[KillerMax]

What do you all think about this matter? Maldini seems to be having a very strange injury. He said he always has pain and it doesn't go away. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) It's been a long time and he is still injured... What do you all make of this? Do you think he can recover or is this it? I'm very upset about his situation. He definitely doesn't deserve what he is going through.

This post has been edited by m1ke: Aug 1 2008, 08:20 PM

[han2503]

NIGHT THE BOY BECAME A MILAN

Gord: I knew teen Maldini was world class when he took me to cleaners
By Neil Cameron

GORDON STRACHAN eyed up the fresh-faced AC Milan defender and decided he would have a bit of fun teaching this young buck a thing or two about football.

But just 90 minutes later it was the experienced professional who was given a lesson and there and then he predicted the boy he had just come up against was going to be a superstar.

What the former Manchester United player couldn't have predicted was that two decades later he would be the Celtic manager and would once again have to face the kid who ran him ragged in a friendly match.

The rookie left-back in question was a certain Paolo Maldini who is still going strong for the Milan giants after a career which, let's face it, has been fairly decent.

Strachan smiled as he recalled an end-of-season game at Old Trafford when the winger truly believed an easy evening awaited as he eyed the nobody he was to go up against.

Maldini is, of course, a legend of the game and it is incredible to think that this wonderful footballer is still playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world at 38. He has said this will be his last season but we have heard it all before.

And you have to wonder if the AC Milan captain remembers the night when he gave a wee ginger Scotsman a torrid time of it.

Strachan said: "I played against Maldini years ago when he was a youngster. AC Milan had just won the league when they came to Old Trafford at the end of the season for a game.

"He was left-back, only 18, so I thought to myself that it would be an easy night for me. I spent 90 minutes in reverse. I saw that night that he was special.

"That was a team with Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten. They were fantastic and we managed to scrape a draw.I have no idea how.

"Maldini has had a great career and still to be going is fantastic."

The AC Milan Strachan and his players will face are not of that vintage but they are still mighty opponents. Maldini is still there as is the incredible Alessandro Costacurta.

Then you add the names of Rino Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Cafu. All World Cup winners. Brazilian Kaka, on his day, is as good as anyone, yet the consensus rightly or wrongly is Celtic have got themselves a decent draw.

That may well be true but Strachan pointed out that for his side to beat the Italians they must be at full strength and every last man will have to be at his very best.

He said: "I would like to have a full squad for the games. I couldn't say anything about the AC Milan players. They have done enough in the game and I can't be commenting on them. It's going to be a massive test."

Not only a test, but a fantastic learning experience for this relatively young Celtic side. Strachan yesterday joked about the not-so-exotic places he visited with Aberdeen on their foreign travels when trips to Bulgaria and Albania were far from easy.

But the team he learned most from was Liverpool who, as European Cup holders, faced the Dons in 1980 and gave them a footballing lesson. Strachan took a lot from that doing, a 5-0 defeat over two legs was the end result, and his hope is that players such as Stephen McManus and Mark Wilson will learn from playing the superstars of Milan.

He said: "It will be great if all the younger boys can get involved in this. They will find out what they need to do to compete at this level.

"They can't just say that they played well against Dunfermline last week. If you want to be a top, top player then you must be recognised in these games.

"We got battered by Liverpool when Aberdeen played them. We were a right young side and it was only then that we realised we would have to be some team to play at that level.

"It also helped me personally. I moved on after playing at the highest level and that helped me in England."

AC Milan will have to be forgotten about for a couple of months as there is plenty of football for Celtic to be concerned with in the meantime - tomorrow's Old Firm game for a start.

But these two games in the distance do keep every player on their toes. Standards won't be allowed to slip because a few bad games and you'll be watching Kaka and Co from the bench.

Strachan said: "There can be long winters here. The training is hard but this tie keeps us ticking over. Guys with injuries will keep themselves going in the gym because they know at the end of it there is the chance to play AC Milan. It gives them that wee added incentive."

The matches against the Italians offer Shunsuke Nakamura a return to the country where he made his name and he is determined to emulate the strike that stunned Manchester United in qualifying Group F.

Nakamura said: "I'm delighted to be going back to Italy and especially somewhere as special as the San Siro. It's a fantastic draw for Celtic and for myself as I get the chance to return to Italy and show the people there what I can do.

"I never really showed my best form when I was with Reggina but I feel at home with Celtic and in Scotland. I'm playing for a club who allow me to play the game the way I want to.

"The winning goal I scored against Manchester United was one of the special moments of my career and I would love now to do the same against AC Milan. It would mean even more to me given the time I spent in Italy as a player."

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell hopes the atmosphere in the east end of Glasgow will inspire Celtic to another famous victory. He said: "It's a fantastic draw, absolutely fantastic.

"It is a great tie for the club, for the supporters and, I'm sure, for Gordon Strachan and the players."

Lawwell insists Celtic must believe they can win the tournament and not think about the next round.

He added: "We always have our targets and that would be quite sweet. It will be a tough task. I'm sure Milan will have all their players back and they will be up for it. "If we didn't think we could lift the trophy there would be no point competing."

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is wary of the challenge his team face and insists Celtic will not be underestimated.

He said: "Celtic are a very good side. They beat Manchester United and they are a team to fear.

"Considering the atmosphere we will face in Glasgow it will be an advantage to play the decider at the San Siro."

This post has been edited by han2503: Dec 17 2006, 02:58 PM