I was talking to my colleague during lunch about the CL final, discussing the pros and cons; yes Milan back 4 is OLD, but I think players like Kaka, Seedorf, Maldini (9th CL Final appearance!!!) will make a huge difference. And yes AC squad didnt change since 2 years ago, so they ALL know how it feels to be losers in 2005. They will not want to go through that again.
No disrespect to the EPL Champs, but AC Milan made Manu looked ordinary during the 2nd semi-final.. Based on that performance, my money is on AC to win this year's CL
You are right in the Milan back four being old. But we all know experience also has its place on the football field.
Milan's most senior player is Maldini who has 4 CL winners medals. All won with Milan. Seedorf is the only player in the world to have three medals, each won with a different club. Surprisingly, Kaka and Gattuso has yet to get a single CL medal so they may be the most motivated on the pitch.
There are 10 players in their current squad of 27 who has won a CL medal. Milan's last CL win was in 2003. Those 10 are still in the Milan team, IIRC.
Milan made ManU looked very ordinary because ManU is badly understrength due to injuries at the defence. I am not making excuses for ManU for the loss or Milan for the win.
How does Liverpool stack up against Milan?
Against ManU in the 1st leg, Dida played badly and conceded three goals. Against Liverpool in 2005, Dida panicked after conceding the first and it was downhill from there. Reina is a different keeper from Dudek. He also showed his nerves in his first major final against West Ham in the FA Cup Final 2006 but made up for it during the shoot out. Against Chelsea, Reina was solid at the back in the second leg though in the first leg, he was all wobbly due to the hostile fans. He will know better now and with the support Liverpool can expect to receive from their own travelling fans as well as the neutral Greeks, I think the atmosphere will be even better than Istanbul. Side note: The Greeks hate Italians due to their history.
Our back four is more than a match against Milan's back four but we have to look at Milan's front runners. In 2005, Hyypia and Carra had to do their tackling very high up because we didn't have a holding defensive midfielder. That gave Milan the chance to rule the midfield in the first half and score three goals before halftime. Two of the three goals were from defence breaking passes from Milan's own half. The first goal was off a free kick.
If Carra rules his defenders and get them to concentrate like he did with his team mates against Chelsea, I think Milan strikers will have very little space and time to do what they like.
With defensive coverage from Mascherano and maybe Sissoko, I don't think Milan will rule the midfield that easily like in 2005.
Liverpool's biggest worry is their front line. We need Kyut to put on his shooting boots and Crouch to have his headers on target. Milan's back four will have a hard time against Crouch's height when they don't have a defender in Jaap Stam's mould.
Our speedy wingers, Pennant and Gonzalez will also cause headaches to their full backs. Gonzalez may not shine in the EPL, but against Milan I think he will be outstanding.
And on the bench, we have GOD (Fowler). If he comes on late with the scores tied, he is more than a handful for the aging Milan defence.
Problem for Rafa is: Who does he start with? And who's on the bench. Almost all his players are fit and raring to go. It's a good problem for the manager to have. No need to patch up the side like in 2005.
Liverpool starts as the official underdogs. I am glad for that as Liverpool always perform well as underdogs, think vs PSV, vs Chelsea, vs Barcelona, vs Milan in 2005. When Liverpool starts as favourites, they huff and puff, like against West Ham.
And we will be wearing RED. Our favourite colour.
