Champions League: Milan take their revenge and now hold record

Ozren Podnar

An exceptionally exciting season in the Champions' League ended in Milan's triumph over Liverpool in a great tactical battle in Athens.

There were few reminders of the spectacle offered by the same teams two years ago in Istanbul, as the Italians entered the game far more cautiously and perhaps with extra respect for the Reds.

The victorious Italians have duly received some stick for a negative performance, but it was now their turn to scrape a win against a superior rival. Let us not forget how Milan held Liverpool in check during 105 of 120 minutes only to lose to two flagrantly illegal penalty saves by Jerzy Dudek.

Milan are now officially the world's most winning team on the international stage, having collected their 16th big trophy, leaving Real Madrid and Independiente behind on 15. The rossoneri currently boast seven Champions' Leagues, two Cup Winners' Cups, four European Supercups and three Intercontinental Cups.

Boca Juniors also claim 16 titles, but they include two minor and short-lived South American tournaments – a Copa Masters and a Copa de Oro.

Silvio Berlusconi's team have asserted themselves as Europe's most successful in the third millennium, having won two Champions' Leagues (2003 and 2007) and having played in one final (2005) and one semifinal (2006) plus a UEFA Cup semifinal in 2002.

Ironically, Milan's success came at the end of a highly criticized season for the club who were not even supposed to take part in this season's competition! The original Italian FA's ruling that Milan should be suspended from playing in Europe was overturned on appeal and their punishment was reduced to having to play in the third preliminary round instead of qualifying directly.

Maldini's fifth Euro-triumph

Ancelotti's team saved their best performances for the latter stage of the competition, when they crushed Bayern 2-0 away from home and outplayed their Red Devil namesakes Manchester United in the semis on a 5-3 aggregate.

Some players have earned the right to celebrate more than others: Filippo Inzaghi for scoring two crucial goals (one accidental and the other cunning), Paolo Maldini added his fifth Champions' League medal, which puts him in the second place behind only the Spaniard Francisco Gento, while Clarence Seedorf collected his fourth winner's medal after winning one apiece with Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan themselves.

Additionally, six Milan's players achieved a feat reserved so far for an elected few: winning a World Cup and a Champions' League in two consecutive seasons.

Pirlo, Gattuso, Nesta, Oddo, Inzaghi and Gilardino did what three Milan's Brazilians had done four years ago and four of Bayern's Germans in 1975.

Maier, Schwarzenbeck, Kapellmann and Uli Höeness won the 1974 World Cup and the 1975 Champions' Cup against Leeds, while Dida, Roque Junior and Rivaldo repeated the achievement in 2002 in Japan and Korea and in 2003 in the Champions' League against Juventus.

Milan 2-1 Liverpool

Goals: 1-0 Inzaghi (45), 2-0 Inzaghi (81), 2-1 Kuyt (87)
Referee: Fandel (Germany)
Milan: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Maldini, Jankulovski (min 79 Kaladze), Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf (min 89 Favalli), Kaka, Inzaghi (min 86 Gilardino)
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan (min 88 Arbeloa), Agger, Carragher, Riise, Pennant, Mascherano (min 78 Crouch), Xabi Alonso, Gerrard, Zenden (min 60 Kewell), Kuyt

Big soccer vendettas

Milan have become the third team to avenge a defeat in a Champions' League or Cup final, after once being on the receiving end of another club's revenge, against Ajax in 2005.
* Milan – Ajax 4-1 (1969), Ajax – Milan 1-0 (1995)
* Ajax – Juventus 1-0 (1973), Juventus – Ajax 1-1, 4-2 pen (1996)
* Liverpool – Milan 3-3, 3-2 pen (2005); Milan – Liverpool 2-1 (2007)

Semifinal results

Manchester Utd. – Milan 3-2 0-3
Chelsea – Liverpool 1-0 0-1, 1-4 (pens)

Milan

Founded: 1899.
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro), 81,000
President: Silvio Berlusconi
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti

Path to finals
Preliminary round - 1st 2nd
Red Star 1-0 2-1
Group stage
AEK Athens 3-0 0-1
Lille 0-0 0-2
Anderlecht 1-0 4-1
Round of 16
Celtic 0-0 1-0
Quarterfinals
Bayern 2-2 2-0
Semifinals
Manchester Utd. 2-3 3-0

All Milan's European finals
1958. (C1) Real Madrid 2-3
1963. (C1) Benfica 2-1
1968. (C2) Hamburger SV 2-0
1969. (C1) Ajax 4-1
1973. (C2) Leeds 1-0
1974. (C2) Magdeburg 0-2
1989. (C1) Steaua 4-0
1990. (C1) Benfica 1-0
1993. (C1) Marseille 0-1
1994. (C1) Barcelona 4-0
1995. (C1) Ajax 0-1
2003. (C1) Juventus 0-0, 3-2 pen
2005. (C1) Liverpool 3-3, 2-3 pen
2007. (C1) Liverpool 2-1

Liverpool

Founded: 1892.
Stadium: Anfield Road (45.400)
President: David Moores
Coach: Rafael Benitez

Path to finals
Group stage- 1st 2nd
PSV Eindhoven 0-0 2-0
Bordeaux 3-0 1-0
Galatasaray 3-2 2-3
Round of 16
Barcelona 2-1 0-1
Quarterfinals
PSV Eindhoven 3-0 1-0
Semifinals
Chelsea 0-1 1-0, 4-1 pen

All Liverpool's European finals
1966. (C2) Borussia Dortmund 1-2
1973. (C3) Borussia M'gladbach 3-0, 0-2
1976. (C3) Club Brugge 3-2, 1-1
1977. (C1) Borussia M'gladbach 3-1
1978. (C1) Club Brugge 1-0
1981. (C1) Real Madrid 1-0
1984. (C1) Roma 1-1, 4-2 pen
1985. (C1) Juventus 0-1
2001. (C3) Alaves 5-4
2005. (C1) Milan 3-3, 3-2 pen
2007. (C1) Milan 1-2

C1 – Champions' Cup/League
C2 – Cup Winners' Cup
C3 – UEFA Cup

Ozren Podnar

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