Two years after losing a 3-0 lead and the biggest prize in
European club soccer, AC Milan gets a chance to set things
straight. The 2005 Champions League final loss in a penalty-kick
shootout to Liverpool still haunts AC Milan, and now the team faces
Liverpool again for the trophy.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti wants his team to concentrate on what his
players have achieved this season after the club's eight-point
punishment in the Italian league for match-fixing.
"The game two years ago is another story," he said Tuesday. "It
has nothing to do with this. This is a new adventure."
"What we've done this season is extraordinary, considering the
difficulties we've faced. Psychologically, we're extremely
motivated. Milan deserved to reach to reach this final ?a maybe
more than any other squad."
Milan led 3-0 at halftime in the 2005 final in Istanbul, Turkey,
then gave up three goals in six minutes and lost 3-2 on penalty
kicks.
Up to 14 players from the Istanbul final could face each other
again in Athens. While the 2005 final began with a rare
first-minute goal by Milan defender Paolo Maldini, this game is
likely to start more cautiously.
"Our plan will be don't concede any goals and for sure don't
concede in the first minute," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said.
"It will be tough. The last final was amazing. For me, it was the
best final in the history of this competition. I don't think we
will see a game like that. If you said to me, 'Do you want to see
that kind of game,' I would need to see a doctor."
Milan is in its 11th final in Europe's most prestigious
competition and is chasing its seventh triumph. It is in its third
Champions League final in five years. Liverpool is looking for its
sixth title in seven finals.
Liverpool's new American owners ?a Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks
and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr ?a are to attend the
game. And it could be messy ?a the forecast calls for heavy showers
and thunder.
Maldini, who turns 39 next month, hopes to recover from a knee
injury to play in his eighth final, tying the competition record of
Real Madrid winger Francisco Gento in the 1950s and '60s. If Milan
wins, Maldini would collect his fifth European Cup title, one fewer
than Gento, dating to 1989.
"To be the captain of a team that is still reaching these
heights is really a matter of pride," Maldini said.
Benitez masterminded the Reds' comeback in Istanbul in his first
season at Anfield after leading Valencia to unexpected Spanish
League and UEFA Cup victories the year before.
Benitez is used to appearing in finals and winning titles ?a
this is the fourth season in a row he has taken a team to a final.
He also led Liverpool to the FA Cup title last year.
Kaka has 10 Champions League goals this season and was the star
of Milan's semifinal elimination of Manchester United.
Although 41-year-old defender Alessandro Costacurta is on the
brink of retirement and won't feature in the game, Milan could
field two more veterans in its back line ?a Maldini and 36-year-old
right back Cafu. If that's the case, Benitez could send out two
fast forwards in Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt and Jermaine Pennant
attacking from the right wing.
His other tactic could be to field 6-foot-7 Peter Crouch as the
target man for high balls into the box.
Ancelotti won't be able to field Ronaldo, who is ineligible
under UEFA rules because he already played for Real Madrid in the
competition before his midseason move. The coach must decide
whether to start Filippo Inzaghi or Alberto Gilardino in attack in
front of Kaka.
A combined 35,000 fans of the two teams have tickets for the
game, although there are fears that many more may show up, hoping
to buy black-market tickets. Police plan to keep rival fans well
apart by diverting them to different parts of the city upon
arrival.
About 15,000 police will be on duty. Riot police were already on
the streets downtown as early as Monday as the first fans
arrived.
(China Daily?via AP May 23, 2007)