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An all-English final? Don’t bank on it
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Ever since Manchester United destroyed AS Roma 7-1 to reach the last four of the Champions League, people seem to be taking an all-English final for granted. Here are a few good reasons why Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will find it tougher than many people are expecting.
1. The winning habit. Milan have a remarkable recent record in Europe. Since 2003, Carlo Ancelottis side have won the Champions League once, finished runners-up once, and reached the semi-finals on two other occasions. They have won 15 of their last 19 European matches at the San Siro, and are strong away from home too, as they showed when they beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the quarter-finals the German sides first European defeat at the Allianz Arena.
2. History. Milan have eliminated Manchester United on each of the three occasions they have met in Europes top club competition: in the European Cup in 1957-58 and 1968-69, and the Champions League of 2004-05, when they beat them 1-0 home and away.
3. Focus. Unlike United, who are stretched across three fronts, Milan can afford to be totally focused on the task in hand. The Champions League is Milans only chance at glory this season and the first leg comes just days after Inter secured the Scudetto an added motivation to the Milan players.
4. Kaka. Everyone is talking about how great Cristiano Ronaldo is, but Milans playmaker is top scorer in the Champions League this season with seven goals. The Brazilian international is capable of winning matches for Milan with one moment of brilliance, as he did in scoring an extra-time goal to eliminate Celtic in the first knockout round.
5. Experience. Don’t underestimate its value when it comes to games like Champions League semi-finals. The average age of the likely Milan defence — Massimo Oddo, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Marek Jankulovski — is over 32 yet they have shown time and again that anticipation and authority can more than compensate for creaking joints.
And that’s even without mentioning Manchester United’s injury crisis…
James Eve reports on Italian sport for Reuters from Rome
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The Wall
And there’s also a good chance of Rooney stamping on a player or two, having a temper tantrum, and getting a red card. Always entertaining but it doesn’t help the chances of an all-English final.
You’ll really need a full-strength Man-U to stand any chance against Mighty Milan. But we’re not gonna see a full-strength Man-U against Milan so yeah, the chances of an all-English final is extremely slim.
I would really like to see a Milan vs Liverpool final. Might sound boring at first but think about it, now Milan has a chance at revenge and Liverpool has a chance to prove that what they did was not that much of a fluke.
Hope to change my nickname to Six Times
Never mind Kaka, Milan’s midfield trio of Seedorf, Pirlo and Gattuso were much too good for Bayern. They will have a tougher time against United but I reckon they will win the match for the Italians.
Hi Five/Six Times. What do you think of Liverpool chances of getting to the final? It looks all but impossible to score against Chelsea at the moment, doesn’t it?
Honestly, it’s 50-50 chance for both teams.
I just hope that whichever team wins, wins it decently and resoundingly. No more half-goals by Garcia or Drogba dives resulting in penalties. I want solid goals!