UCL Final - Milan vs. Liverpool... Athens, May 23rd

Ive never ever hoped to god so much as much as i hope that we stick it to them this time.

This time we humiliate them soo bad, they wont even think about getting back up, honestly after visiting that site im well heated.

Forza Milan time to shut them up and take back what was rightfully ours 2years back.

its only a joke guys i kno we will win it but i have to share it with you!

I would have thought his name 'rome1977' might have given things away to some of our more knowledgeable members.

Anyway, welcome here rome1977, though you really didn't need to go undercover to find out what some of our members here think. They would have told you anyway if you'd declared yourself a Liverpool fan from the start, like some of the other guys have done. Plus you have to be careful who you listen to, not everyone is writing off Liverpool's chances and not everyone is disrespecting them, just the same as in your forums.

Take Haroon for example (who's just re-joined your forums) he's a quality poster and writes really sensible and informed stuff. He doesn't come here much now, but he's the kind of person you need to listen to.

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

I would have thought his name 'rome1977' might have given things away to some of our more knowledgeable members.

Anyway, welcome here rome1977, though you really didn't need to go undercover to find out what some of our members here think. They would have told you anyway if you'd declared yourself a Liverpool fan from the start, like some of the other guys have done. Plus you have to be careful who you listen to, not everyone is writing off Liverpool's chances and not everyone is disrespecting them, just the same as in your forums.

Take Haroon for example (who's just re-joined your forums) he's a quality poster and writes really sensible and informed stuff. He doesn't come here much now, but he's the kind of person you need to listen to.

cheers mate and thanks for the welcome and kind words!

If I may just say, I've come across lots of good and knowledgable posters in this forum. And I did see Haroon on the other forum - top quality poster.

I knew it was merely a matter of time before my cover was blown!

But I didn't think I'd last this long with a name like 'rome1977'

But it was fun introducing my fictional polish plumber cousin to the forum, who lives innorth england.......as well as the notion that gonzalez can do 100 meters in 10.2 seconds. lol

I'm hoping for another classic final in Athens. Tho if we win by a scrappy own goal with 2 minites to go, I'll still be delighted.

Originally Posted by rome1977

But I didn't think I'd last this long with a name like 'rome1977'

I don't think alot of our younger/newer members would have made the connection, they might have just thought you came from Rome or something

I read a comment made by one of your members about how the desire for revenge (wether conscious or sub-conscious) might play into Liverpool's hands and he has a good point. With the will to do better this time, if level heads aren't used, Milan could blow out of steam quite rapidly giving Liverpool the opportunity to nick a goal or two should they weather the storm. Could really play into Liverpool's hands if emotions get the better of the Milan players.

welcome rome1977.

@Jim: Well, they are experienced players, so they know what to expect and how they should handle it. Having said, I guess this is also the first time for Maldini and co to encounter such a weird situation (i.e., a repeat of the final).

In any case, I'm still not optimistic. Milan, this year, has not done well almost in any of the first game out of the two-league encounters. And, given that the final is an one-shot game, I'm not sure how Milan will perform.

On the other hand, Milan almost always do what they need to do when situation arises. So, it's going to be an interesting encounter, and certainly a joy for neutral fans to watch!

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

I don't think alot of our younger/newer members would have made the connection, they might have just thought you came from Rome or something

I read a comment made by one of your members about how the desire for revenge (wether conscious or sub-conscious) might play into Liverpool's hands and he has a good point. With the will to do better this time, if level heads aren't used, Milan could blow out of steam quite rapidly giving Liverpool the opportunity to nick a goal or two should they weather the storm. Could really play into Liverpool's hands if emotions get the better of the Milan players.

i totally agree, Jim.

big occasions are a time for cool heads.

And I was interested to read in this forum that a few posters were saying that Milan tend to run out of steam after 70 or so minutes in a game. I don't know if that is linked to the age of the Milan team or not.

I certainly noticed that at Old Trafford. Tho of course the subbing of Gatusso and Maldini did not help things.

I suspect that the longer the game goes on, the better the chances for Liverpool.

Originally Posted by Jeff

welcome rome1977.

Hi jeff, thanks for the welcome.

And hi to Diavolo! It was merely a matter of time before my cover was blown.

Originally Posted by rome1977

I suspect that the longer the game goes on, the better the chances for Liverpool.

Most definitely. There is probably no question about that, and I think Liverpool will do just that. Then, try to nick in a goal around 75 - 90 minutes.

I'm not sure if this is age-issue or what, because it used to be the case that Milan played best from 75-90 minutes.

It also depends on the game plan. Carlo might opt for a slower start and have players prepared for more than 90minutes. Having said, though, I would not prefer this method.

Think about this: This is what Liverpool wanted to do in 2005 and they found themselves 3-0 down. What happened next is, of course, another story, and I doubt if it happened again Liverpool could have done that. But I don't think playing conservatively is the way to do and, if Liverpool opts for that option again, they may once again find themselves in trouble.

I think the key battle is between whether Liverpool can press Milan so well that Milan players can't pass the ball around. IF Milan has a good day and everyone is passing well, then it'll be extremely difficult to shut them down. We'll see...

Originally Posted by Jeff

Most definitely. There is probably no question about that, and I think Liverpool will do just that. Then, try to nick in a goal around 75 - 90 minutes.

I'm not sure if this is age-issue or what, because it used to be the case that Milan played best from 75-90 minutes.

It also depends on the game plan. Carlo might opt for a slower start and have players prepared for more than 90minutes. Having said, though, I would not prefer this method.

Think about this: This is what Liverpool wanted to do in 2005 and they found themselves 3-0 down. What happened next is, of course, another story, and I doubt if it happened again Liverpool could have done that. But I don't think playing conservatively is the way to do and, if Liverpool opts for that option again, they may once again find themselves in trouble.

I think the key battle is between whether Liverpool can press Milan so well that Milan players can't pass the ball around. IF Milan has a good day and everyone is passing well, then it'll be extremely difficult to shut them down. We'll see...

good points, Jeff.

Tho I think it was due to Liverpool pressing, and thus being stretched, that left so much room, for your midfield to hurt us - especially Kaka. I cite that Crespo goal......awesome pass to put him clear. We lost the ball inside your penalty area (might have been a handball), and suddenly your lightneing break really cut us in two.

Our problems in that first half were linked to not having the awesome Didi Hamann protecting our defence. I couldn't believe that he was not in the starting line-up. Rafa brought him on at the start of the second half - and normality was resumed.

This time around, I definitely imagine Mascherano will have the job of protecting the defence, and snuffing out the threat of Kaka. I have been absolutely amazed at the quality of the argentinian. I think that that wil be where the game is won or lost. If Mascherano can snuff out the Milan threat, then I see the game going the distance.

Originally Posted by rome1977

And I was interested to read in this forum that a few posters were saying that Milan tend to run out of steam after 70 or so minutes in a game. I don't know if that is linked to the age of the Milan team or not.

I don't think it's solely an age thing, although it might be a factor for some players. The main reason i think this happens is due to the disrupted pre-season training because of the match fixing scandal. Alot of players hardly had any rest time after the World Cup and because of a serious lack of strengthening to the squad, they didn't have an opportunity to recharge themselves.

Next season it should be alot different with new players to encourage more rotation and a full summer for resting and proper training prepartations.

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

Next season it should be alot different with new players to encourage more rotation and a full summer for resting and proper training prepartations.

Especially if we win the CL this year, we are 'spared' from the two pre-season preliminary rounds...

as Jim mentioned, the lack of rest in probably half of our starters and the lack of proper preparation are probably a bigger reason than age for the team to run out of steam in the late stages of the game, although i think that the most difficult moments of that are behind us and the team looks pretty fit now after some good work in the winter break and the results and play are only confirming it.

We've been known as an "old" team for years now, yet we've often been better in the 2nd halves of games than the first, so age while being a factor to some extent is hardly the main one here.

I also think that it has s lot to do with losing motivation and deliberately, but unwisely, stepping off the gas once a game looks secure ... which was the case with the ManU game at OT, but - apart from 15 min at the beginning of the 2nd half - not as much as it was in the return game at SS when Milan had already learned form their mistakes.
Celtic also gave a lot of hope into taking the game to us after the 70th min but since those games were so close - in terms of the scoreline that is - milan never really gave them much space for the entire 90 min of the first game and the whole 120 min of the second game, at least not until we scored the goal in ET.

Also, Milan's preparation for the final will begin on Wednesday with the games vs Catania and Udinese seen as more of occasions to keep the team fit rather than a serious objective, so this will give us a good 2 weeks to prepare for the final and that means that ceratin players will go thru individual training regemes - like Seedorf did for the week before the game vs Bayern at the Arena - to be at their physical best vs Liverpool ... this will/should also take care of any difficulties players might have in the late stages of the game and allow them to be as competitive as possible when the 90th min approaches.

All in all, I wouldn't bet too much on Milan opening their door and inviting Pool in for a goal fest after the 70th min.

Zanetti 'In finale non tiferò Milan'

He's #4 after Mancini, Vieira and Moratti, but at least he was a gentleman with his statements.

He said he has many friends in both teams ( Mascherano, Simic, Seedorf, Grimi etc) but ,as Inter player, in the final he simply can't cheer for Milan and he'll be on Liverpool's side. But he said how Milan deserves the final and how it's stupid some people to make unuseful discussions about who's better between Milan and Inter since both teams are some of Europes best.

I don't wanna show off and i know it's hard to believe, but since his first comments i knew Rome 1977 was Pool fan.
It was very easy to spot it actually and i even started writing a post where i wanted to ask him to admit he's a Pool fan, but since we're on the same side for the final match, i decided not to write it here.
And i wasn't 100% sure