CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

All white on the night Milan’s preparations for the Champions League Final were as methodical as ever. As Antonio Labbate explains, nothing was left to chance...

Superstitious Milan chief Adriano Galliani did all he could before kick off to ensure a Rossoneri victory

After still struggling to come to terms with their 2005 Champions League Final loss, Milan chief Adriano Galliani was taking no chances with the club’s build-up to the Athens showdown this time around. Keen to avoid a Greek tragedy, the superstitious Galliani made sure that the omens were in their favour before the Liverpool showdown. Firstly, the club rejected the chance to have an extra day of rest for the tie. The Lega Calcio would have allowed them to play their Week 37 game on a Friday evening, but the Rossoneri were taking no chances and opted to take on Udinese 24 hours later instead. “To exorcise the ghost of Istanbul we won’t be playing on a Friday like we did two years ago,” Galliani had revealed. “I’ve noticed that we’ve lost two Finals when bringing our games forward to the end of a week so we haven’t gone down that road this time.”

The San Siro giants also rejected the opportunity to step on to the Athens turf in their recognisable red and black shirts. Despite being drawn by UEFA as the home side for the Final, the Milanese hierarchy chose to use their white away strip as they did in Turkey two years ago. “That is our shirt when it comes to European Cup Finals,” added the Vice-President. “We wore it in our first triumph at Wembley in 1963 and we will therefore go forward with it, whether we win or lose.” “I will also wear my ‘lucky’ tie as usual,” smiled the former Lega Calcio chief. “I certainly won’t be going to Greece without a yellow tie in my suitcase...” The white jersey was considered as a lucky charm for the club before the penalty shoot-out loss in 2005. Prior to that they had worn it in the victorious finales of 1963 and 1990 against Benfica, versus Steaua Bucharest in 1989, Barcelona in 1994 – in Athens – and Juventus in 2003. Now Liverpool in 2007 can join the list.

Milan netted the Champions League with a professional rather than scintillating display. Antonio Labbate gives you his run down of the Rossoneri’s individual Greek contributions

Nelson Dida: 6.5 A solid display to end a problematic season characterised by some costly errors. Alert and authoritative throughout, he convinced with decisive saves from Jermaine Pennant and Steven Gerrard. Blameless for the goal conceded. Massimo Oddo: 6.5 Decent display on the right where he got forward as much as possible and surprised the odd onlooker with some fine tackles. His January capture was more than justified at the end of the 90 minutes. Alessandro Nesta: 7.5 Milan’s best player at the back without a shadow of a doubt. The Italian illustrated his full repertoire of skills when it comes to positional sense and tackling ability. He can’t pass that well, but boy can he block. Paolo Maldini: 6.5 Unable to stop the sands of time, the veteran used his vast experience to control the Liverpool front line. The odd dodgy moment and misplaced pass made sure it wasn’t his greatest Final display but he was still vital. Marek Jankulovski: 5.5 Decent going forward, but was Milan’s weakest link at the back and Liverpool knew it. He was forced into numerous errors and looked insecure in the tackle. He’s simply not a defender. Gennaro Gattuso: 5.5 More bark than bite. Gave it his all even if he struggled to make the sort of midfield impact that he was hoping for. Liverpool’s pressing game highlighted his lack of technique.

Reds double losers

12 Calcio Italia June 2007
Andrea Pirlo: 6.5 Struggled to get on the ball in the opening spell given the lack of space, even if he ended the half with an accidental assist. Grew in stature after the break where his vision and passing gelled successfully. Massimo Ambrosini: 6 Saw little of the ball but was active in the midfield where his doubling up made things tough for Liverpool to go down the middle. Ran for 90 minutes and was rewarded with a winners’ medal. Clarence Seedorf: 5.5 Back to his frustrating best where his recent sparkling form deserted him on the biggest stage. Slow, sluggish, careless, he did nothing in attack or defence – yet still ended up with another European Cup, his fourth... Kaka: 7 Clearly the most gifted player on the pitch. Lit up the game with his touch and speed, but was perhaps guilty of over-indulged dribbling. Nevertheless, his assist for Inzaghi was exquisite as was his overall Champions League campaign. Pippo Inzaghi: 7.5 Grabbed a brace in true Inzaghi style to underline his Beauty and the Beast nature. Ugly with the ball at his feet outside of the area, deadly inside the box where fortune is often his most effective strike partner. Substitutes: Kakha Kaladze, Alberto Gilardino & Giuseppe Favalli All came on too late in the game to really make an impact or be judged.

Liverpool ratings: Reina 6; Finnan 6 (Arbeloa n/a), Carragher 7, Agger 6.5, Riise 6; Pennant 6.5, Mascherano 7 (Crouch 6.5), Xabi Alonso 6, Zenden 5.5 (Kewell 5.5); Gerrard 7; Kuyt 6.5

Liverpool were double losers in Athens when fans with tickets were turned away from the Olympic Stadium. Riot police used tear gas and batons outside the arena after telling supporters the stadium was already full because fans with forged tickets, or without tickets at all, had managed to get past security. Disorder broke out before kick-off when Liverpool followers were held back because of congestion outside the ground. Police told fans going through the penultimate checkpoint to slow down or even stop moving, then riot police formed a line to stop other fans joining queues to move through the checkpoint. “The behaviour of the Liverpool fans is in the end responsible for the problems that took place before the game,” said UEFA’s director of communications William Gaillard. “The Milan supporters didn’t face the same problems because they didn’t behave in the same way. Imagine if we had turnstiles, we could have had a tragedy. More than three hours before the game there were incidents at the Liverpool end with people trying to get in either with fake tickets or jumping over the barriers. “It is obvious that at one point the police felt overwhelmed and it is much to their credit there were no dangerous incidents. I am very sorry for what happened to fans who had regular tickets, but at the same time there is a collective responsibility in terms of behaviour. The only responsibility UEFA could have is that we did not choose a stadium with 250,000 seats. Unfortunately, they do not exist.”

MILAN’S EUROPEAN CUP FINAL RECORD The meeting with Liverpool in Athens was Milan’s 11th appearance in the European Cup Final. Here is the full run-down of their record in the showpiece match

Cup Final. Here is the full run-down of their record in the showpiece match

May 28 - Heysel Stadium, Brussels

1958 May 28 - Heysel Stadium, Brussels Real Madrid 3-2 aet Milan Di Stefano 74 Schiaffino 59 Rial 79 Grillo 77 Gento 107 (67,000) Real Madrid: Alonso; Atienza, Lesmes, Santisteban, Santamaria, Zarraga, Kopa Joseito, Di Stefano, Rial, Gento. (Coach: Luis Antonio Carniglia) Milan: Soldan; Fontana, Beraldo, Bergamaschi, Maldini, Radice, Danova, Liedholm, Schiaffi no, Grillo, Cucchiaroni. (Coach: Hector Puricelli) Ref: Alsteen (Bel)

May 26 - Olympic Stadium, Munich

1993 May 26 - Olympic Stadium, Munich Marseille 1-0 Milan Boli 43 (64,400) Marseille: Barthez; Angloma (Durand 61), Boli, Desailly, Pele, Eyedelie, Sauzee, Deschamps, Di Meco, Boksic, Voller (Thomas 79). (Coach: Raemon Goethals) Milan: Rossi; Tassotti, Costacurta, Baresi, Maldini, Donadoni (Papin 55), Albertini, Rijkaard, Lentini, Van Basten (Eranio 85), Massaro. (Coach: Fabio Capello) Ref: Rothlisberger (Swi)

Rijkaard, Lentini, Van Basten (Eranio 85), Massaro. (Coach: Fabio Capello)

1963 May 22 - Wembley, London Milan 2-1 Benfica Altafini 58, 66 Eusebio 18 Ref: Holland (Eng) (45,000) Benfi ca: Costa Pereira; Cavern, Cruz, Humberto, Raul, Coluna, Augusto, Santana, Torres, Eusebio, Simoes. (Coach: Fernando Riera) Milan: Ghezzi; David, Trebbi, Benitez, Maldini, Trapattoni, Pivatelli, Dino Sani, Altafi ni, Rivera, Mora. (Coach: Nereo Rocco)

May 18 - Olympic Stadium, Athens

1994 May 18 - Olympic Stadium, Athens Milan 4-0 Barcelona Massaro 22, 45 Savicevic 47 Desailly 59 (70,000) Milan: Rossi; Tassotti, Panucci, Desailly, Galli, Maldini (Nava 83), Donadoni, Albertini, Boban, Savicevic, Massaro. (Coach: Fabio Capello) Barcelona: Zubizarreta; Ferrer, Guardiola, Koeman, Nadal, Bakero, Sergi (Quique 72), Stoichkov, Amor, Romario, Beguiristain (Eusebio 52). (Coach: Johan Cruyff) Ref: Don (Eng)

72), Stoichkov, Amor, Romario, Beguiristain (Eusebio 52). (Coach: Johan Cruyff)

1969 May 28 - Bernabeu, Madrid Milan 4-1 Ajax Prati 7, 39, 74 Vasovic pen 61 Sormani 66 (50,000) Milan: Cudicini; Anquiletti, Schnellinger, Malatrasi, Rosato, Trapattoni, Hamrin, Lodetti, Sormani, Rivera, Prati. (Coach: Nereo Rocco) Ajax: Bals; Suurbier (Nuninga 46), Van Duivenbode, Vasovic, Hulsoff, Pronk, Groot (Muller 46), Swart, Cruyff, Danielsson, Keizer. (Coach: Rinus Michels) Ref: Ortiz (Spa)

May 24 - Nou Camp, Barcelona

1989 May 24 - Nou Camp, Barcelona Milan 4-0 S Bucharest Gullit 18, 36 (97,000) Van Basten 27, 46 Ref: Tritschler (W Ger) Milan: G Galli; Tassotti, Maldini, Colombo, Costacurta (F Galli 74), Baresi, Donadoni, Rijkaard, Van Basten, Gullit (Virdis 60), Ancelotti. (Coach: Arrigo Sacchi) Steaua: Lung; Petrescu, Ungureanu, Bumbescu, Stoica, Iovan, Lacatus, Minea, Piturca, Hagi, Rotariu (Balint 46). (Coach: Anghel Iordanescu)

May 24 - Prater Stadium, Vienna

1995 May 24 - Prater Stadium, Vienna Ajax 1-0 Milan Kluivert 84 (49,730) Ajax: Van Der Sar; Reiziger, Blind, Seedorf (Kanu 53), F De Boer, Rijkaard, Finidi, Davids, R De Boer, Litmanen (Kluivert 68), Overmars. (Coach: Louis Van Gaal) Milan: Rossi; Panucci, Maldini, Albertini, Costacurta, Baresi, Donadoni, Desailly, Simone, Boban, (Lentini 85), Massaro (Eranio 89). (Coach: Fabio Capello) Ref: Craciunescu (Rom)

Simone, Boban, (Lentini 85), Massaro (Eranio 89). (Coach: Fabio Capello)

May 28 - Old Trafford, Manchester

2003 May 28 - Old Trafford, Manchester Milan 0-0 (aet) Juventus (63,215) (Milan win 3-2 on pens) Juventus: Trezeguet (m), Birindelli (s), Zalayeta (m), Montero (m), Del Piero (s) Milan: Serginho (s), Seedorf (m), Kaladze (m), Nesta (s), Shevchenko (s) Milan: Dida; Costacurta (Roque Junior 65), Maldini, Nesta, Kaladze, Gattuso, Pirlo (Serginho 70), Rui Costa (Ambrosini 87), Seedorf, Inzaghi, Shevchenko. (Coach: Carlo Ancelotti) Juventus: Buffon; Thuram, Ferrara, Montero, Camoranesi (Conte 45), Tudor (Birindelli 42), Davids (Zalayeta 65), Tacchinardi, Zambrotta, Del Piero, Trezeguet. (Coach: Marcello Lippi) Ref: Merk (Ger)

May 23 - Prater Stadium, Vienna

1990 May 23 - Prater Stadium, Vienna Milan 1-0 Benfica Rijkaard 67 (57,500) Milan: G Galli; Tassotti, Maldini, Colombo (F Galli 89), Costacurta, Baresi, Ancelotti (Massaro 73), Rijkaard, Van Basten, Gullit, Evani. (Coach: Arrigo Sacchi) Benfi ca: Silvino; Jose Carlos, Ricardo, Samuel, Aldair, Thern, Vitor Paneira (Vata 78), Pacheco (Brito 59), Hernani, Valdo, Magnusson. (Coach: Sven Goran Eriksson) Ref: Kohl (Aus)

May 25 - Atatüürk Olimpiyat, Istanbul

2005 May 25 - Atatüürk Olimpiyat, Istanbul Milan 3-3 (aet) Liverpool Maldini 1 Gerrard 54 Crespo 39, 44 Smicer 56 (65,000) Xabi Alonso 60 (Liverpool win 3-2 on pens) Milan: Serginho (m), Pirlo (m), Tomasson (s), Kaka (s), Shevchenko (m) Liverpool: Hamann (s), Cisse’ (s), Riise (m), Smicer (s) Milan: Dida; Cafu, Stam, Nesta, Maldini, Gattuso (Rui Costa 112), Pirlo, Seedorf (Serginho 85), Kaka, Crespo (Tomasson 85), Shevchenko. (Coach: Carlo Ancelotti) Liverpool: Dudek; Finnan (Hamann 46), Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Luis Garcia, Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Riise, Kewell (Smicer 23), Baros (Cisse’ 85). (Coach: Rafael Benitez) Ref: Mejuto Gonzalez (Spa)

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