[han2503]

10 Reasons why Celtic can't believe the hype
BEN LYTTLETON

1. KAKA: He is suffering from World Cup burn-out, but Kaka has been Milan's most important player this season and without his five Champions League goals (which make him joint top-scorer in the competition), Milan would not have topped their group. He is also the team's top scorer in the league, but with only two goals to his name, that says more about the strikers than him. Real Madrid are dangling the offer of a seven-year contract at the Brazilian but for now he is staying at the San Siro. "Kaka is very clever, he can do things no-one can do, and if you take him out of the side, Milan are a different team," said Milan director Leonardo, the former player who persuaded Kaka to turn down Chelsea and move to Italy. Leonardo should know about his compatriot: he happens to live in the same apartment-block as him in Milan.

2. HOME RECORD: Milan lost 1-0 to Lille on Matchday Six but that was when their place in the next round was already assured. Before then, they had won 14, drawn one and lost just one game at the San Siro in recent years. The defeat was a big one: last year's first-leg semi-final loss to Barcelona. More representative of their home record was their 3-1 win over Celtic in 2004, and, if you take into account Celtic's wretched away record in Europe, that second leg in early March looks a very tough game.

3. EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE: Nine players in the Milan starting line-up that won the 2003 Champions League final are still in the current squad while two of them had won the competition before: Paolo Maldini with Milan in 1989, 1990 and 1994 and Clarence Seedorf with Ajax in 1995 and Real Madrid in 1998. They are an ageing squad but younger players are coming through and this proven experience counts at the top level. Gordon Strachan got his first taste of coaching in Europe last season, and since then his side have beaten Manchester United to reach the last 16; but Carlo Ancelotti was in charge for the 2003 win and has reached a final and a semi-final since then.

4. RETURNING STARS: Celtic can go into this afternoon's meeting with Rangers with relatively few injury concerns but Milan have not been so lucky. Their poor form is understandable given that eight international players - including goalkeeper Dida, World Cup winners Rino Gattuso and Alessandro Nesta as well as Kakha Kaladze, Serginho and Kaka - all missed last week's goalless draw with Torino through injury. Milan are not panicking, however. By the time the Celtic match comes around in February most, if not all of these high-class players, will be back. "Of course there will be problems when you can only call on half of your squad," complained owner Silvio Berlusconi last week. "But this squad is a decent and when everyone is fit, we will prove that to everyone in Italy and to the rest of Europe."

5. THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE IS PRIORITY: Adriano Galliani, club president, accepts that Milan's best, and possibly, only chance of making the Champions League next season is by lifting the trophy this season. "It will be very hard to qualify through the league placing, so we have to focus on winning the competition this season." Their focus, therefore, is squarely on Champions League and nothing else. "Our league position is difficult and we need to make up about 11 points on teams above us to finish in the top four," admitted director Umberto Gandini. "We really want to qualify for the Champions League next season and we believe that the best way is by winning it this year."

6. A YOUNG FRENCHMAN: Although the squad's average age is the oldest of any team still in the Champions League, Milan have one talented youngster breaking through who has taken everyone by surprise. Yoann Gourcuff, 20, introduced himself to the Milan fans in spectacular style, scoring with a bullet header in the 3-0 win over AEK in his first start since moving from Rennes in the summer. "You can tell straight away that you're looking at a top-class footballer, he has everything going for him," said his academy coach at Rennes, Patrick Rampillon. "He has a natural authority, great vision, his play is fluid and he is very intelligent. He has a creative talent that you rarely see these days. He's capable of making it right to the very top." They agree in Milan, and big things are expected from Gourcuff in the spring.

7. THE STRIKERS WILL COME GOOD: Between them, Alberto Gilardino, Pippo Inzaghi and Ricardo Oliveira have scored just four league goals this season. Milan have hit the post or crossbar 15 times this season. Gilardino has averaged over 20 goals in the last three seasons and has only two in 13 appearances so far. His barren run will not continue much longer. He missed a penalty last week but has vowed to take the next one. "If you keep trying, you will always score eventually, and we just need a bit of luck to get us going again," he said. Inzaghi has only scored once, but he has a habit of netting important goals in Europe, including a late goal that helped knock out Lyon in last season's quarter-finals, while Oliveira has been suffering from the trauma of his sister being kidnapped in Brazil two months ago. "I'm focused despite my problems at home," he said after ending an 840-minute drought with a goal in a Coppa Italia game a fortnight ago. "I will show Milan that they were right to buy me."

8. THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW: Milan have claimed that they won't be buying anyone in the January transfer window but we must take their comments with a pinch of salt. For a start, they want to boost their defensive cover as the ageing limbs of Maldini catch up with him. Getafe defender Alexis has been approached but a more likely signing is Massimo Oddo from Lazio, an Italian international who could go straight into the side. There are also concerns up front, where Ricardo Oliveira's one goal this season has shown up Milan's reliance on Andriy Shevchenko. Cagliari forward David Suazo and Udinese's Vicenzo Iaquinta are two players eligible for Europe should Milan decide to boost their options.

9. THE WINTER BREAK: Gordon Strachan may well wish that this game was being played tomorrow and, if it was, his side would have a fantastic chance. As it is, Milan have a break from December 23 to January 14, three weeks that Carlo Ancelotti is determined to use wisely. "This has been the hardest approach to Christmas that I have ever had and from a psychological point of view, we need to make some changes," he said. "The winter break will also allow us to rediscover our physical fitness." Milan's pre-season preparations had to be changed when their 15-point penalty was reduced to eight points, allowing them into the Champions League with a tough qualifier against Red Star Belgrade. They were thrilled to be back in the competition, but it has come at a price.

10. MILAN ARE NOT INTER: "Inter's destiny has always been to suffer," said president Massimo Moratti after Milan beat their local rivals in the 2003 Champions League semi-final. Inter look odds-on to win Serie A this year - they are unbeaten after 15 games and seven points ahead of Roma - but they have come close and missed out before. In 1998, a controversial refereeing decision helped Juventus beat Inter and win the title, while in 2002 they led the league by one point on the final day before losing 4-2 to Lazio, a result that pushed them into third as Juventus won the title and Roma were second. In short, it is Inter who suffer in the city and Milan who always come good. Inter have been in a slump for almost all of the 12 years Moratti has been at the club, while Milan have had a rocky last two months. Normal service could well resume in the new year

[han2503]

Good points, especially the last (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/devil.gif)

Yeah Moratti's comment (which I had forgotten tht he had ever made) put a smile on my face. And reminded me that despite what we are going thorugh at the current moment (something that will not last long) Inter have been suffering for 20 odd years now so I'm back in my happy place (for now, that is, until we play catania tomorrow)