Lippi: Arsenal Fear Milan



Alright guys, lets show them why we are one of the most feared teams on the planet in this competition. I hope kaka comes back in time.


FORZA MILAN FORZA MILANFAN

hey, you're overtaking game by game... nahh, we gonna destroy them

We need to play our best game of the season to win this game IMO, gotta step it up to another level.

The San Siro crowd will definitely play a significant role in this match! I expect them to boo every time an Arsenal player takes the ball.

Seriously the first thing we need to do is to take their confidence away from them, otherwise we will have problems. an early goal plus constant booing should do the trick I think!

Seedorf out of Arsenal clash

Carlo Ancelotti admits Milan aren’t at their best right now and Clarence Seedorf is out of action against Arsenal.

“I am only worried by the fact we are going into a match with a very strong team in what is not our best form,” said the Coach after their 1-1 draw with Lazio.

It was a second consecutive Serie A stalemate after the midweek 1-1 at Catania and Massimo Oddo’s penalty was needed to fight back from a Rolando Bianchi opener.

The first half performance in particular was very poor and the tempo was kept sluggishly slow.

“I have to say, though, that I don’t see teams in Italy and Europe who are much sharper than we are at the moment.”

During this evening’s encounter Seedorf went off with a thigh problem in the first half and Ancelotti confirmed the Dutchman would not be available for Tuesday’s encounter with Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Lazio President Claudio Lotito – still the only member of the club who will speak to the media – complained that the penalty incident was unfair.

“I saw that at least four Milan corner kicks should have been retaken because the ball was outside the line and that includes the one that led to Oddo’s equaliser.

“We deserved to win, especially considering all the chances we had at the start of the second half. Milan only avoided defeat thanks to Zeljko Kalac’s great saves. He was decisive.”


Channel4

No Seedorf vs the Gunners? Oh dear.

Big big loss. This is the kind of game Seedorf usually shows up in. Sigh.

Kalac
Oddo Nesta Kaladze Maldini/Janku
Gattuso Pirlo Ambrosini
Kaka
Pato Inzaghi

Yeah like he did at Emirates. No thanks.

I hope he's at least available for the bench.. what attacking players will we have on the bench... Gourcuff? No way Carlo trusts him in this game. Gilardino? Uh huh..

We'll probably play with 2 up front. And since Carletto is not the toughest man he will probably field Gila who unlike Pippo draws back to help the defence.

I don't know what was wrong with him in the game in London but he helped them more than he helped us. I would not want to see that again.

Hrm. Maybe he said something to Sky, but in the Italian-language articles (interviews, etc) on acmilan.com, there's no confirmation that Seedorf is out. There are a lot of 'maybes' and a couple of the players say that they're pretty sure he'll play. This may be a case of Channel 4 mistranslating.

ON TOP OF THE SLOPE


MILAN - Milan are in difficulty, the rossoneri arrive to the match against Arsenal on the back of a home draw and a lot of injuries. ADRIANO GALLIANI explained the difficult moment as follows:

"With Lazio we obtained a draw that was right, in a match where we suffered many injuries: first Seedorf, then Emerson and Jankulovski. We preferred to rest Maldini for Tuesday, but the ones who did play like Digao did well. Kalac and Gourcuff both did well, there were some positive notes. I asked Seedorf what he thinks of the injury and he told me he doesn't know anything yet. Now we are waiting for Nesta, Pirlo, and Kaká to recover, but there should be no problems. We are aware of this difficult period, but we don't want to hang our heads down."

"Milan-Arsenal will be a great match, we are certainly coming off a difficult period, but we will recover. I don't know how this match will go, but I hope that it will be us who celebrate at the end."

Also coach CARLO ANCELOTTI talked about the difficulties of the team in this moment:

"Again we had some injuries today. The exits of Emerson, Seedorf, and Jankulovski prevented us from making certain predetermined moves. In any case I don't think the physical aspect is the most important thing to win in Europe right now. For this reason I think we should go for it against Arsenal. In the first half tonight we did not play at a great rhythm, but a lot depended on the condition of some of our players. The second half was good, the draw isn't a great result but we must accept it. Kaká and the others? Kaká is doing very well, Pirlo and Nesta will certainly be back in time for Tuesday's game."

"On the penalty, I had asked Oddo during the week whether he would want to take it despite the presence of Ballotta, Massimo is an excellent penalty taker. Today the referee did very well, he let the play flow and he seemed confident in every situation."

"I saw Arsenal today, they struggled too, but in any case they have great qualities and they have recovered important players. We must not think about playing too physically, we will only have to play our football without worrying."

"Fourth place? I think we will manage to play good football later on. I am convinced the bad period is over with tonight's draw against Lazio. I feel a lot of preoccupation around us, but I'm convinced we are on top of the slope. Also on Tuesday we will have a packed stadium supporting us, so I'm optimistic."


@acmilan.com

^^^

Here comes that bad feeling again...

Why would he want to do something like that when he has Brocchinho available?

Hopefully Janku is okay, he had to leave at HT with injury. Hopefully it was just a precaution. His crossing was off but at least he gets up there. I guess Milan will start prob start with Maldini though.

Is there anybody on the team who hasn't had to do that this season?

Kaladze

Wenger: We Won't Be Out To Kill Kaka!


While commenting extensively on the hotly anticipated return-leg at the San Siro between Arsenal and AC Milan on Tuesday, Arsene Wenger has insisted that his team will not resort to he same type of henchmen tactics that so many Serie A teams have adopted to try to deal with the threat of Kaka - especially after seeing one of his own players literally almost lose his foot as the result of that type of 'take no prisoners' defending.


The Brazilian World Player of the Year has become an obvious target for defenders, man-markers, and hardmen of the game, and there are growing fears that he could pay the ultimate price by way of an early retirement if something isn't done to protect him.

Despite the fact that Kaka could kill Wenger's best laid plans for Champions League glory with a solitary stroke of genius, the French tactician shudders at the thought of resorting to violence to counter his brilliance.

Wenger said: "In Italy, what do the teams do who play against Milan? They take Kaka, get him out of the game.

"We will play zonal and will not mark him man to man. We will be faithful to what we do usually.

"We will try to get him out of the game by cutting the connections with him.

"If you kick the great players out of the game, why should people go to watch football?

"Great players make football a bit special, they make it art. If you are there to kill them, it is not acceptable."

The tie is on a knife's edge as a result of the scoreless stalemate at the Emirates Stadium, but Wenger knows that Milan can be a different kind of monster at home.

"We have to be tight defensively, because they tore Man United apart in the first 20 minutes of the second leg at the San Siro last season," he added.

"It is important for us to start strongly in defence, but also not to hide.

"What is good from the first result is we know every time we get the ball we are incited to go for a goal.

"I do not like to go away from home thinking your team just has to defend. With a 0-0 result, we know that we have to attack as well.

"From the first game, we have the belief we can beat them because we dominated the game - that always has an impact on the second game.

"We will need patience against them, but our pace can be a good asset.

"Milan have shown in Europe that they can deal with all sorts of opposition, they can slow the game down," Wenger reflected.

"What Milan do well is put you to their pace, and when Kaka gets the ball they can have sudden acceleration which can kill you.

"We will have to adapt to that because we like to play always at a high pace."

----------Kalac
Oddo Nesta Maldini Janku
Gattuso Pirlo Ambrosini
----------Kaka
------Pato Inzaghi

Gila in decisive CL game? No thanks.

^^

The best formation we can have right now, taking into account Carlo's tactics.

There is just one thing we have to make sure of... Gila should be equipped with radiators to heat those benches.

We'll see this formation IMO

--------------Kalac-------------
Oddo--Nesta--Kaladze--Maldini
Gattuso------Pirlo----Ambrosini
--------Kaka--------Gourcuff (if fit, then Seedorf)
-------------Pippo----------


Pato coming in second half.

Carlo is gonna play himself before letting Gourcuff start in such game

Nice one !!

(from the news ticker on acmilan.com's italian page)

NESTA, PIRLO E KAKA': IL PUNTO
02/03/2008
MILANELLO - Sandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo e Ricky Kakà hanno svolto l'intero allenamento odierno con i compagni, partecipando anche alla partitella. I tre giocatori stanno meglio e saranno a disposizione per martedì. Lo conferma anche il coordinatore sanitario del Milan, Jean Pierre Meersseman, che ha spiegato che gli ultimi test sostenuti dai tre rossoneri hanno dato esito positivo.

[Nesta, Pirlo, and Kaka took part in training today, also including the practice game. The three players are better and will be available Tuesday. Dr. Meersseman, the team doctor, also confirmed this, saying that the most recent tests on the players gave positive results.]

LE CONDIZIONI DEGLI ALTRI INFORTUNATI
02/03/2008
MILANELLO - Lo stesso coordinatore sanitario del Milan ha anche aggiunto che nel dopo partita di ieri Pato si è fermato più a lungo nello spogliatoio per alleviare il dolore provocato da una botta al ginocchio subita nel corso di Milan-Lazio. Il brasiliano oggi stava meglio e per domani sarà a posto. Durante la gara di ieri, Clarence Seedorf è stato costretto ad abbandonare il terreno di gioco anzitempo per un problema muscolare e resta in dubbio per martedì. Emerson, alle prese con il riacutizzarsi di un problema cronico alle tibie, si deve fermare. Per quanto riguarda Jankulovski, Marek contro l'Arsenal non ci sarà, l'obiettivo è rivederlo contro l'Empoli.

[Dr. Meersseman also noted that after yesterday's game, Pato stayed in the dressing room to alleviate pain from a knock to the knee he sustained during the Milan-Laizo game. The Brazilian is better and tomorrow will traiin with the team. During yesterday's game, Clarence Seedorfe had to elave the pitch due to a muscular problem and remains in doubt for Tuesday. Emerson is experiencing a chronic problem with is tibia and should rest. Jankulovski will not be available against Arsenal; the objective is to see him back for the game against Empoli.]

Why do i feel like we are going to lose this game? either way its gonna be good for us: a win will be a positive defence of our title, if we lose most likely the management will do something about rejuvenating the squad.

Maldini want's the title. We won't loose..

Poor Janku. Maldini at LB then ...

I hope it's not Maldini at LB, that could be disasterous.

Reminded me of a quote from Raging Bull; "... if you lose, you still win. there's no way you're gonna lose this one...".


You're OK with Favalli then?

Have the same feeling

As for who starts at LB, I want Kaladze there. Maldini should start in the center next to Nesta

Kaladze never plays at LB. Carlo would rather play Bonera. Sigh..

He used to play at LB, and he was much better in that position, maybe doen't push forward much but very solid for the LB position.

And Bonera at LB doesn't even make sense, he struggles on the right and he a naturally right footed player. So when he's on the left it's twice as hard for him in that position.

Ever since the back injury two weeks ago, Dida hasn't been mentioned on acmilan.com at all. Is he being punished for something we don't know about?

They're just getting us used to Milan without Dida. I can't say I don't miss him...

Match Official


Referee
Konrad Plautz (AUT)

Why does this name sound farmiliar and brings up good memories? What's his history with Milan?

Plautz was the referee in the European Super Cup game between Milan and Sevilla. And if my memory serves me correctly, he also officiated the match between Milan and Celtic, the one in which Maldini had a handball, and he didn't give the penalty. Respect!

Overall, he's a good, solid choice, and like you brings up good memories for me too.

Yeah, I'm concerned too. Admittedly, Kalac has been performing rather solidly, and I'm afraid we won't be seeing Dida unless the Australian makes a couple of big mistakes - which going by his previous record might be right around the corner. Unless he's improved drastically. As much as I like Dida, and what he's done for the club, I can't help but deny the good work put in by the number 2. I do hope everything works out well for everyone. We all want to see Milan do well, nonetheless.

By the way, love your new signature, Miz.

I'd give anything for this year's European cup for Paolo, since this will be his last season. Not to mention he'll become the first captain to successfully defend the cup, plus the most successful captain (he's currently tied with three, though I may be wrong here).

In short, the only thing better than winning the cup would be the man himself, or his 23-year career (for that matter). Though admittedly, deep down in my heart I'm a tad scared myself. With the string of performances we've been putting up, and the scoreless draw in England, it might only take one goal to screw everything. Oh, Ronaldo, where art thou?

I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe they should start doing the same thing with Gila.


Plautz also officiated the PSV match we drew at home in the '05-06 CL, during which Jaap Stam was seen yelling some colorful metaphors (in English, no less) at him.


Thanks. I wish it could be a happier one.

He has won two as captain. In '03 and '07.

Me too. But Dida's a champion, he will lift himself and come back. Just look at Ronaldo, how many time he's been down, or Maldini for that matter. Whatever happens, happens for a good reason. Unless your name is Simic - in which case you're doomed and cursed to never play and lose your NT spot in the process.


Thought so. Still one more for Paolo, Rossoneri, one more for the man!

hierro has the record with 3

Yes, considerably. And Francisco Gento is the only player to be on 6 Champions Cup-winning sides. I still count the 2005 ours, but that's just me. Paolo does have a chance to climb the record books even further, but this might be the toughest considering our squad and the opposing teams that we might draw against going forward. Speaking of longevity saw this on Wikipedia:

Paolo Maldini of AC Milan is the oldest (at 37 years old) player to score in a Champions League final, doing so in 2005. He is also the only player to play in the final of, and win the European Cup and the Champions League in three different decades: 1988-89, 1989-90, 1993-94, 2002-03 and 2006-07.

He's a legend of the game, not just for us Rossoneri, but for most of the footballing world. It'll be interesting to see what Galliani and co do in the summer to try and replace him

The bookies have made us strong favourites for this game, but I'm not so sure. I know we can beat Arsenal, but our current form isn't showing that and we'll need to match the performance against Utd last season to progress. Hopefully the San Siro will be rocking (did anyone manage to get a ticket?)

Unfortunately that is true... we might go through, but I'm somehow sure it will not be as convincing as last year against Manchester Utd. I think it's gonna be either a slight victory for us or penalty kicks in the end.

Controcampo is saying that Seedorf's condition has improved enough for him to possibly be available tomorrow, but that he'll start on the bench. Here's their projected lineup:

Kalac
Oddo Nesta Kaladze Maldini
Gattuso Pirlo Ambrosini
Kaka
Inzaghi Pato

They're also saying that the game is sold out. I hope there's a good coreo tomorrow, and a very loud San Siro.

(link)

Acmilan.com's breaking news in italian tossed up an interesting tidbit: Arsenal are flying into Milan late this afternoon and will go straight to the hotel. They will NOT do any training/practice at the San Siro before the game. This...surprises me a bit.

Arsène Wenger has named the following 18-man squad for the UEFA Champions League clash with AC Milan.

The most notable absentee is Kolo Toure but Robin van Persie returns to the squad.

Jens LEHMANN (GK)
Abou DIABY
Bacary SAGNA
Cesc FABREGAS
Philippe SENDEROS
William GALLAS
Robin VAN PERSIE
Alexander HLEB
DENILSON
Mathieu FLAMINI
GILBERTO
Gael CLICHY
Manuel ALMUNIA (GK)
Emmanuel ADEBAYOR
Nicklas BENDTNER
Emmanuel EBOUE
Justin HOYTE
Theo WALCOTT

link

It surprises me a lot!