Yeah i agree. I just hope inzaghi has got what it takes. I really don't see how bayern can improve that much by being at home. They were terrible at the san siro. Surely the fans will not add to the skill factor but maybe boost the confidence a little. I don't see much difference in the second leg. Milan will attack, bayern will attack. A goal will come out and decide the winner.


1-0 milan.

That's good, I wouldn't want that Russian ref again .. Too many bad calls

He's the guy who refereed the Istanbul final, btw.

He doesn't like Gattuso. We're fcked.

Didn't know that .... But the Istanbul final, all the calls were for us, Liverpool just played 6 mins of the game

daaaaaaamn gila aint playin?!
why lol too lazy to read all the posts

Suspended. (Yellow cards)

aaaah that reminds me
UCL fantasy league gotta make some changes =]

Gourcuff reveals Munich mission

Yoann Gourcuff believes a good start will be vital for Milan in the Champions League match with Bayern Munich.

The Rossoneri face the German giants on Wednesday in the knowledge that they will need to win, after they were held to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the quarter final at the San Siro last week.

“We know it will be very difficult game and we have to start well. We cannot concede any goals, but with a bit of luck we will score one,” said Gourcuff.

“That will make it easier to control the game, but if it doesn’t happen we have to remain calm and play with patience,” continued the 20-year-old Frenchman.

“We played well in the first leg and we showed we are stronger than Bayern. With the right concentration Milan can beat any team.”

The midfielder, who joined Milan on a five-year deal from Rennes in the summer, has shown glimpses of brilliance even if he admits his Italian adventure has been tough so far.

“When I didn’t play I lost confidence, as I tend to be an anxious person,” explained the player dubbed as the ‘Petit Zidane’.

“Then I injured myself and when I came back I played six games in three weeks and didn’t have the required continuity.

“However, now all is going very well as I am totally fit and ready to give my contribution to the team. I know Milan have many top players and it’s not easy to find a place.

“I want to keep improving. Playing more is an objective, but I am more relaxed and I know I can give my contribution when the chance comes.”

Milan squad: Dida, Kalac, Storari; Bonera, Cafu, Costacurta, Favalli, Jankulovski, Kaladze, Maldini, Nesta, Oddo, Serginho, Simic; Ambrosini, Brocchi, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf; Inzaghi, Oliveira


Channel4

For us?? No it was 50-50!!

Brocchi didn't make the trip to Munich. Apparently he's got the flu. (reported on various sources). Let's hope Rino has a good game, doesn't get hurt, and doesn't annoy the ref.

yeah but bayern lost lots of players look at this

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/preview?id=215117&cc=4716

Yeah, but he wasn't to blame for us conceeding 3 goals

they're just doubtful, they'll probably play!

Nope, Gerrards goal was fine, but the other 2 where shams, first goal the lines man had flagged for off side and the ref didn't notice it so he let play continue and then they scored. Second Gerrard made a blatant dive to get the penalty, Rino never touched him.

Plus Sheva's goal was not offside

Gattuso did foul him in the box, that I am sure off .. He hit his heel .. But the other, I dont remember .. Are u implying that this ref is out to make bad calls on Milan ?

No he didn't, he never touched his leg, he just seemingly pushed him with his hand, but the replays from certain angles show that he never even touched him.

No, just that he did make mistakes in the final, that eventually did cost us the game. But I don't think it was something intentional or anything else.

Why should he?

On the game: I'm repeating myself but we really have to shoot from everywhere seeing as Kahn is back!

Ancelotti has Inzaghi worry

Carlo Ancelotti is confident that Milan can defeat Bayern Munich despite having concerns over the fitness of Filippo Inzaghi.

The Italian giants have a mountain to climb after the problematic 2-2 draw at the San Siro in the first leg, but the tactician is optimistic about their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

“We know it will not be easy, but we are very motivated and feel we can do well,” said Ancelotti before flying out to Munich.

“When it comes to the knockout stages there is a particular tension, but we are very optimistic. We have what it takes to repeat what we did in the first leg against them.

“We have been training well and we won’t treat this like an away match, but will go there to play an attacking game. Milan always do well in this kind of fixture.”

However, the Milan giants do have a shortage of attacking options given that Ronaldo is Cup-tied and Alberto Gilardino is suspended.

That leaves Ancelotti with only Ricardo Oliveira and Inzaghi, a man who is not in the best physical shape.

“The only thing I am concerned about is Inzaghi’s fitness,” continued the tactician. “He is still struggling with some slight pain, but he will train again today.

“We will have a better look at things over the next hours.”

The match will be officiated by Spain’s Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez, who was the referee of the 2005 Final in Istanbul when Milan lost to Liverpool.

“I have no worries at all about the referee,” commented Ancelotti. “He is greatly experienced and I am sure he will do well.”

Dont you guys rememeber what Inzaghi has and will always have done to Munich??? INZAGHI CAN DO THIS.... MILAN CAN DO THIS !!! FORZA MILAN I PREDICT 2-1 A GOAL FROM INZAGHI AND ANOTHER ONE FROM GATTUSO!!!! FORZA MILAN !!!!!!!!

Gattuso fouled him, that I am certain about .. Cuz I remember cussing the heell out of Gattuso ..

No it wasn't intentional ... But he is definitely a good ref, and I'm sure he will give us a break, seeing that we lost the final ..



Exactly

Well I think he dived

Check this out, and then tell me if this is a dive or not

Yeah Gattuso tripped him .. That is what I see; play it, then count to two and u'll see the trip. It's right there starring at u

It does look like it, but if I could find you a video from a different angle then you could see that Rino never touched his leg. It's very clear when you see it from another angle.

Also if he he tripped him he would have fallen earlier.

He might not have tripped him, that is still into consideration. But what I remembered was screaming and cussing Gattuso, I was so disappointed in him. Maybe a different angle will show Gerard diving, but I would never forget Gattuso for even coming near Gerard in that 18 yard box. That was the lowest point of the game.

Yeah maybe he should have never gone near him but I think after those 2 goals everyone was panicking. I don't really blame Rino though for anything that happened that night. He might have given away the penalty, but I think it was partly our fault for losing our heads after Gerrards first goal, after that we seemed like we where incapable of keeping the ball, that after we were 3-3 they tried everything to score, Sheva and Thomasson missed goals off the line.

Just a terrible night

6 minutes of madness

I think the less said about that night the better. SO let's stop arguing about it.

A million dubious decisions that all went their way.
A cr@p keeper on our part.

We just have to keep telling Liverpool fans..

"So how many times have you won the European Cup?"

I heard Schweinsteiger is maybe gonna miss the game (injury in the last league game)

An article posted above lists a number of Bayern players with slight injury problems. I think they'll all be there tomorrow, we shouldn't be distracted cause we can win them anyway!

10 minutes left... and 24 hours!

Maldini is no Euro sceptic

Paolo Maldini is confident that Wednesday’s Champions League clash at Bayern Munich won’t be his last in the competition.

“I have given my all here for 20 years,” explained the 38-year-old. “I’m used to thinking positive, therefore I will not walk on to the field of play thinking this could be my last in the tournament.

“However, if I did have such a thought then it could give me even more energy. We came here saying to each other that we really believe we can win.”

Milan will take to the field at the Allianz Arena after the 2-2 first leg draw, but the captain is confident that result hasn’t compromised his club’s chances of progressing.

“Last week’s result penalises us, but the second game has yet to be played,” continued the stopper.

“We deserved to arrive here with a certain advantage, but we must accept the result because if you make mistakes then you pay for them – especially at this level.

“Nevertheless, I don’t think that Bayern’s advantage jeopardises our possibility of qualifying,” he underlined.

“Bayern are a solid team and are physically very strong. They are playing like they have done over the past few years.

“We are obviously hoping that we will succeed in obtaining an important result.

“Looking at the first leg you can see that we have a chance. The match will be open to any result and nothing has been decided yet.”

He didn't really do much of anything in the first leg so I don't think Bayern would miss him that much.

Plus I think all these reports coming out of injured players is just Hitzfeld playing mind games.

As dst said, we shouldn't get distracted by these sorts of thing, but just go out there tomorrow and play our game and try to hope for the best

acmilan.com

Guys.... I've got a good feeling... SO LETS GO IN THERE AND BEAT THESE GUYS JUST LIKE WE'VE DONE!! FORZAAAAA MILAAAAAAAAAAAN!~!!

A championship team is definitely capable of pulling out a good result against Bayern... and we'll see tomorrow if Milan is that team. Forza Milan!

Don't get your hopes high guys... We are out of the CL. I promise.

....we've only won ONE away game this season and that was against ...Anderlecht

SO lets make tommorow win number TWO

15 hours 43 mins to go

forza milan!!!

Kahn Warns Of Milan Match-Winners
Bayern Munich skipper and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn warned his team about Milan's potential match-winners.

"We came away from Milan with a very good result, but they are a big team with world-class players who know how to win," he said during the press conference on the eve of the game.

"If we play like we did at the weekend, it will be disastrous.

"It was typical of this year: we play badly against poorer teams and very well against the big sides."

He returns from suspension, and will take the promising Michael Rensing's place - the man who rescued Bayern with some superb reflex saves from point-blank range.

Mark van Bommel also returns from suspension, though Bastian Schweinsteiger will face a late fitness test tomorrow.

On a personal front, the Kahn admitted he was relishing a return to action in the competition.

"It's always a thrill to play in the Champions League and games like these are always a highlight," he said. "They add the salt to the soup."


goal.com

Van Der Sar: Bring on Milan!

Former Juventus goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar hopes to face Milan in the Champions League semi-finals.

“Roma didn’t play badly in the opening 15 minutes. We took our chances well and I have never seen 20 minutes of football like that,” said the Manchester United man.

He picked Daniele De Rossi’s volley out of the net, but for the rest of the 7-1 win was largely a spectator.

It was a satisfying conclusion for the Dutchman, who is still remembered as being a flop for Juventus.

“In my two years in Italy my career did not go very well, but I am happier in England and hope that our next game will be against Milan," he added.

“The Rossoneri are not necessarily favourites against Bayern, but with their squad and Pippo Inzaghi upfront they can do well. Personally, I would prefer to take on Milan in the semi-final.”


Channel4

Forget the past, says Ancelotti

Milan Coach Carlo Ancelotti insists that history will have no part to play in tonight’s Champions League visit to Bayern Munich.

“What has happened in the past doesn’t count, all that matters is how the teams perform,” said the Italian boss on the eve of the game.

The Rossoneri, who have six wins in nine games against Bayern, face a challenging task this evening after the 2-2 first leg draw at San Siro, but the tactician is optimistic of reaching the semi-finals.

“Bayern will look to control the game so the recipe for success is to play good football and perform. We need to have faith in our quality and remain upbeat about our chances,” added the 47-year-old.

Milan face a striker shortage though as Ronaldo is Cup-tied and Alberto Gilardino is suspended, leaving Ancelotti with only Ricardo Oliveira and a physically struggling Filippo Inzaghi.

“He is not yet 100 per cent fit, but I am confident he will play," added the Rossoneri boss when quizzed on Super Pippo.

“There has been a lot of talk about his condition as a player, his future and the fact that he hasn’t always played so far,” added the former Juventus boss.

“But the goals he has scored in the Champions League speak volumes and he has netted against Bayern in the past.”

Inzaghi scored in last season’s 4-1 win over Bayern and is the fifth highest scorer in the competition’s history behind Gerd Muller, Raul Gonzalez, Andriy Shevchenko and Eusebio.

Bayern Munich (probable): Kahn; Salihamidzic, Lucio, Van Buyten, Lahm; Hargreaves, Van Bommel, Ottl, Schweinsteiger; Makaay, Podolski

Milan (probable): Dida; Oddo, Maldini, Nesta, Jankulovski; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf; Kaka; Inzaghi

Channel4

Dida prepares for the game

Hey Bimbo why don't you just shut the f@ck up?? What's with this attitude, it was Roma you beat 7 to 1 not every Italian team, you dumb@ss...


He's going to play as an... entertainer!??

*truns on milano music* *sit back and relaxes

This is going to be tough. I know 100% that we're capable of beating them, but it's going to have to be our best performance so far this season if we're going to do it.

4.5 hours left...

van der Sar had better keep quiet, he's already lost them the league title with two huge errors against Portsmouth.

The more talking he does, the better. We'll just make him eat his words.

This f@cking "Bild Zeitung" bastards! Why can't they just shut the f@ck up if they don't know anything about football? I bet they haven't even seen one game with Pippo...

Anyway....this is going to be really tough....I hope at the end of the day I won't walk home with everyone making fun of me because of my Milan jersey....they should hate me !!!!!

My Prediction:
2:1 for Milan (more a hope than a prediction btw)

At least you've held on to hope, most people here have given up on us.

I dont think we will take on the pressure in Bayern. Anyways im gonna be in my Milan jersey tomorrow, and will walk proud of my team, no matter win or lose. if someone makes fun, im just gonna beat the **** out of them

3hrs15m till the game .. I don't know whether to go to bed early or to sit tensely watching the game !!! I can't watch this. If anything, it might be Paolo's last CL match I hope Inzaghi shoves a double on Kahn Maldini deserves to end his career on a high note !