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

If only we were spiderman we would turn from 'red to black' with revenge and kill them off..

Originally Posted by Stitch

what a crap...my local club, FK Sarajevo, is having a celebration for winning the league trophy.... TONIGHT !!!!

jebo halida gledaj ligu prvaka

Liverpool's official site already held their celebrations for Pool winning the trophy ... yesterday ... later today it's acmilan.com's turn to do the same

Forza Milaaaaaaan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpoAw_c9zHA

watch that and have faith that video will remind you why your Milanista and putting yourself through all this.

Forza Milan!!!!

Originally Posted by Milancelotti

Summat on the lines of

Sure, Kaka is brilliant but go through the team - the keeper is dodgy and the back four is creaking and should hold no fear for United's forwards. Anything else to be scared of? Pirlo? No. Seedorf? No. Ambrosini? No. Gilardino? Definitely not.

I dont even watch Itv for the main reason of townsend

So much for the all English final to be played in England they were predicting.

We know they are English and they are going to favour the English side, but it would just be really refreshing for them to talk about Milan like the great side they really are!!

Originally Posted by K77SH C

So much for the all English final to be played in England they were predicting.

We know they are English and they are going to favour the English side, but it would just be really refreshing for them to talk about Milan like the great side they really are!!

i agree watched a build up show yesterday on sky sports which was on for a hour and a half a hour and 20 minutes about how Liverpool will crush us then 10 minutes on how we are the worst team left in the champions league made me sick i ended up arguing with my dad on how biased they are! which clearly couldnt see!

Well, it's been fun being here these past few weeks.

And now finally, the big day has arrived.

Funnily enough I was more nervous in May 2005. I am not nervous today at all. Perhaps nerves will set in as kick-off draws closer.

I know many are predicting a much tighter game this time round. I'm not so sure.

I think in Kaka and Pirlo, you will always be threatening to score goals, but at the other end, I think your defence is weak to the threats we can pose it (eg Crouch and also when he is not on the pitch, counter attacks).

Essentially, your attack is strong, your defence is weak. I think Rafa will instruct the likes of Risse, Agger, Gerrard and Kuyt to shoot when given half a chance. Dida is a weak link, who suffers from confidence issues. imho

Regarding Liverpool, we are more balanced across defence/offence. We rarely concede, but yet we rarely threaten to run amok at the other end.

I imagine that we will hassle and harry Milan when they have the ball............and when we have it, I expect it to be zipped around at pace. That will help tire out Milan's aging legs at the back and in midfield.

My only questions regard team selection/tactis. If Rafa goes with the aerial threat of Crouch from the start, then he will need to have someone like Pennant to supply the crosses. Thus I suspect we will either see none of them start the game, or else both.
But they will play a part at some point I imagine. But in using them, that would be very attack minded.

The most likely starting lineup will have essentilly five across midfield, with one of these (Gerrard) supporting the lone striker (Kuyt). That would be my best guess.

Anyways, I raise a glass of Guinness (I am in N Ireland) to you all inhere. I hope we get a great game. I can't say I want to see another like last time, because I am unsure if my heart could come through that again.

All my best wishes.

Originally Posted by K77SH C

We know they are English and they are going to favour the English side, but it would just be really refreshing for them to talk about Milan like the great side they really are!!

there is a big article in today's Independent devoted to talking with Gullitt.

Originally Posted by rome1977

Well, it's been fun being here these past few weeks.

And now finally, the big day has arrived.

Funnily enough I was more nervous in May 2005. I am not nervous today at all. Perhaps nerves will set in as kick-off draws closer.

I know many are predicting a much tighter game this time round. I'm not so sure.

I think in Kaka and Pirlo, you will always be threatening to score goals, but at the other end, I think your defence is weak to the threats we can pose it (eg Crouch and also when he is not on the pitch, counter attacks).

Essentially, your attack is strong, your defence is weak. I think Rafa will instruct the likes of Risse, Agger, Gerrard and Kuyt to shoot when given half a chance. Dida is a weak link, who suffers from confidence issues. imho

Regarding Liverpool, we are more balanced across defence/offence. We rarely concede, but yet we rarely threaten to run amok at the other end.

I imagine that we will hassle and harry Milan when they have the ball............and when we have it, I expect it to be zipped around at pace. That will help tire out Milan's aging legs at the back and in midfield.

My only questions regard team selection/tactis. If Rafa goes with the aerial threat of Crouch from the start, then he will need to have someone like Pennant to supply the crosses. Thus I suspect we will either see none of them start the game, or else both.
But they will play a part at some point I imagine. But in using them, that would be very attack minded.

The most likely starting lineup will have essentilly five across midfield, with one of these (Gerrard) supporting the lone striker (Kuyt). That would be my best guess.

Anyways, I raise a glass of Guinness (I am in N Ireland) to you all inhere. I hope we get a great game. I can't say I want to see another like last time, because I am unsure if my heart could come through that again.

All my best wishes.

you read and more importantly trust British press way too much, rome.
after the ManU drubbing, one would expect that the "experts" on the other side of the tunnel would see light but I guess one more scalp has to be taken for that to happen .
Milan's goalkeeper and defense aren't weak, the only weakness in this team is the sense of being too good for the opponent, which leads to slacking off, loss in concentration, which in the eyes of the non-bliever seem like weakness due to old age or lack of quality.

This game however is different as there is only one game to play and no second leg to fix the mess we might create for ourselves (read 1st legs vs Bayern and ManU when Milan were toying with the opponent only to let the initiative slip away due to that weakness I mentioned above) ... in this game you won't see a "weak" Dida or a "weak" and "old" defense made up of grandpas and great-grandpas but what Milan is all about as Milan has this rare quality to excell when it matters most, when the backs are against the wall ... and in this season of calciopoli and attacks vs Milan as a club, in this game, that's exactly what the situation is.

My prediction for the game would be a close game - lots of battle in midfield (milan's with Gattuso and AMbro is by no means weaker or less physical than Pool's) so the defenses will "mop up" whatever manages to squeeze thru the mids.
Kaka will not have the luxury of space in this game - like he did vs ManU - but will manage to dictate things in tight spaces using his much improved team-play in his new role and will leave his mark on the game by moving around and creating space and chances for his teammates.

It will be a game of few real opportunities but I think in the end Milan's creativity in midfield thru Seedorf, Pirlo and Kaka will open the score in the start of the 2nd half ... the result will be doubled toward sthe end of the game when Pool will be rushing forward and will fall victim to the speed of Kaka and Serginho.

All in all, it will be a classical, tactical game with no surprises or turnarounds like the last time the two teams met.

I'm a bundle of nerves right now. I barely got 5 hours of sleep.

Forza Milan! I believe.

reading over in another forum that Milan have returned 5,000 unsold tickets. Could this be true?

Liverpool fans can't get tickets for love nor money.....some reports at the weekend of touts demanding between 2 and three thousand euros. Barmy.

It sounds like the Liverpool supporters are going to dominate the stadium once again.

Originally Posted by rome1977

reading over in another forum that Milan have returned 5,000 unsold tickets. Could this be true?

Liverpool fans can't get tickets for love nor money.....some reports at the weekend of touts demanding between 2 and three thousand euros. Barmy.

It sounds like the Liverpool supporters are going to dominate the stadium once again.

No, I don't think it is. Milan have sold all their 17,000 allotted tickets. The official website said so.

Originally Posted by Hasan Rossonero

I'm a bundle of nerves right now. I barely got 5 hours of sleep.

Forza Milan! I believe.

We are all going through this.

I just came back from my barbers, whilst he was cutting my hair we had a discussion about tonights game. As he is XEnglishX Spanish he would obviously side with Liverpool, he told me how Liverpool are going to rip Milan apart. He was saying Milan are weak, Maldini and Nesta are way too old and aren't quick enough and when opposition runs towards them they get scared.

He was soo stupid he was giving me an example of the game between Bayern and Milan and he goes that Bayern were 2-0 Up and they sat back which was a mistake. Whilst discussing as usual I was answering him back with facts and I could feel he was getting angry and the machine he was using kept getting rougher on my skin. It was a pretty good debate and when I left i said to him good luck with tonight AND good luck with Wolverhampton Wanderers trying to get back into the premiership next season and every single season after that till judgment day.

Originally Posted by zlatanov

All in all, it will be a classical, tactical game with no surprises or turnarounds like the last time the two teams met.

interesting post, zlat.

All the main pundits here are predicting a tight game with few goals. Mind you these same pundits were predicitng a great cup final on Saturday (man utd v chelsea). They go that wrong too.

I actually think there will be a fair few goals again.

It will be hard to stop Milan scoring. And assuming there is an early goal for someone, either very early on, or at least in the first half - then we are gonna see an open game.

Liverpool rarely ever do boring finals. Our last two european finals were classic heart stopping affairs - when we beat milan in 2005, and also our uefa cup victory in 2001 when we beat Alves 5-4.

I think there will be goals, and possibly a fair few of them. The lowest I think it will be, will be 2-1

i'm gonna predict either a 2-2 going to penalties, or else a 3-2 win for Liverpool after extra time.

Originally Posted by rome1977

there is a big article in today's Independent devoted to talking with Gullitt.

Thats what you expect with the independent. We cant expect anything decent on skysports.