picks up another caution.

"I would sign up right now to get a yellow card if it meant we advanced to the final," Gattuso said. "I'm not going to out there like Rambo and try to get a card. But it's going to be a challenge for me. I'm going to prepare for the game how I always prepare, and play the way I always play."