[dst]

but have you watch celtic play!!! man they are awful like i said the game at celtic park will be difficult just because of the crowd but player for player they aren't even close to us and i hope our players are looking forward to the resumption of the C.L. campaign

We're not allowed to say easy this season.

I watched Celtic in the CL this season and they were good.

[Rossoneri7]

Celtic are good this season, while Milan is having one of it's worst .. I agree.

But I do believe that Milan are stronger than Celtic .. I mean this team is built for knock-out competitions .. In fact, it is so good in it, even the records speal loudly about it. I think Milan will progress, without conceeding a single goal. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/devil.gif)

[dst]

But I do believe that Milan are stronger than Celtic .. I mean this team is built for knock-out competitions .. In fact, it is so good in it, even the records speal loudly about it. I think Milan will progress, without conceeding a single goal. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/devil.gif)

I get what you're saying, just keep in mind that we're stronger than Palermo then again we're at 7th place not 3rd.

[LaPalma]

Hmm...we definetely got the easiest opponent considering we already played Lille in the group stage.... I guess we can do this one. With Ricky being back at his best (I hope) and a Superpippo it can be done....without our key players in form I think it'll be very hard match, so...it'll be a very hard match (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Still....we have to reach the quarterfinals again, so that we can (if the beat Real) kick out Bayern once again!

[dst]

without our key players in form I think it'll be very hard match, so...it'll be a very hard match (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

(IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Rossoneri7]

I get what you're saying, just keep in mind that we're stronger than Palermo then again we're at 7th place not 3rd.

I have that in mind (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .. I wrote it in my post

Celtic are good this season, while Milan is having one of it's worst .. I agree.

Still, the team as a whole is built for competitions like the CL .. Hopefully Milan will play this match with 110% and get threw; something I am willing to bet on (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[misha]

It won't be easy but I'm sure about us going through (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[han2503]

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Chief Scout, Tom O'Neill explains that, while AC Milan remain a top European side, Celtic's own performances in the Champions League will serve as a warning to the Italian side of the difficult task they face, particularly when they visit Glasgow.


The Serie A table has an unfamiliar look to it this season. For one thing, the name of Juventus is missing completely, while less familiar sides such as Palermo sit in third place, Empoli are fourth and Catania are sixth.

And the famous Rossonerri - AC Milan - are currently seventh, a full 30 points behind league leaders and city rivals Inter, the result of indifferent form over and above an eight-point penalty imposed at the start of the season .

Yet, as Celtic Chief Scout Tom O'Neill explained to The Celtic View, anyone who tries to claim that AC Milan are not the force they once were or that this is a 'good' time for Celtic to be facing them in the Champions League doesn't have a clue about football.

"What happened to them at the end of last season meant they were never ever going to be contenders in the league this season," O'Neill said, "but you just have to look at their players - they're all good players.

"If Cafu is not getting a game at right-back just now, then it tells you they're not a bad side.

"There are about half-a-dozen teams who set out and their prime objective is to win the Champions League - and Milan are focused on that. The league was gone as soon as they were deducted the points."

Celtic's reward for reaching the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time was a mouth-watering tie against the Italian giants who won the competition in 2003, were runners-up in 2005, and semi-finalists last season.

That record, if nothing else, quickly establishes the quality and pedigree of Milan, Tom O'Neill also pointed out that Celtic's own performances in recent years, particularly at Celtic Park, will serve as a warning to the Italians that the tie will be a tough one.

"There is no harder or tougher opposition in a two-legged tie than an Italian team," he said. "They've been over the course so many times. It was always going to be a difficult tie. They're experts in this type of football so we know what to expect.

"For the players who are still in the Milan team from when we faced them in 2004, they'll know what to expect at Celtic Park but it still blows you away.

"They're seasoned pros but it was great to hear Paolo Maldini say at the time that it was the best atmosphere he had experienced, so if that happens to a player of his experience then it will definitely rattle one or two of the younger ones.

"Maldini is outstanding. He still is the player - the talisman. He's still a great athlete at 39.

"But we've got our own talisman - Neil Lennon - playing in the team and you can't beat the value of the experience he brings to our team, so those players are crucial in the dressing room and also crucial to the manager and their team-mates. That's what we've got with Lenny.

"We respect them, we know exactly what they're going to be like, they're a fantastic club and a fantastic team. Anyone who tells you differently doesn't have a clue about football.

"But we're not a bad European side either, especially at Celtic Park. Two-legged affairs have been quite kind to us over the last few years as well."

Not surprisingly, Celtic have watched Milan closely since the draw for the last 16 was made. Tom O'Neill has already seen them play, someone fom Celtic was at their 2-1 weekend victory over Livorno in the San Siro, and O'Neill will be back in Italy this weekend when Ancelotti's side travel to face Siena.

And while it is important ahead of the first leg at Celtic Park on February 20 to gather in as much information as possible about Milan, O'Neill also acknowledged the advantage of playing such a high-profile opponent.

"They have a set pattern which has been handed down through the years," Celtic's Chief Scout explained. "The good thing is we've seen them quite a lot over the past couple of years because we played them fairly recently and they still have a lot of that team now.

"They have a fairly rigid formation with the flexibility coming from midfield to front, and that's where the class tells as well.

"They tend to go with a sort of 4-3-2-1 but that '2-1' up front can slightly change. The flexibility comes from players round about Pirlo. Their back four and Pirlo are always stationery and the rest can all float about.

"They also normally play with only one up front," he continued. "The game I saw them, they started with Gilardino on his own. Inzaghi only came on because of an injury after 30 minutes so they had to slightly change it and go with two up.

"I think they're more of a threat when Inzaghi plays. For all that he can run offside ten times he knows that he's going to get in once.

"There's no doubt they will be desperate to score an away goal. That will be in their game plan. They won't play for a 0-0 at Celtic Park. If you can nick a goal it's worth its weight in gold.

"They're very experienced int his type of situation. That's the key for them - but we've done okay ourselves in two-legged games.

"They will know that over two games we would have beaten Manchester United on aggregate - that says it all for them. These people know their football.

"They also know how good a side Benfica are and they were blown away at Celtic Park in what was an absolutely unbelievable performance. So they know the pedigree of the teams we've already played.

"They will have done their homework and they will respect us. That's the one thing about AC Milan, they will give us total respect.

"That's the great thing about what the Celtic teams have done over the years - the 1-0 win over Manchester United this season, for example. Those kind of result reverberate throughout Europe."

Like every Celtic supporter, Tom O'Neill is looking forward to the tie, and the Chief Scout believes the importance of Celtic Park as a venue with the supporters creating such a special atmosphere, shouldn't be underestimated.

"There's no doubt because of Milan's pedigree - World Cup winners, Champions League winners, in their side - they will be favourites," he said.

"But whether they are or not, they have to handle that and we'll do what we do best when we welcome teams to Celtic Park. They'll certainly know it'll be a game and a half.

"The Celtic fans will play their part, it will be a fantastic night, and we'll be right in there with a chance".

[Rossoneri7]

"There is no harder or tougher opposition in a two-legged tie than an Italian team," he said. "They've been over the course so many times. It was always going to be a difficult tie. They're experts in this type of football so we know what to expect.

Chief Scout, Tom O'Neill .. Has a good idea of Milan's weaknesses .. SInce he has been to at least our last two league games; with STorari in goal, I think he knows our weakness.

I believed that Dida would be fit for this tie, but he wont and with that in mind we will conceed at least 2 goals. I mean if Siena could do it, why cant Celtic, who had given Dida a hard time two seasons ago.

It wil be rather difficult in Scotland, as Milan will be without Nesta, Dida, R9, Sergio .. Still, I'm hoping that this team can make a worthy performance and beat Celtic.

My line up ..

..............Kalac..

......Bonera/Kala.....Maldini..

..Oddo.............................Janku..

.......Gattuso.....Pirlo.......Seedorf..

............Kaka

........Gilardino.........Inzaghi

[HasanHasanly]

Not going to comment on how hard the game is, because we are aware of that...


lineup: Without R9 (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/cry.gif)


.......................?????..............................

Oddo......Bonera/Kala.....Maldini......Janku

.......Gattuso.....Gourcuff.......Pirlo............

.........................Kaka............................

..............Gila (Oli).........Inzaghi(R9? (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/devil.gif) )..............

This post has been edited by HasanHasanly: Feb 17 2007, 08:00 PM

[X-Offender]

Kalac for Storari... yeah right. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[bigmacmtl]

We wont conceed a goasl in this match. I believe we'll have a clean sheet in both legs (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/devil.gif)

if our form is any indacation we will conceed. we've done ti all season. we score then our opponent ties it right up. we get too confident easily and have trouble holding leads. i think we should go all out and try and get some away goals.

[dst]

with Maldini we won't concede on normal flow... maybe if only Nakamura pulls some miracle again...

[dst]

Rossoneri's Celtic striker shortage
Saturday 17 February, 2007

Carlo Ancelotti has pointed out Milan may only have one striker at their disposal for the Champions League encounter with Celtic.

“I really don’t think Alberto Gilardino can recover in time for Tuesday. He still has this knock to his knee that is causing him pain,” warned the Coach after today’s 4-3 win at Siena.

“Tomorrow Pippo Inzaghi will undergo tests and we’ll understand if he can take part in the match or not. We don’t have many options, but whatever happens, there will be 11 of us out there.”

It’s a heavy blow for the Rossoneri, who cannot count on brace hero Ronaldo, as he is Cup-tied from his participation with Real Madrid.

Marco Borriello is sitting out a ban for failing a random drugs test, so Ricardo Oliveira is the only forward available for the game at Celtic Park.


channel4.com

crap! (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Rossoneri7]

if our form is any indacation we will conceed. we've done ti all season. we score then our opponent ties it right up. we get too confident easily and have trouble holding leads. i think we should go all out and try and get some away goals.

I posted that b4 Dida got injured ... WIthout Dida we will conceed. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)