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

Originally Posted by rome1977

Does he lack confidence?

They say confidence runs in your blood!

We all know the story about Reina and his old man

Originally Posted by rome1977

I am actually in N Ireland!

I'm from Nothern Ireland too, Belfast actually. Whereabouts are you from?

I am wired up fully. you can look fro me sitting up with Brigate Rossoneri, I shalt paint my hair red and black and be draped in my Milan flag, jumping like crazy for every goal Kaka scores!

my prediction: we will win.

Originally Posted by zlatanov

more like concentration ... but is usually there for us in the big games and seems to feed on criticism

sometimes we've had times like that.....the dutch keeper we had before Dudek was prone to concentration wobbles.

and Reina had a bit of a nightmare in last may's FA Cup final v west ham.

Originally Posted by Milancelotti

They say confidence runs in your blood!

We all know the story about Reina and his old man

I wonder if his dad will come to the final.

Originally Posted by Mr.Rossoneri

I'm from Nothern Ireland too, Belfast actually. Whereabouts are you from?

up near Portstewart mate, 2 miles from the ocean.

Are you in the city centre or outskirts?

Originally Posted by rome1977

up near Portstewart mate, 2 miles from the ocean.

Are you in the city centre or outskirts?

Sweet I know Portstewart, I'm about 2-3 miles from Belfast city centre.

I read how most of football managers, football players and experts rate Milan as (huge) favourites in the final. The last ones in the list are Sir Alex Ferguson and Allesandro Del Piero.
Dunno if that unbelievable performance last Wednesday has anything to do with it, but as time's passing more and more people involved in football see Milan as the new champions of Europe !

Oh, and i almost forgot. I know many will disagree but i find this statement a litle premature :
Seedorf : "If we win then I would like to dedicate the victory to my family, friends and all those who have been part of my career"

I know he said "if we win" , but it still doesn't sound right to me. It's something he should say after the match in case Milan wins.
This way, if Pool wins, i can already see some english journalist or Peter Crouch in his autobiography saying how Milan players started dedicating the CL win to their families even 2 weeks before the final.

Originally Posted by Tony29.

I read how most of football managers, football players and experts rate Milan as (huge) favourites in the final. The last ones in the list are Sir Alex Ferguson and Allesandro Del Piero.
Dunno if that unbelievable performance last Wednesday has anything to do with it, but as time's passing more and more people involved in football see Milan as the new champions of Europe !

Oh, and i almost forgot. I know many will disagree but i find this statement a litle premature :
Seedorf : "If we win then I would like to dedicate the victory to my family, friends and all those who have been part of my career"

I know he said "if we win" , but it still doesn't sound right to me. It's something he should say after the match in case Milan wins.
This way, if Pool wins, i can already see some english journalist or Peter Crouch in his autobiography saying how Milan players started dedicating the CL win to their families even 2 weeks before the final.

I am sure that it has EVERYTHING to do with that game vs ManU at the SS.
When the 1/4 finals came, the only team whose chances for lifting the trophy were worse than Milan's according to just about every self-conceived pundit out there, was PSV, a depleted PSV side that is.

now, everyone is taking what looks like the sure bet so that they don't look like a bare naked butt once again after all the empty talk before the 2nd leg vs bayern at the Arena and that 7-1 result ManU got vs Roma, which made these same experts wonder how many goals more than 3 would Manu score past a team that had been second best to Roma for the whole year.

If it wasn't for that game last Wednesday, I am sure the Bristish press now wouldn't be able to stop praising the soon-to-be champs of Europe, Liverpool ... instead, they are filling up their pages with a wine-nourished romance between Fergie and Carlo and heap hypocritical praise on Milan and how all of a sudden laughing at the Italian grandpas is no longer the vogue among all the Andy Grays out there.

As for Milan, I really don't see anything wrong with what Seedorf said ... if it was any other team Milan was facing, I would be worried about Milan underestimating them and getting a bit too cocky for their own good after that performance vs Man Utd ... but not with Liverpool, not after what happened 2 years ago when cockiness and underestimating the opponent is probably what cost us that final.

Originally Posted by zlatanov

I am sure that it has EVERYTHING to do with that game vs ManU at the SS.
When the 1/4 finals came, the only team whose chances for lifting the trophy were worse than Milan's according to just about every self-conceived pundit out there, was PSV, a depleted PSV side that is.

now, everyone is taking what looks like the sure bet so that they don't look like a bare naked butt once again after all the empty talk before the 2nd leg vs bayern at the Arena and that 7-1 result ManU got vs Roma, which made these same experts wonder how many goals more than 3 would Manu score past a team that had been second best to Roma for the whole year.

If it wasn't for that game last Wednesday, I am sure the Bristish press now wouldn't be able to stop praising the soon-to-be champs of Europe, Liverpool ... instead, they are filling up their pages with a wine-nourished romance between Fergie and Carlo and heap hypocritical praise on Milan and how all of a sudden laughing at the Italian grandpas is no longer the vogue among all the Andy Grays out there.

As for Milan, I really don't see anything wrong with what Seedorf said ... if it was any other team Milan was facing, I would be worried about Milan underestimating them and getting a bit too cocky for their own good after that performance vs Man Utd ... but not with Liverpool, not after what happened 2 years ago when cockiness and underestimating the opponent is probably what cost us that final.

Quite right. Milan will have fire in their bellies as soon as they step onto the pitch. They are super-motivated. My worry is actually they may be TOO motivated; that is, they may come in too eager to prove a point.

While it is hard to do so, they should use that night in Istanbul as a motivation but not as a pure vendetta.

With that said, before Italy and France this summer, everyone was talking about how Italy--after the euphoric win against Germany in hitherto Fortress Dortmund--would arrive in Berlin full of ire (revenge for Euro2000) and would feel that they would brush France aside.

The truth is war of words means little. Henry saying that Italians cannot defend, Gerrard launching personal attacks on Gattuso (a depressing low, even by football's standards), or Gattuso's opinion about the way Liverpool play (which, by the way, were not too far off the mark, so perhaps BBC should pay him instead of their usual gambit of clowns), will mean little.

Milan will be fired up because Istanbul still haunts. There is absolutely no risk that Milan players view the Final as a foregone conclusion. And, couple Istanbul with the siege mentality that grips Italian football (Milan's calciopoli verdict, Catania riots, the 7-1 crushing etc.), and you will see a Milan team fired up.

Oh and one more thing: Liverpool players started providing our team talk right after the Final. They blamed the Milan players of celebrating, which, by the way, the English media takes as truth (see Guardian football for proof).

If that didn't happen, oh boy...

I think "IF WE WINS" is much better than Deco's "I prefer to play Arsenal in the final" when they haven't even played the 2nd league against Milan last year. That's what I called immature.

Originally Posted by Pireloke

Your cousin is maybe right, but if we have to win only one match before I die, it has to be this one. All the bitterness from Istanbul I have accumulated watching Gerrard lift that cup for two years is going to flow away and it's going to be better than sex, that I can assure you.

It's a matter of life and death this one, WE MUST WIN. And Gerrard has to cry. On his knees.

If we lose this one again I might kill myself or someone else in my immediate vincinity, I will explode and it will not be pretty.

Sorry mate, but you'll never see Stevie cry. He's not that emotional - which might explain why he's capable of doing what he did in Istanbul, and scoring that amazing goal in the FA Cup final last year, in injury time.

I'm not an overly confident fan, but I'm confident about this one. I will enjoy watching Milan play, and seeiing how Rafa's brain works out how to negate Kaka and Seedorf, and Pirlo. I can actually see Gattuso getting a card - maybe yellow, maybe red – and Gerrard being played at the front of a 4-5-1 to push your defence back.

Only one thing is for sure with Rafa Benitez - he will always spring a surprise.

Gattuso getting a card is not much of a prediction ... on the other hand, don't count on him getting stupid yellows in the beginning of this game ... sometimes he maybe too fiery but he is smarter than he seems.
Also, if gattuso gets a yellow, I guess the same would go for most Pools midfield as hard play is the only way they could stop our midfield, so pool players would be quite vulnerable too.

playing Gerrard at the front would be suicidal for Pool IMO and if Rafa makes that move, he would be trying a bit too hard for his own good, I think.
Apart from Alonso, who might be left on the bench as his form this season has been quite average in long spells, Gerrard is just about the only play-making figure Pool have in midfield and the only one who could offer something more than a hope-filled long ball to the strikers.
Playing him up front will make him an easy prey to Milan's midfield and defense and he will be isolated from the game without anyone else being able to take his role of managing Pool's play from midfield.

Originally Posted by zlatanov

Gattuso getting a card is not much of a prediction ... on the other hand, don't count on him getting stupid yellows in the beginning of this game ... sometimes he maybe too fiery but he is smarter than he seems.
Also, if gattuso gets a yellow, I guess the same would go for most Pools midfield as hard play is the only way they could stop our midfield, so pool players would be quite vulnerable too.

playing Gerrard at the front would be suicidal for Pool IMO and if Rafa makes that move, he would be trying a bit too hard for his own good, I think.
Apart from Alonso, who might be left on the bench as his form this season has been quite average in long spells, Gerrard is just about the only play-making figure Pool have in midfield and the only one who could offer something more than a hope-filled long ball to the strikers.
Playing him up front will make him an easy prey to Milan's midfield and defense and he will be isolated from the game without anyone else being able to take his role of managing Pool's play from midfield.

Actually they do have a lot of creativity in Pennant, Garcia (injured?), and Kewell. Just because these guys aren't as good as Christiano Roanldo means that they can't be potential match winners on their day... especially when you consider that all these guys have to do is get past ONE marker and Crouchino can do the rest....Which brings me to the subject of Crouch....he is a bit of a dirty player....he scored his goal against Trinidad and Tobago this WC by pulling down our defender by his hair he might be inclined to do something of the sort with Nesta/Maldini/Kaladze

Please don't underestimate Liverpool just because their playing style is as exciting as watching dried paint flake...they also have Kuyt who is a master of positioning and Fowler...he didn't get the nickname "god" for nothing!

It is also quite possible that both managers might be overly fearful of the other's superstar and Kaka AND Gerrard might be marked out of the game alltogether!

Originally Posted by rome1977

I wonder if his dad will come to the final.

What son and father making bloopers in 2 CL finals? What a site!