Champions League: Milan, Barca spring for Paris

For many it would have been the dream final. AC Milan, six times winners, against Barcelona, arguably football's most attractive team. But instead of the one-off final in Paris, the watching world must sit through two games featuring many of the game's biggest stars beginning with the Catalans' trip to Italy tonite.

If the Milanese felt the gods were not on their side last year when losing the final after leading 3-0 at half-time, then this season they may well be looking towards the heavens with a more thankful face. They were all but out of the competition with seconds left of their quarter-final second leg encounter against Lyon until up popped Pippo Inzaghi to score his second of the game, before Andriy Shevchenko nipped in for his ninth Champions League goal this term to make the scoreline 3-1.

After a stuttering start to the new campaign, Milan have built up a head of steam and are gearing towards their third final in four years and of banishing those Istanbul blues for good.

"I'm pleased because after Istanbul a lot of people called it the end of an era," said Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti. "We have a lot of good young players and if there has been a so-called Turkey syndrome it has served to motivate us in reaching Paris. Now we are close…"

After inching through a group featuring Schalke, Fenerbahce and PSV Eindhoven, the Rossoneri destroyed Bayern Munich in the second leg of their quarter-final (4-1, 5-2) before needing those late goals to down Lyon. For the semis, however, the San Siro will host the first leg and their opponents are the toast of European football.

"Barcelona don't have weak points, they're packed with quality and attack at devastating speed," added the 46-year-old whose team are now Italy's sole survivors after Internazionale and Juventus' quarter-final defeats. "It's now up to us to keep the flag flying. We'll do our best and maybe it will help the national team's cause at the World Cup."

A winning pair
Ancelotti's counterpart is a familiar figure. Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard graced the same Milan midfield that dominated European football in the late 80s, winning Champions League medals in 1989 and 1990 - the year Rijkaard scored the winning goal in the final. The Dutchman returns to the San Siro with his Barcelona team flying high at the top of the Spanish league and having eliminated Chelsea and Benfica in the knockout stages after cruising through their group.

"It will be a very interesting game against a strong side," said Rijkaard who won a third title with Ajax in 1995. "They've played at a consistently high level for a long time now. I've already played against Milan as a player and as a coach, so it's just another game featuring two strong teams and that's it."

While Milan are playing their best football of the season, Barcelona have been struggling in recent weeks to reproduce the flowing style that floored all opponents before the new year.

"I don't like to talk about injuries," added Rijkaard, "but we are missing a few players so it doesn't surprise me that we are not always at our best."

Midfielder Xavi is a long-term injury and Deco is suspended for the first leg but defender-midfielders Rafa Marquez, Motta and Edmilson should have recovered for the clash. The most eagerly awaited return though is that of Lionel Messi and the 18-year-old Argentine will form the third fork of the lethal attacking trident.

"I love the way Barcelona play," admitted Milan veteran Paolo Maldini. "(Samuel) Eto'o and Ronaldinho are great and, for such a young player, Messi is phenomenal."

More strikers than forwards, Milan's attacking trio of Shevchenko-Inzaghi-Gilardino is no less impressive. Although Alberto Gilardino has played his way into Italy's starting line-up, Ancelotti is likely to plump for the more experienced first two as his leading men for the opening leg.

"By my reckoning, Inzaghi is one of the best strikers in the game, and the number one player around the penalty spot," praised his coach.

Perfection
"Only a united and committed team could have emerged from such a delicate moment," said the Ukrainian of the last-gasp heroics against Lyon. "The match with Barcelona is like the expected final, so we must play to perfection in order to win."

It is the Italians who have the edge in past encounters between the teams. Although Barcelona progressed to the quarter-finals of the 1959-60 competition with a 5-3 aggregate win, Fabio Capello's disciplined Milan tore Johan Cruyff's Dream Team to shreds 4-0 in 1994's one-sided final. The Rossoneri won at the Nou Camp 2-0 in the opening round in 2000 before drawing 3-3 at home, while last season each side scored slim home victories in the group stage.

Those results will count for very little though when the two teams line-up on tonite. Rijkaard, who has won the competition three times as a player with two clubs, will be hoping to lead Barcelona to a much anticipated second title, while Ancelotti, already a winner as a coach in 2003, will be keen to erase last season's memories.

"We have a 25 per cent chance like the rest," said the Italian. "If we win though, I'll let (Gennaro) Gattuso carry me home in his arms."