QUOTE

Champions League 2006/07 - 1/2 final (1st leg)

Manchester United v Milan

Tuesday, 24th of April, 2007

Time: 19:45 (UK), 20:45 (IT)

In every single time we met them in a knock-out stage, we always won (go trough).

So... what's gonna happen in 2 weeks?

We are out of the CL. There is no HOPE!

Nice work there.

Yeah .. We were lucky against Bayern

I just hope Man U don't kill us the way the did with Roma

Well I know u guys are being sarcastic, but I hope we'll have something to play for in the second leg.

These guys can kill with their pace, and we haven't exactly been the best at handling pace, now have we?

I think Man U will win 2-1 in the first leg and draw in the second to go through; We should just be happy our team has played to the maximum potential so far.

I have two hopes that may redeem us.

1. Man U are in an iffier position than us in their domestic league and might be stretched. Not quite the same thing with us, since we essentially have one world class striker who's exclusive Serie A, and well our team is finally full strength. Praying like mad though, that something along the lines of what happened to Sagnol happens to CrisRon...though on hind sight that is cheap of me.

2.They don't have any player who can bottle down Kaka in the mid-field. We should definitely play with two strikers and Kaka behind.

We're screwed if we don't!

They are much better than Bayern, it's going to be really tough. United is probably the most in-form team in Europe right now. But a lot can happen in two weeks. We'll see.

this game will prove one of two things

1) milan are back
2) man u is legit

Didnt you say the same thing about Bayern ?

ohhhhh, still 2 weeks away i don't wanna think about this match

this first leg will be crucial, we have to keep a clean sheet or even get an away goal, so our defence needs to be in the best form it can be, with no injuries.
it will be a very difficult match

DA FACK is wrong with u guys i cant believe u dont trust ur team
U NO WAT WE GONNA KICK SOME *** IN OLD TRAFFORD with solid defence and maybe a goal and SAN SIRO IS GOING TO BE OURS!!!!!!!!

WHO WANTS TO BET WITH ME man u IS NOT GOING TO SCORE NOT EVEN A single GOAL?

i'm with you all the way!

lol, i love how you worded "man u"

no one is saying we don't trust our team

but man u did just win 7-1 against Roma (who beat us) at Old Trafford. Man U is a good team...at this stage of the competition you get the best of the best...and when that happens anything is possible.

if we play like we played tonight we will advance to the final...if we play like we did against Celtic, we will lose

we all know how many times ROMA has played in this stayed the only playersthat had the pants to play in old trafford was totti

mmm do you think our players will get nervous entering the old trafford?
I DONT THINK SO

Well lets just savor the wonderful effort from the boys this morning. Like carlo said the only thing we did wrong was not making most of out counter attacks.

I think we have to stick with the lone striker, since playing two would combine superpippo with gila again.

Yes man u are the team to beat, definitely the most in form team in europe. There pace could cause us a few problems. Especially that portugese bloke, he's not too shabby from what I've seen.

Between him giggs, scholes, carrick and rooney were definitely going to have to be on our heels in defence. Oddo really concerns me still, I really don't rate him defensively. I'd rather be slightly more defensive and play bonera at right back.

Then again they have to cope with kaka' running at them, who someone rightly pointed out haven't got a true tagger to shut him down.

There's no way in hell ManU would defeat Roma again by such an obscene margin if both teams met again.

In defence, he was amazing last night! And in any case, he can't even be compared with Bonera at RB...

didnt Oddo block a goal that didnt couldnt block??? I thought it was over !!! Thanks Oddo!

I agree .. Poor poor Roma Had their coach been Mourinho, for example, we would be facing Roma in the semis

Yep! He was very good last night. Although he did a couple of mistakes when he tried to block a ball to Salihamidzic only for Gattuso to tackle him from behind and later on when he didn't manage to clear a cross and Sali again coming from behind chested it out. But he was always first on the ball and nobody managed to get past him!

Football Italia

He was.....but our entire fence was just GODLIKE!!! Especially Nesta. And about Oddo, he was also very good in the offence IMO, Lell could never stop him on his flank.

First point of action carlo should take for this one is to neutralise Man U on the wings, if we do that then we could be on our way to Athens.

Imo this will call for us to play a 4-4-1-1, Putting both pirlo and Seedorf in the middle with Rino and Ambro on the flanks. This way when Ronaldo or giggs get the ball we double team them and play through the middle.

Especially in Old Trafford we should really use this one.

Anyway, I have faith in Carlo to do the right thing.

I really don't know how we're gonna deal with the cvnts pace. That's the big question for me.

Yep, that's what really scares me, that's why I would play the 4-4-1-1, so our fullbacks and defensive mids can double up on him and Giggs everytime he gets anywhere near the ball. But imo Roma made him look like a god, everytime he got the ball they where backing off of him for some unknown reason instead of pressing him.

Also the fact that they don't employ pure defensive mids mught help, Scholes and Carrick both help out in that aspect but none of them can mark Kaka and Pirlo + Seedorf if he has a good game, so I think he will have a lot more influence then he did against Bayern where he was mostly acting like a seconda punta trying to drag markers away from Pippo and everytime he got the ball, Lucio, Van Bommel and Hargreaves where all on him.

I'm sure he will be much more free against man u

And also I think Vidic will still be missing for this one whoich is a good thing since imo, he has been the best defender in the premiership this season

It's true that Roma made CR look better than he really is as Spalletti was the victim of the absurdity that Corriere, Messaggero and the whole "Gran Raccordo Annulare journalism" creates in Rome... those guys are funny! How could he have stopped CR when he was only playing with half a DMF!??

But that doesn't mean he isn't a great player. He's arguably United's best and he's going to be the main threat when we face them. Rooney, I don't worry about him... Nesta will easily "erase" him!

Vidic has been great! And to think everyone was laughing at Ferguson for choosing him to be Ferdinand's partner...

He's injuried. Probably won't play the 1st leg.

I agree .. We should play the 4-4-1-1 .. It can absorb the oppositions pressure and help with a quick counter attack. Plus, it makes the team solid and harder to break at any counter attack.

Roma were caught in despair, their team as a whole isn't as experienced as Man U's in knock out rounds, expecially one that corresponds to the CL quarter finals. Roma could have beaten United, but their coach also wasn't as experienced as SAF.

Milan on the other hand, thrive in this competition. If there is a team to beat it ahs to be United, but considering how fresh our key players are. I think we have an advantage, plus if they think they can beat us 7 or 10 nil, that would add to a catalyst that could end up having them loose both the CL and EPL. As they are under pressure now from Chelsea in the league. SAF wont rest his players, he has a numbered starting 11, his players are the same from defence to the attack, he can't afford to rotate, especially with Chelsea on their trail. In the mean time, Milan has just to secure 4th place, anything extra would just be a bonus. Plus, Milan has a squad of vast experience and it is in the closing stages of both the championship and CL that prevails. Milan also has a second line of defence (i.e. Bonera, Kakha, Simic, Sergio, Cafu..) that are very effective and on form, our midfield is very rigid with many choices in experience and quality, and our attack, well we have a striker exclusively for Serie A and we have one exclusively for CL.

Man U wont stand a chance .. They will be humiliated in the San Siro (u can quote me on this) .. That is how I really see it. I just like hearing their fans go on and on about them humiliating Roma and what not, but I think they don't stand a chance against Milan.

Good post

All true. We have advantage with experience and the possibility to rotate the squad while their squad is much tighter and they are still focused on a league and cup.

The first game will be a key. We need to close them like we did yesterday to Bayern and our 5 men midfield is definitely capable to do so. Also i don't think that they have any player that can stop Kaka.

We should play with exactly the same formation. Seedorf playing in more advanced role in a middle in which he is more effective and switches between him and Kaka are very confusing for the opposite defence. Ambro and Rino are playing very good defensively and Pirlo in the last few weeks is finally getting back into shape

WE ARE GOING TO BEAT THEM!!

Never said that he wasn't great, but I couldn't understand why the Roma defence was backing off of him instead of pressing him. If you allow Kaka that same kind of space then there is no doubt that he will also punish you.


Broken collar bone so he will most likely be out for both


Well let's not get too over confident because if I remeber correctly, everytime we have done that this season we have lost.

I remain optimistic about our chances in the tie, but I think United are the favourite to go through which imo will suite our squad well.

And because they are favorites, as were Bayern, our 4-4-1-1 was very VERY important to our triumph in Munich, I believe it will be so against United too.

Above all this, I think Carlo has has the upper hand on SAF before, plus, with United on form, Milan will want to do better against them to show their worth. I am not as optimistic as I am making it sound, but the fact that we have nothing to loose, as opposed to them, the team is 100% concentrated on the CL and nothing but the CL

Giving in, was what I did ahead of our clash with Bayern. but little did I know that this team plays it's best football against big clubs, such as United. *shame on me, for letting in*

I have a great deal of respect for SAF, but when a line has to be drawn, Ancelotti has been consistent in bringing in results both in Europe and in the championship, and it is in the final run that Milan show their true colors. Which is why all this that I am typing isn't just a bunch of feelings mashed with logic, but pure instinct that United wont come into the match as hungry as our Milan will.

If u look at it for a tactical aspect; Milan has been testing all season long different formations and testing players in different positions. Which is opposed to what tactic SAF has been doing all season long. Milan has two sound formations which the team adapt to very intelligently, the 4-4-1-1, 4-3-2-1 and the 4-3-1-2 ... All of which, Milan has perfected in the closing stages of this season.

If you want to look at it from a technical aspect, well Serie A is much more technical than EPL.

If you want to compare players, then Seedorf is much more effective as a team player than CR. Our defence is no match for their attack and Super Pippo Inzaghi brought the Devil to the Allienz while he wasnt even 100% fit

Plus, playing at Old Trafford, where they humilated Roma is an extra incentive for us to make due, and show them how Italian Football kicks @ss !! Plus, revenge for Roma

And I do agree with your points. But all I'm saying is that everytime we get cocky about something and are sure of a win we end up being dissappointed.

Milan, have surpassed everyone's expectations, from crawling at the bottom of Serie A during November to nearly fourth in Serie A and in the last 4 in Europe after overcoming Bayern at home, some thing that hasn't been done yet in the Allianz Arena.

But let's not forget that we are still considered the outsiders of the competition, and imo this will suite our team just fine.

I'm not confident or pessimistic, but I'm definately proud of what our team and coach have achieved despite having our worst season under Carlo.

On the other hand I do trust Carlo and I think he will make the right choices, Man U found Roma vulnearble and esploited them, but they won't be able to do that against us, the only thing that scares me is their speed. But if they think that we will go out at Old Trafford and have a melt down like Roma then they've got another thing coming.

We'll just have to be smart about how we go about playing over the 2 legs. Most importantly stifling their wingers will be vital, that's why I think a 4-4-1-1 with Rino and Ambro out wide is important with Clarence and Andrea playing through the middle is important.

If United don't recover Vidic in time then that will also be a big plus

Hehe ... U like lying to urself don't you.. you .. you ...

Don't you think that has been the story of our season so far?

No doubt Now we know how the merda feel for the best 5 decades (ehm, serie a obviouslly and NOT CL triumph)

If we manage to neutralize Ancheloti we are in Athens!

Carlo is the one that got us where we are so we shouldn't be hard on him

Carlo is and always be an idiot for me

Well if that is the way you want to go about it then it is your choice.

But this is the guy that has took us to the pinnacle of European football and kept us there for 5 years running. No team has ever done that and we might have always had a strong team apart from this season but if you look at the other squads they where just as strong as us but still didn't manage to do what we did.

So you've got to give Carlo compliments on this aspect

this is my first contribution to the forum - so I hope i'm posting in the right place...

I have looked everywhere for details on getting tickets to sit in the away end at old trafford to see milan.

anyone have any ideas where you get tickets such as these!?

p.s. my name is carlo. i'm only an idiot some of the time...

Welcome Carlo .. I don't really know how it works, but to sit with the away fans, u have to purchase ur tickets directly from AC Milan.

Carlo I think you can find more info on the official site about this

I think the key to this one will be to control the tempo of the game. Man United like to play at a very fast pace which suits their wingers, whereas Milan's style of short passing and possession is better suited to a more controlled tempo. I think the 4-4-1-1 that Han suggested is the best way for us to impose our tempo on the game.

A narrow loss with an away goal would be a good result. A score draw would be a great result.

they are weaker in defence than they used to be when they had Vidic and Neville.
Well, Vidic is out for a season, but Nevile may come back against us.

but, all in all I still think that we are stronger than them in midfield.

moreover, Van der Sar is out of form in last couple of matches.

As usual in england things get all out of proportion after 1 performance!!
I firmly believe we can beat Manure, yes they played well against Roma but god Roma were awful and don't forget manure were coming off 2 straight defeats so there form wasn't all that great. Ronaldo wasn't that great the last time we played them, rooney 1 goal in 18months of C.L football to me the midfield is the key and i can't believe that Carlo will allow manure as much space as Roma did. Compress the midfield which in turns limits the space in which ronaldo can use his pace and that's alot of his threat away and are passing will destroy them! i predict a draw at old trafford and a 2 goal victory at the San Siro

Agreed, except fpr one minor detail, we will win at Old Trafford, Milan will rule Old Trafford

Exactly, there's our problem right there...

we should play the same way we did it against bayern, with the christmas tree formation, we should be able to control ronaldo, the same way we did with van bommel and salihamidb!tch, and for rooney, we have nesta , just be confident, milan will be in the final again

You are not seriously comapring those 2 with Ronaldo are you?

The best way to play is by getting the upper hand in midfield, thus playing with 1 striker. Doubleing up on their wingers everytime they get the ball will be key.

The fact that they play such an open game without any clear defensive midfielder will suite us better since for once Kaka won't have to worry about being constantly marked by 2 players.

Pippo can make Ferdinand make a couple of goofs also.

Imo Rooney won't be much of a problem, especially now that Nesta is back in his best for.

Strifling their wingers will be key.

OK now please.. Pippo is useless. He scored against Bayern but he was off side and it was so easy Christian Maldini would have netted it!

Every other time he touched the ball he always lost it!

Bayern's defence was crappy, neither Van Buyten nor Lucio were where they were supposed to be (not only in Pippo's goal but in many other occasions too)...

No more Pippo please. Ferdinand is going to kill him!! I mean it, he'll be taken to hospital only with a touch from Rio...