"Now we have to match against Celtic on Tuesday, let's hope to break the San Siro taboo and come back from Tokyo with the Cup." - THE WORDS OF NESTA, ODDO, AND GILARDINO -
MILAN - Here are the declarations made by the rossoneri after Milan-Juventus 0-0:
ALESSANDRO NESTA:
"In the first half we struggled a little on the pitch, but we have been improving lately and we've been conceding very few goals. Only Wednesday in Lisbon we conceded a goal from outside the area. From the start of the year I've played nineteen games, but that's because I chose not to play with the National team anymore, otherwise I would not be able to rest. This evening Buffon once again showed he is the number one, scoring against him is truly difficult. Perhaps Milan, unlike other teams, have had a difficult start to the season, now let's hope other teams start getting tired so we can recover some gro
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It is now official – Milan star Kaka is the 2007 Player of the Year after he was assigned the Ballon d’Or.
The Brazilian had been the over-riding favourite since voting began among the journalists all over the continent.
Previously known as the European Player of the Year award, organisers ‘France Football’ have recently extended the competition to those all over the world.
He absolutely dominated with 444 votes, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, 277) and Lionel Messi (Barcelona, 255). The same trio are shortlisted for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
The other Serie A representatives in the top 10 are Milan teammate Andrea Pirlo in fifth position, Inter’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic in seventh place and Francesco Totti in 10th.
“It was an exceptional year and the Ballon d’Or crowns an extraordinary 2007,” said Kaka as he accepted the award in Paris.
“I want to thank God who allowed me to
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Italy have drawn the Group of Death in Euro 2008 against Holland, France and Adrian Mutu’s Romania.
The draw for the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland were held this morning in Lucerne.
Group C looks like by far the toughest, as Italy will face seeds Holland, Euro 2000 winners France and the impressive Romania, who already defeated the Netherlands in qualifying.
The Azzurri reached the finals by topping Group B ahead of France, but were not among the four seeds, those spots taken by joint hosts Austria and Switzerland, Euro 2004 champions Greece and Holland.
Italy open their tournament against Holland - who they beat in an epic Euro 2000 semi-final on penalties - on June 9 in Berne.
Romania take on Roberto Donadoni's men on June 13 in Zurich and the decider will be with old enemies France in Zurich on June 21.
Placed in the second pot, they ran into the ‘Group of Death’ in the tournament to be held from June 7 to the F
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Only the frame of the goal and some fantastic goalkeeping ensured the big game Milan-Juventus ended in a stalemate.
These two sides dominated Serie A in the 1990s, but this was a head-to-head battle to stay in the Scudetto race, especially for a Milan outfit that had not won a single domestic game at San Siro this season. Ronaldo, Marek Jankulovski, Mauro Camoranesi and Zdenek Grygera were sidelined and Claudio Ranieri surprisingly chose to drop Alessandro Del Piero.
It was immediately a very aggressive and fast-paced game. Vincenzo Iaquinta chested down the ball for David Trezeguet to drill wide, but the move was stopped for an incorrect offside flag.
Trezeguet went even closer on 11 minutes, as Cristiano Zanetti won back the ball in midfield and placed th
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Milan star Alessandro Nesta has praised Paolo Maldini for his incredible longevity and says that he will never be able to play for as long as the great man.
At the age of 39, Maldini is incredibly in his 23rd professional season for AC Milan.
The living legend made his Serie A debut way back in 1985 and more than two decades later he is still playing at the very highest level.
At 31, Nesta is approaching veteran status himself, having first featured for Lazio back in 1993.
“In a way we are very different,” said Nesta. “I will not have his longevity. He has something which no one else has, he has a strong head.
“Paolo is like metal, he never slackens, he loves to train and to play. I do not believe that in four or five years I will be like that.”
Inter defender Marco Materazzi has commented on city-rivals Milan’s troubles in Serie A, and reveals how he once had to defend Gennaro Gattuso following a conflict in a disco.
The Nerazzurri are enjoying another superb season domestically and are still unbeaten with more than three months of the season gone.
Milan on the other hand are struggling and are languishing in ninth place, 11 points behind their bitter city rivals.
In an interview with Sky Italia, Materazzi was asked why Milan perform well in Europe but continue to struggle in Serie A.
“I do not think they are struggling, the championship is different,” said the Matrix.
“While we ourselves are still adapting to the Champions League, they are adapting to the championship.
Andrea Pirlo and Maxi Perreira traded screamers as Milan got the point they needed against Benfica to secure qualification.
The Rossoneri needed only a point to be sure of qualification and rested Ronaldo, preferring the Christmas Tree formation with Kaka and Clarence Seedorf supporting Alberto Gilardino. Former Serie A stars Manuel Rui Costa and Nuno Gomes were leading the line for Benfica.
Milan got off to a blistering start with three shots on goal in the opening four minutes. Cristian Brocchi created a chance for Gilardino and Serginho's cross-shot threatened. Gilardino exchanged passes with Seedorf and the Dutchman's fierce strike stung Quim's palms.
Petit's deflected long-range attempt whistle
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"We did well because we found the strength to regain control of the match. We played well and we obtained the result we wanted, it's good like this." - THE DECLARATIONS OF THE ROSSONERI - CAGLIARI - Here are the declarations made by the rossoneri at the end of Cagliari-Milan 1-2:
MASSIMO ODDO:
"We had started the match decently, then Cagliari quickly managed to open the score and things became more difficult for us, especially because they closed themselves down in defence, leaving no space. Nevertheless we immediately tried to get back into the game, perhaps we conceded too much, but then came our goal and on the second one Andrea was brilliant in the way he hit the free kick. We managed to win thanks to two great champions. Now we have the Champions League, it would be nice to seal our
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