Milan hold no fear for Makaay

Roy Makaay insists the omens are not against FC Bayern München as they look to avenge last season's UEFA Champions League exit against AC Milan.

Different situation
Milan ended Bayern's 2005/06 UEFA Champions League campaign in the first knockout round, drawing 1-1 in Germany then winning 4-1 at San Siro. However, if thoughts of revenge are burning in Bayern hearts, Makaay is not allowing them to cloud his judgement. "The situation cannot be compared with last year," explained the striker. "This time we'll play the second leg at home."

'Important advantage'
Bayern have won just one of eight games against Milan, but Dutchman Makaay, who has two goals from six outings in this term's competition, refuses to be intimidated by statistics. "Playing in Italy first is an important advantage," the 32-year-old said. "We recently played two good games against Werder Bremen and [FC] Schalke [04], our main rivals for the league title. We are here to win and that is exactly what we will try to do."

Goalscoring duo
Makaay scored his 100th official goal for Bayern on Saturday in a 2-0 home victory over Bundesliga leaders Schalke. Hasan Salihamidžić got the other, his 49th strike for the Bavarians, and would love to take that total to 50 in Milan. The 30-year-old Bosnia-Herzegovnian will join Juventus this summer, and is aiming to making a good impression in his future home, saying: "Scoring a goal against one of my future club's rivals would be a great way to introduce myself to the Juve fans. But for now I still play for Bayern and I want to succeed with them. It is more important that we get a good result."

Fond memories
The German giants have never beaten the Rossoneri on Italian soil, yet Salihamidžić has fond memories of the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium where Bayern overcame Valencia CF 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the final six years ago. "We won the UEFA Champions League here in 2001," he said. "We experienced some great moments on that occasion and will never forget that night."

Rensing in line
Bayern goalkeeper Michael Rensing played in the home first leg of the 5-2 aggregate defeat by Milan and will get another chance to shine as he deputises for the suspended Oliver Kahn. "I don't think we are weakened by Kahn's absence," insisted Makaay. "Michael has shown before what potential he has and how good he is." Salihamidžić added: "Of course, it is not easy to replace Kahn who has over 100 appearances in the UEFA Champions League, but Rensing played very well last year against Milan."