At 2.02 metres tall there is not a single player at Euro 2004 who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Czech Republic striker Jan Koller.

For Sunday's quarter-final in Porto, Denmark defender Martin Laursen will be the man charged with marking the shaven-headed striker and he is well aware of the problems involved.

"It is going to be very difficult for me and also for my colleagues in the defence" said Laursen, who played against Koller in AC Milan's 4-0 defeat by Borussia Dortmund in a UEFA Cup semi-final two years ago.

The lesson of that night, when Koller's Brazilian strike partner Marcio Amoroso struck a first-half hat-trick for the German club, has not been lost on Laursen.

While Koller himself did not find the target he provided the knock-downs, the distractions and the space that Amoroso exploited.

It has been the same story at Euro 2004 with Koller scoring in the thrilling 3-2 win over the Netherlands but doing so much more as the man who gives team mates Pavel Nedved, Milan Baros and Marek Heinz the opportunities.

"It is not all about trying to win the challenges in the air with him because there are going to be a lot of balls knocked down around him and we all have to be very attentive to get on to those balls and make sure we win them," Laursen told Reuters.

PERFECT RESPONSE

Laursen recently left Milan for English club Aston Villa in a transfer worth 3 million pounds ($5.47 million) and his performances at Euro 2004 have been the perfect response to those in Italy who suggested he was not a top class defender.

The 26-year-old, who spent three seasons with Verona before moving to the San Siro three years ago, does not think he needed to prove a point to anyone.

"I played plenty of games for Milan, it wasn't as though I never had a chance there. I played against all the best strikers and trained with some of the best players in the world," he says.

"I am very happy with my performances (in Italy) and Aston Villa paid a lot of money for me. But it is always nice to hear people saying good things," he adds.

Despite the hard task of dealing with Koller, Laursen is looking forward to Sunday's game and believes it will be an enthralling game.

"They are a very strong side who have won all three matches," he said. "But it is not a bad thing to be playing them because they are an offensive team like us.

"It will be a good match to see because they will leave space for us to attack, they are not like, say England, who sit back and defend," said Laursen.