KEY POINTS:
Luna Rossa skipper Francesco de Angelis says living in New Zealand during the last two America's Cups was not just about sport, it was a life-changing experience.
The charming Italian is sitting on the roof of his syndicate's base in Valencia. Having already secured a place in the Louis Vuitton Cup final after a 5-1 demolition of Oracle, de Angelis is keeping an eye on the television and the last semifinal race between Emirates Team New Zealand and Desafio Espanol.
As predicted, the Kiwis prove too strong, taking a 5-2 win and setting themselves up a salivating final with de Angelis' Luna Rossa.
It is clear de Angelis has a soft spot for New Zealand. He can't stress enough how much he and his team enjoyed their time there. "It wasn't just about sport," he said. "The people were lovely. Our families really enjoyed it."
De Angelis became a surprise Kiwi hero through the 2000 America's Cup regatta.
He was acknowledged in the 2000 Queen's Birthday honours with an honorary award for his sportsmanship and improving the relations between New Zealand and Italy.
New Zealand women certainly took him to their hearts. In 2000 he was voted the second-sexiest man in a radio poll. When told at the time he was second only to Latin pop star Ricky Martin, de Angelis punched the air, then asked: "Who is Ricky Martin?"
As charming as he is now, one gets the feeling he won't be quite so pleasant when he lines up against Team New Zealand in race one of the final next Saturday morning.
The last time the two met in a proper America's match was in 2000, when Team New Zealand trounced the Italians 5-0 in the cup.
"They [Team New Zealand] are still a team that were at the top level a few years ago. They are still there which is interesting," he said.
"They are a very experienced team, very strong team. I think they are up and down as well, but at this level I am sure that the racing that will come will be good."
Going into the challenger series, Luna Rossa were ranked third behind Team New Zealand and Oracle.
They finished second in round one, then dropped back to third in round two. However, in the semifinals they upped their game and blew apart Chris Dickson's American side.
While they made some changes to their race boat before the semis, it was Luna Rossa's sailing which enabled them to get the better of Oracle, whose slippery slide downwards began with their hefty loss to Team New Zealand in the final match of round two.
"It has been hard racing so far, everyone was expecting that, us included," de Angelis said.
"We went through two miniature steps which were the round robins and the semifinals and now we look forward to the final. We are still playing the game."
A key factor in the rise of Luna Rossa is the ability of helmsman James Spithill.
In their last two campaigns the Italian team were very much Italian. However, for this cup they chose to introduce a few more foreign sailors, one of whom was Australian Spithill. De Angelis, who steered in the last two cups, said he had a lot of respect for Spithill's abilities. De Angelis still sails in the afterguard but wanted to get more involved in boat development.
"James has done three America's Cups like me. He is much younger than me, but he has been exposed to the game the same time.
"I thought he would fit well."
But it is not only Spithill who poses a threat for the New Zealanders, there is also Luna Rossa's tactician Torben Grael, who tends to view the race track as a blank canvas. He trusts in instinct, almost ignoring the other boat on the course.
"I have sailed with Torben for more than 15 years. I know him as a sailor and respect his capabilities. It doesn't take many words to speak on the boat to know what we want to do. I don't need many words to know what he is thinking, which is what sailing together brings.
"I know what he is thinking, why he wants to take the risk and when."
To get to the America's Cup match again would be a dream come true for de Angelis. However, he knows he first has to get past an equally determined Team New Zealand.
"If you want to move forward in this game, what was good one month ago wasn't enough for last week and for sure will not be enough in three weeks' time," de Angelis said.
"It is important to keep learning and keeping making your performance better and better day by day.
"Boat speed is never enough. You are always looking for more."
