KEY POINTS:
Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth says his team have always focused on Team New Zealand and Oracle because they believed they had the most threatening boats.
Butterworth said he was not surprised to be facing Team New Zealand - the Grant Dalton-led syndicate had been the top challenger for
the past three years and had a good boat, which proved fast during the final against Luna Rossa.
He also had praise for Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, who copped some criticism for his starting in the early stages of the regatta.
"Of all the team, I think that he [Barker] is the guy that plays the greatest part in their success," Butterworth told Swiss newspaper Le Temps. "Even if he has had very little support [from the public] he has managed. So I admire him for that."
But despite Team New Zealand's strong performance in the challenger series, Butterworth's Alinghi will carry the tag of favourites into the match.
They have enjoyed overwhelming success over the past three years, and many predict Alinghi will have a speed edge over the Kiwis.
The Swiss boats, like the New Zealand boats, show incredible attention to detail. Design co-ordinator Grant Simmer believes their rigs are the best while sail designer Mike Schreiber said he wouldn't trade sails with anyone.
Suspicion also remains over whether the Swiss have got something crafty going on with their keel. It has been rumoured Alinghi have worked out a way of reducing keel fin deflection which occurs due to the enormous weight of the keel bulb. If true, then it could give them a small speed edge.
Butterworth was coy when asked whether his team possessed a secret weapon.
"I think that our development and research programme is as good as possible. If it is sufficient we will win, if not, it would be very disappointing because we did all that was in our capacity to produce the best boat.
"But at the end of the day they are two very good teams, probably the two best teams."
While the scoreline in the last three America's Cup matches has been 5-0, Butterworth doesn't think that would be the case this time.
"I think that the boats are very even. And even if it is always the fastest boat which wins, even if one of the two yachts is a little swifter, it is necessary nevertheless to sail well and not make an error. For that reason it will be difficult for it to be 5-0."
Butterworth said he hoped the battle would remain on the water.
"I fear that the problem that we saw last time with Blackheart in New Zealand will start again."
Butterworth said his team had been insulted as they sailed in and out of the America's Cup port. The 48-year-old said he didn't appreciate being called a traitor. "It is not a word I take lightly. It is an insult. I have shame for my country when I see this kind of attitude.
"I won the America's Cup twice for New Zealand. People should acknowledge that. I do what I want with my life."
In the interview Butterworth was also not impressed with suggestions that if Team New Zealand won they would bring back the nationality rules, maybe not fully but at least partly.
"It is nonsense in my eyes," Butterworth said. "More an anti-Coutts rule."
For Butterworth, who is married with two daughters, this is his sixth America's Cup campaign. However it is his first in the role of skipper. Butterworth said he had tried to create a similar environment to the one his predecessor and good friend Russell Coutts had.
"We saw it with Oracle that dictatorship is not the most effective of methods.
"We have several leaders in the group and we try and help each other as best as possible. The goal is to have the fastest boat sailed by the best crew."
Butterworth was asked about his future and whether he was considering teaming up with Coutts again.
Coutts is believed to have been approached by several teams including Oracle and Luna Rossa. Most suspect where Coutts goes his tight five - Butterworth, Murray Jones, Simon Daubney, Warwick Fleury and Dean Phipps - will follow.
"I would like to work again with Russell," Butterworth said. "I do not know what he will be doing next. I think Ernesto [Bertarelli] would be happy to see him back."
Would that mean giving him complete control? "Believe me, whoever is the person who signs with Russell, that person will agree to his demands."
Brad Butterworth
Position: Skipper/tactician
Born: Te Awamutu April 9, 1959
America's Cup
2007: Alinghi
2003: Alinghi
2000: Team New Zealand
1995: Team New Zealand
1992: New Zealand Challenge
1987: New Zealand Challenge