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

This is our year,AGAINST ALL ODDS, we went to Munich and beat a team that have never lost at home in Europe, AGAINST ALL ODDS, we prooved the critics wrong by embarassing Ferguson's years of experience and caging the so called brilliant attach, AGAINST ALL ODDS, we'll go to Athens and do something not expected, something never heard of, something that will remain in memory for ever, something that will ever remain a first of its kind in the history of the champions league.

Comon Milan, Comon fans, lets reproduce thesame performance the fans gave in San Siro, lets not boast at all but leave everything to God's hand, then after then, only after then shall we give thanks to God, the players and all Milan fans worldwide......

We will be wearing red, Milan white.

On and BTW please, please underestimate us again!, just like Barca did!. I personally think both teams are on the same level - 50/50.

We don't fear Milan, but we have the greatest respect for your club. I like the talk of revenge from you lot, I hope your players will only think of revenge, because then they will not use their heads. While we will and we will then win

MILAN – The team that were finished in Istanbul, the same team that were just too old to be competitive, the one that critics were saying needed a total overhaul. Do you know which team we are talking about? It is the team that has done something great yet again to prove that the critics were wrong all along. That is our team, this is the team that lifted Milan 3-0 Manchester United to the podium of greatness, to stand beside the likes of Milan 5-0 Real Madrid from 1989 and Milan 4-0 Barcelona in 1994. A victory like this isn’t just down to coincidence or luck, Milan’s world class performance was up to a season filled with character building difficulties. On a beautiful day like today we can look back on recent months with a smile and the clarity of 20/20 hindsight vision. We can look back on Milan 0-2 Palermo, Milan 3-4 Inter, Atalanta 2-0 Milan, Milan 1-2 Roma. We can look back on the cold months of October and November. On the Four losses in twenty days. It has been a difficult journey and it was filled with criticisms and hurdles as anyone could see or hear. It seems almost funny now to review it all and see how very wrong the critics were when they predicted that Milan were done. The old adage, don’t fix it if it isn’t broken seems to apply well here. This side was never broken, it never needed to be fixed. All that was needed was a bit of time and a bit of patience for Ancelotti and company to take what seemed like a hopeless situation and turn into pure gold in a way that can only be described as putting on the usual Rossoneri shine. What a trip it has been and we were here to see it all go down as Milan took each hurdle as an opportunity to learn and grow, to get where they are today, more dynamic and even stronger than before. The critics have been left speechless. The experience and history of this side proves that the Rossoneri aren’t just a passing fad, this is a club that has refined its recipe for success down to the last detail.

How ironic it is. The ages of the players. The long contracts. The necessity to change after so many years. The truth is that life and football are full of ups and downs. Those that survive in this game are the ones that know how to handle and learn from the difficulties they face. No one can predict what will happen in Athens, but the Milan that have earned 36 points in the second half of the season and a hard-fought European qualification against the likes of Celtic, Bayern Munich and Manchester United can be proud of what they have done this season and we can be proud too because we never stopped believing in the dream. What a journey it has been, from the point penalty and the resulting Champions League preliminary round up until today. This is the kind of ride of a lifetime that only a side like Milan can deliver as they take their fans along to experience the joy that is can only be called Milan.



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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DATES

May 2nd's sumptuous 3-0 Rossoneri victory over Manchester United arrived on May 2, which is the exact same day that Milan last won the Italian League title after Milan 1-0 Roma. The final in Athens on May 23 will be held on the same day that Milan have won the following: UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in Rotterdam against Hamburg (2-0 in 1968), the UEFA play-off in Turin against Sampdoria (1-0 in 1987) and the European Cup in Vienna against Benfica (1-0 in 1990). | |

Originally Posted by ukrainian_CA

10.17s is the record in Africa. While we talk about the soccerplayers.
Etoo , who is blazing fast and is the fastest in La Liga cannot get even close to 10.5s. He is below 11.0s, which is considered world class for a striker.

hwmook and ukranian, you are correct my firends. I checked again and it is 10.62......NOT 10.2 secunds.

He's have to be puwered by the nasa rocket fuel to go that fast.

He is very fast tho. I would not be half surprised if Benitez has been deliberatly saving and resting him, especially for the final. He is not called 'Speedy' for no reason.

Hopefully we'll have Maldini back at the time of the final, it's important to have a leader in defense.
I am confident we will win the CL this year, if you look at where we were at the beginning of the season and where we are now there is no way we will give this out of hands.

I worry about our defense. The englanders have very fast players like Bellamy and Gonzalez. Maldini is a wonderful servant. But I sometimes wonder if he is a year too old now.

Originally Posted by rome1977

We walked all over Manchester's midfield. But Liverpool have better midfield, by miles.

They have maybe best midfield in world - gerrard, alonso, sissoko, mascherano.

We will have no space. Biggest worry is if Benitez pulls a rabbit out of the bag (which he does do at times) and puts on a very speedy winger. Gonzalez is fastest runner at Anfield - 10.2 seconds for 100 meters. Wonder could we live with such speed?

Pool has a tough mix of midfielders but they also lack creativity in that midfield.
Also, of the players you mentioned, Rafa will only play at most 3 at the same time and that is if Gerrard is played as a right winger ... if played in Center mid, like he was for most of the game vs Chelski at Anfield, only 2 of those players (Gerrard and Mascherano most probably) will start the game.

As for this Gonzalez guy (I guess you are talking about the Chilean Mark Gonzalez) he has to first find space in the 1st team and then we can worry about him ... plus, from what I've seen from him in EPL, he is quite an average player, nothing special really, and I was wondering why was rafa insisiting on picking him over Zenden and even Penant.
Plus, CR is no slouch either when it comes to running fast and we took good care of him in both games .

Other than that, I would like to see Milan approach this game as any other and not speak or think of revenge as this can only distract us from real our goal - winning this game, not avenging one from the past.

Originally Posted by Rosso6

Giovanni glad to see someone if not many more has caught on to Benitez's style. It is downright carbon copy of how Italian teams in Europe used to and still play.Maybe not Milan. Just a quick flashback if you watched Liverpool vs Barca at Anfield, there were stretches in the game for about 8-10 minutes when Liverpool had all their field players in their own half. There are plenty of examples, Barca game is the only one I could think of.
Liverpool look to kill the flow of the oppositon and strictly capitalise on mistakes. They do not put much emphasis on creativity and possession.
Benitez's Liverpool plays a reinvented catennacio in Europe and that is why everybody lauds him as some genius in the European game. And another thing, why haven't people (esp' the press) caught on to somewhat negative tactics? Granted he has had his fair share of success but I find it hard to validate the genius label on him. My concern for the final is Mascherano, he is probably Rafa's most astute buy since his tenure in Liverpool, and probably Liverpool's best player next to Gerard.
Javier is a destroyer and his presence on the field on May 23 could hamper our march to the title.

By the way Giovanni, I was watching a clip where Rino scored and the comentator was screaming in Italian, il vento de lione. My spelling is probably seriously off but I wanted to know what that means. I figure lione is lion.

Rino provides lockerroom material, but whatever he says is right on the money.


Gattuso delivers Liverpool taunt


AC Milan's Gattuso is vowing Champions League revenge on Liverpool
AC Milan midfielder Rino Gattuso has launched a stinging attack on Liverpool's "long ball" tactics ahead of the Champions League final.
Gattuso, 29, who played in the 2005 final defeat in Istanbul, dismissed Liverpool as an inferior side to semi-final opponents Manchester United.

He said: "I feel there is a noticeable difference in talent between Manchester United and Liverpool.

"Liverpool are like an Italian team of 10 years ago. Every ball a long ball."

He added: "All they try to do is defend with everybody behind the ball and one striker.

"United have far more technical players, who are quick and able to do things on the ball. Liverpool do not have those individuals."

And Gattuso set his sights on revenge for 2005, when Liverpool came from 3-0 down at half-time to win on penalties.

He said: "This final will be different - that I promise. It is important to put the record straight."

Originally Posted by rome1977

I worry about our defense. The englanders have very fast players like Bellamy and Gonzalez. Maldini is a wonderful servant. But I sometimes wonder if he is a year too old now.

ManU's players are not any worse and we had them under control for the entire 2nd game and the first 60 min of the first at OT ... they only showed what they are capable of when we took the foot off the pedal thinking that we had won that first game, a mistake we should learn from for the final.

belamy and Gonzalez are quite unlikely to start that game to begin with and even if they play part in it, i am sure Milan will not try to stop them by running alongside them but will close them down before they could use their speed.
yes, speedy players are always a reason for concern but it's not like this is the first time we'll be playing vs. such a team.

Originally Posted by SANT

In a year when Milan was not even supposed to be in the competition because of the decisions of the judges about the Moggiopoli scandal...

In a year when Milan didn't get the expected reinforcements to face a competition starting at -8 points...

In a year when injuries hurt the team more than the individual players themselves...

In a year designed for Inter's glory...

In a year when Costacurta has announced his retirement... and Maldini's knee
threatens to force him to do the same...

In a year when one of the team's glories broke not just our line up, but our heart...

In a year when his replacement is not allowed to play in the UCL...

Here we go again... to take what's ours... to take revenge after that horrorific night in Istambul...

Sempre con te, solo con te...11 Leoni... Oggi piu' che mai... a Milano, a Europa, ovunque...Insieme, con il Diavolo in Corpo... RICONQUISTIAMOLA!!!!!!!

Great post SANt, after reading it, i got goose-bumps..

Milan have opted to wear their white away shirts in the Champions League Final against Liverpool later this month.

The Italian team were drawn by UEFA as the home side which gave them the right to wear their famous black and red shirts.

However, Milan have decided to go for their second strip and allow Liverpool to dress in their red jerseys – just like in Istanbul two years ago.

Milan did consider their white strip a lucky omen priot to their penalty shoot-out loss to the Premiership side in the 2005 finale.

Before then the San Siro giants had won four European Cups in white against Benfica in 1963 and 1990, versus Steaua Bucharest in 1989 and Juventus in 2003.

Message to all:

Destiny gave us the opportunity to get revenge against Liverpool only 2 years after what happenned in istanbul. Everyone remember that game we where much better than them but we lost. In a game of 120 minutes we played better for 110 minutes, yet cup went in England. Apart from luck, destiny, tactics from Benitez and Liverpool's hunger a huge motivator where the fans.
In istanbul Liverpool had around 70% of total spectators at Ataturk. English will go out in numbers again but we can't allow them to be that much again. THOSE WHO CAN PLEASE FLY TO ATHENS, THIS IS A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY FOR REVENGE AND TO TAKE THE CUP BACK TO WHERE IT BELONGS ie. VIA TURATI MILANO.

Personally the istanbul match changed my life as regards to passion for Milan I'm no longer present to see a game 3 hours before kick off I no longer watched 4 times the sports news. Besides istanbul there where other reasons like calciopoli the departure of ukraninan judas, my maturity(!!!!!) etc. When I saw that Liverpool passed for the final I felt the same excitement before a match that I used to feel 3 or 4 years ago. After seeing Liverpool in the final, I wanted so much the win vs Man U that i felt the same tension like I did before the semi final & final with our arch rivals inter & juve in 2003. The Liverpool factor motivated players and now we're there and we must be at Athens knowing that WE MUST WIN.

white or red jersey, i believe we will once again have a party on 23rd..
I don't believe in any supersticious things, FORZA MILAN!!!

(i wish I could be there in Istanbul,....)

Why oh why did we go with the white strip