CL Final 2005: AC Milan Vs Liverpool

[Yasser]

As requested by Mau, I start on this thread as we aim for a sensational 7th title, 2nd in 3 seasons and 5th in the Silvio Berlusconi era.

We face one of Europe's sleeping giants that have been the surprising packege of the CL this season coming thru the challenges of Capello's Juventus and Mourinho's Chelsea. Rafael Benitez just won a UEFA Cup with Valencia last season and will hope to do a Mourinho like job winning the 2 European titles in back to back years. However, the man standing in his way is Carlo Ancelotti who already won it once just like Lippi, Capello, Mourinho, Ferguson, Van Gaal among others and will hope to join the elite coaches who won it more than once as only Otmar Hietzfield have done it since the new CL format started in 1993.

More to follow on later on. A full preview on the way.

Good luck to Milan only
FORZA MILAN
FORZA THE DEVILS

ISTANBUL HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!

[Leffe]

Nice way to start this thread Yasserinho

This is our destiny and I will do everything I can to be there at Istanbul to witness this great match and see our boys make history once again, I hope to meet some guys from here who go aswell. If I go Elchi will join me for sure

[Yasser]

Guys, I have find 4 tickets each at $375, if you are seriously interested let me know so we buy the tickets and go.

[Yasser]

Btw - They are catoegory 2 A.

[Santi]

This seems like it's one of those dream finals between two of Europe's elite clubs. I hope Milan can make it the magical 7th.
but it wont be easy, can't wait for this game.

Good luck to all those lucky enough to be traveling to Istanbul.

[GattusoKing]

A brief guide to all-things Liverpool was requested. Here's my take

Jerzy Dudek - Rather ironically, the CL Final may conceivably be his last hoorah in Liverpool’s colours if rumours of Jose Reina’s impending signature are to be believed. Even if that deal fails to materialise, there’s a strong possibility that Chris Kirkland will be given preference next season, fitness permitting. Extraordinary cup-run or not, Liverpool can no longer attempt to paper over the considerable crack that’s been the goalkeeping position ever since the departure of Bruce Grobbelaar of 1994. Some may consider that harsh on Dudek, but if one assesses his Anfield career, you’ll be hard-pushed to find a consistent spell of good form. He may string five good performances together, but then he’ll gift a goal away, his confidence deserts him and then the frequency of mistake is increased considerably, before, ultimately, he’s dropped.

Generally speaking, a solid shot-stopper, but susceptible on crosses and from a confidence perspective.


Steve Finnan – Converted RW who’s played his way through the lower-leagues before finding his feet, somewhat belatedly, at Liverpool. The omens for Finnan weren’t looking promising in the summer when Benitez signed compatriot Josemi to fill the problematic RB berth, but his dire performances quickly saw Finnan restored to the position which he’s now made his own. Akin to Cafu, he’s not what one would call a textbook defender, but as the modern day game demands, he’s a potent threat on the counter-attack and he’ll take advantage of any situation allowing him to overlap.

Energetic, pacy, craves his licence to overlap, but exploitable.


Djimi Traore – Highly unorthodox and with a concentration span that is better measured in split-seconds, but when everything comes together, he’s surprisingly effective. As LBs go, he’s as physically imposing as any and when he surges forward, literally anything can and usually does happen. The aforementioned lack of concentration - the only facet preventing him being a potentially excellent defender – however, is a major achilles heel, as any Liverpool fan will testify to. Be it switching-off or simply failing to clear his lines, it’s been a consistent problem. A loan spell at Lens has improved his awareness and ability to cover the CBs, but one still watches him with due trepidation.

Powerful, loves defending, but incredibly erratic and error-prone.


Sami Hyypia – What a difference a successful cup-run can make to a career. Prior to the New Year, the sun had been slowly setting on his Liverpool career after a disappointing previous two seasons, but his mammoth displays in the CL may just have given him a stay of execution. A traditional CB if ever there was – tall, imposing, physically strong, a leader among men, a good man-marker and masterful in the air. And as we saw from the Juve tie, he’s also more than capable in the opposing area. Expose him to pace, however, and he’s found seriously wanting.

Old-fashioned CB, uncompromising man-marker, excellent aerially, but slow as slow can be.


Jamie Carragher – Mr Liverpool. In spite of his childhood devotion to Merseyside rivals Everton, Carragher is the living essence of the club itself and as professional a professional you wouldn’t wish to find. A squad player for nigh-on six-years, he only began to truly establish himself last season as a full-back and this season, he’s successfully made the switch to CB. Such a good job he’s done there that he is, for many people, the EPL player-of-the-season. Whilst I wouldn’t go that far, I’d certainly award him with the accolade of most-improved-player-of-the-year, after his remarkable transformation into a potentially international-class CB after a mere season of playing said position. Potential weak points? I could ponder the question for an hour, a week, a month and still struggle to find anything noteworthy. The only two concerns are his relative lack of experience as a CB, and his physical build. Other than that, I’m stumped.

Lionhearted, born-defender type whose lack of experience may conceivably tell against him.


Steven Gerrard – As the old adage goes – when Gerrard plays, Liverpool play. For far too long, he’s had to carry the weight of the club’s expectation single-handedly on his shoulders while those around him wilted. A world-class long-range passer of the ball, a tireless engine, a stunningly keen eye for goal from distance, confident when running with the ball, a dangerous late-arrival in the opposition penalty area, and an inspirational captain – he is Liverpool’s all-action hero. The midfield tussle between both he and Xabi Alonso pitted against Gattuso and Clarence is going to be an epic, mouth-watering battle. Whoever wins the midfield wins the game. Fatefully, Gerrard has always had that unfortunate knack of sustaining injuries prior to major matches, so his fitness will be a decisive factor in events. That, and his occasional over-enthusiasm are, for me, the only elements which can be construed as a weakness.

A truly world-class CM, a constant inspiration and a considerable threat…………..if fit.


Xabi Alonso – The other half of what comprises the best midfield pairing in the EPL, and akin to Gerrard, he taxes the superlative. Cultured, vivacious, efficient – he instantly won the adoration of the Kop and has become an integral part of the team. Were it not for the series of horrendous injuries he’s suffered in his debut season, I think it’s a fairly safe assumption to say that Liverpool wouldn’t currently be languishing in 5th place in the EPL. If the point needed labouring, geez is the midfield battle going to be titanic.

One of the aspiring midfield greats of the decade to come. Will he be able to steer clear of injuries, however?


John Arne Riise – Another revitalised player under Benitez’s reign. One more season of Houllier’s incumbency would surely have seen him seek pastures new, but experiencing a healthy second-wind and approaching the impressive form of 2001/2 - Liverpool’s halcyon year of cup success. Like your stereotypical Scandinavian, he’s as strong as an ox, committed to the tackle and has a left-foot like Thor’s hammer. He’s never quite developed the offensive element of his game as he should have, rendering him rather limited on occasions, but he’ll offer solidity on the left-side and a willingness to run himself into a stupor.

Strong, potent left-foot, industrious on the left-side, yet restricted by his lack of offensive ability.


Dietmar Hamann – An unsung hero and similarly to Xabi Alonso, his absence from the side is telling. Surprisingly talented when one puts him under the microscope, with a neat, intelligent passing game both short and long, and an intelligent eye for a through-ball. Afford him space outside the area and you’ll repent at leisure as he also boasts a stunning shot, which Leverkusen, among many, can vouch for. Were I Gattuso, I’d make a conscious effort to get under Hamann’s skin from the outset (subtly, of course) as he has been known to lose his self-discipline from time to time.

Typically teutonic, dangerous long-distance shot, but with potential for indiscipline.


Igor Biscan – One of those players whom, by rights, should probably be toiling away on a construction site somewhere, but fate saw fit to show him a slightly more fortuitous hand. Mention his name to a Liverpool fan prior to Christmas and you’d be collecting your teeth off the pavement, but, to his credit, he has been quite effective in the CL run-in. When blessed with as little talent as Biscan is, the magic formula is to keep it simple and that’s precisely what he does for Benitez: win the ball, swiftly give it to someone else with more talent than you (any of the ten will do), press the opposition when possession’s been conceded and then win the ball back again, and on, and on………….

Bless him, no one tries harder, but he’s severely restricted talent-wise and more than a little aloof.


Antonio Nunez – Makeweight in the deal taking Owen to Liverpool. The fee, I believe, was somewhere in the region of £500,000, which is roughly £499,999 too much. If being a right-winger entailed nothing more than running 70 yards with the ball at pace before overrunning it out of play, Nunez would be an icon. In reality, he’s very fortunate that his manager is a fellow Spaniard, otherwise, he’d still be back in Real’s X-team cleaning the groundsman’s boots.

I’ve seen better players in umpteen playgrounds. In fact, I’ve been one myself. Pacy, but woeful control, woeful passing and crossing ability, and a shot to put the fear of death into any corner flag.


Harry Kewell – This is my cue to groan audibly. If only he had the mind to match his precocious talent, we’d be looking at one of the stars of the modern game. He still has ample time to fulfil the potential he showed at Leeds, but he gives the impression of not caring whether he does or not, as though everything’s one giant imposition. Having given up on Liverpool, rumour has it that Liverpool will finally give up on him this summer, leaving him free to look elsewhere for another club. Said potential new club will be buying, on his day, a world-class player who exudes both skill and confidence, a genius for cutting-in from the left-wing and clinical eye for goal from any distance, any angle. However, probability dictates that he’ll threaten nothing more than breaking sweat, if that.

From the Recoba mould. Potentially devastating, but those days are few are far between.


Luis Garcia – Our tie against PSV showed the consequencies of failing to adequately deal with the threat of deep-running, attacking-midfielders/forwards. Hopefully, amid the autopsy of said shambles, a solution was found as we’ll need one to combat the threat posed by Luis Garcia. With five-goals in the competition and the manner in which they were scored, I consider him to be Liverpool’s most potent weapon.

Brimming with confidence, maker of intelligent runs from the entire width of the pitch, creator of space and a great eye for goal. Can be slightly over-audacious and it remains to be seen how he’ll fair against more detailed marking.


Milan Baros – A real Jekyll & Hyde player: sublime at international level and ridiculous on the domestic front. Physically tuned with good technique, he’s missing the third and most integral component of the striker’s Holy Trinity – clinical finishing. One of those players whom you wouldn’t entrust your only chance of the game to, as probability dictates that he’ll contrive to miss it, even if it’s far easier to score. Anyone who saw the recent games against both Everton and Juventus will appreciate my point. Messrs Nesta and Stam cannot afford to be complacent against him though as he’s a cultured target man, more than capable of working the channels and creating opportunities for his colleagues.

Everything but the end product.


Djibril Cisse – That he’ll be fit to take his place on the bench is a success story in itself having suffered a horrendous leg-break in November. Powerful, technically superb, enigmatic, with no second invitation needed to test the goalkeeper, the initial transition from Ligue 1 to the EPL was a testing one with the squad rotation policy and lack of goals seeing him spend more games on the bench than he would probably have anticipated. Nevertheless, he managed to convey glimpses of his potential worth that have whetted the appetite of Liverpool fans and left them eagerly anticipating a swift return to full-fitness.

Hugely unpredictable – the most dangerous breed of all. Still finding fitness, but will almost certainly make an appearance from the bench.



Fitness permitting, Liverpool will line-up as follows;

--------------------------Dudek-----------------------

Finnan-------Carragher-----Hyypia-----------Traore

------------Hamann--------Xabi Alonso----------------

Luis Garcia-----------Gerrard--------------------Riise

-------------------------Baros------------------------

[artan]

Guys, I have find 4 tickets each at $375, if you are seriously interested let me know so we buy the tickets and go.

yasser you are the man ,
gimme tickets , gimme tickets
i need one

[artan]

Dudek will make us champions!!! , i strongly advice , long range shots . in dudek i see caroll , so let clarence , rui , kaka , sheva, shoot and hernan score )))