Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, and footballing miracles of the kind Liverpool enjoyed two years ago in Istanbul, when they came from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties, are just as rare.

If Liverpool are to survive without another miracle this time, it’s obvious they are going to have to find a way of limiting the influence of Kaka.

To do that, Rafa Benitez must consider setting someone to man-mark the Brazilian – a player to dog the Brazilian’s every step, to snap at his heels, to obstruct and distract him. Someone fast. Man-marking is not pretty, but sometimes, as Italy showed when they set Claudio Gentile on Maradona at the 1982 World Cup, it works.

Benitez is a pragmatist, which is just as well, because Alex Ferguson’s romantic approach to the second leg at the San Siro was exposed when Kaka burst into Manchester United’s area barely a minute after kickoff.

Kaka has 10 goals in the Champions League this season, but take him out of the equation and what firepower do Milan have left? A midfielder, Clarence Seedorf, is probably their next-most likely scorer. Of their forwards, Filippo Inzaghi – great finisher that he was — is getting old, and Alberto Gilardino has rarely proved decisive this season.

Bayern Munich gave the job to fellow Brazilian Lucio in their game at the Allianz Arena last month. The tactic worked up to a point, but the Germans still ended up losing 2-0. Liverpool do not have a player who knows Kaka inside out like Lucio does. So who should Benitez choose for what could be the final’s decisive contest?

James Eve reports on sport for Reuters from Rome

Forget Kaka, or Inzaghi, or even Maldini. If there is one AC Milan player who will be driven to excel against Manchester United on Wednesday it will be the teams under-fire goalkeeper Dida.

The Italian press laid into the Brazilian international after the first leg at Old Trafford, accusing him of flapping Cristiano Ronaldos header into his own net for the opening goal and then leaving his near post exposed for Wayne Rooney to score Uniteds stoppage-time winner.

The only non-Italian ever to win the prize for Serie A goalie of the year, Dida also has the misfortune to play in a position that Italians have always made their own, so when the going gets tough there is no end of critics queuing up to take pot-shots at him (or even sell him on the internet).

His demeanour quiet, serious, unsmiling, the very antithesis of the happy-go-lucky Brazilian footballer has also rarely won him friends in the media.

Of course, he has given the critics plenty of ammunition. He famously dropped the ball into his own net in 1-0 Champions League defeat to Leeds United back in September 2000 just six days after hed made his debut for Milan.

But there have also been inspired performances, most notably when he saved three times in the penalty shoot-out that gave Milan victory over Juventus in the Champions League final in 2003.

So which Dida will turn up for Wednesday’s game? The answer could decide whether it’s going to be an all-English final or not.

James Eve reports on Italian sport for Reuters from Rome

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

Italy’s 2-0 win over Scotland showed once again how the world champions have learned to thrive on a bunker mentality.

At last years World Cup it was the fallout from the Serie A match-fixing scandal that galvanised a team more usually renowned for reflecting the deep internal divisions in Italian society.

On Wednesday it was 10 days of unrelenting press criticism of the team and coach Roberto Donadoni that spurred the Azzurri to their best performance since beating France in the World Cup final.

The kilts, booze and bagpipes of the Scottish fans provided a colorful sideshow but this match was really a case of the Italians against themselves, the world champions showing they can bypass their old self-destructive tendency.

By the time the teams arrived at Baris San Nicola stadium, the criticism of the team had worked its magic. The ground was full, the anthem was sung with unusual gusto, and everyone including the journalists who had been attacking the team with such venom leapt from their seats to punch the air when Luca Toni scored the winning goals.

Italy are now pretty well placed in Group B, within striking distance of the leaders, and as long as the criticism keeps on coming they should make it with something to spare.

James Eve reports for Reuters on sport from Rome

For long periods of the season covering Serie A has seemed like just a lot of number crunching about Inter Milan.

Inter go five points clear, then 10 points, then 18 points… Inter do the league double over AC Milan for the first time in 25 years… Inter take 90 percent of league points on offer (hat tip to soccerphile for pointing out the latter).

So imagine this correspondents relief last week when for two whole days Juventus reclaimed the spotlight from their old enemies.

It happened first on Thursday with news of a cash injection of nearly 105 million euros via a capital increase.

On Friday, talk turned to how they planned to spend it.

A paparazzi photographer waiting for Roger Moore outside an Italian restaurant in London got an unexpected scoop, snapping Juves sporting director Alessio Secco, and former vice-president, now transfer market consultant, Roberto Bettega, meeting with Frank Lampards agent Steve Kutner.

La Gazzetta started speculating about how much Lampard would earn, how many goals he might score in Serie A, and how he would fit into a hypothetical team containing several other possible signings.

Lampard moving to Juventus looks unlikely, given that they will not be playing in the Champions League next season. The story was largely dismissed in England, with few sites giving it any credence at all and I assumed at first that this was just another way of filling a slow news day.

But then I got it. The story and photograph by themselves were enough to show that Juventus are back in business.

Top of Serie B, looking confidently towards a top-flight future, the club are rich again and ready to spend. Whether signing Lampard turns out to be more than fantasy or not, it shows Juve fans that the club intends to rebuild a squad shattered by last years match-fixing scandal.

The speculation might also help cool any wanderlust inside the Juventus dressing room.

Juve coach Didier Deschamps said last week the club needed to make at least three big signings to be competitive in Serie A and to prevent more players walking out.

Midfielder Pavel Nedved has also warned that promotion to Serie A might not be enough to persuade some of his team mates to stay.

“Lets not forget that Juventus will still be out of the Champions League, said the former European Footballer of the Year. How many players will accept that after this season?

In this context, the front-page reporting of real or imagined transfer moves is not just the usual gossip, but part of a battle by the club to hang on to the best players.

And its a lot more interesting than working out the latest stats on Inter.

James Eve reports for Reuters on Italian sport