Tacchinardi staying cool

By Paolo Menicucci

After ending Real Madrid CF's reign as UEFA Champions League holders, Juventus FC have been made odds-on favourites to beat AC Milan in Wednesday's final.

'Past does not count'
However, Alessio Tacchinardi, currently in his ninth season with the Bianconeri and a veteran of 58 Champions League matches, has too much experience to be carried away by the enthusiasm of the Italian press after Juve's superb performance to overcome Madrid 3-1 in the second leg of their semi-final. The Italian international told uefa.com: "The past does not count when you play a final. It is true that Milan struggled against Internazionale [FC] and [AFC] Ajax but they qualified. We played a great match in the return leg against Real Madrid but, as I said, this is just the past now."

Double bid
The current season has arguably been the best in the 27-year-old midfield player's career as his side won their 27th Scudetto and are just 90 minutes from completing a Serie A/Champions League double for the first time. Tacchinardi has played in 12 of Juve's Champions League matches, and his spectacular goals in the two second group stage matches against FC Basel are among the campaign highlights.

'Difficult match'
His feet are firmly on the ground ahead of the Old Trafford fixture, though. "We know that we can play well against Milan but we cannot say that we will win for sure or that we are clearly favourites," he said. "Maybe there is too much enthusiasm around us especially from the media. I do not like it."

'More consistent'
Undoubtedly, though, the Italian media is right to be enthusiastic about a season where their sides have recovered from several years of Champions League disappointment to transform the final into a domestic affair. Tacchinardi says of the finalists: "I think we are the two teams that have played best this season. We have been much more consistent than Milan in the Italian league but maybe they have played better than us in the Champions League, especially at the beginning of the campaign."

Ancelotti tribute
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is more than familiar to Tacchinardi, having given him his first regular place in the Juventus starting lineup while in charge from 1999 to 2001. Neither league nor European success arrived in that time, but Tacchinardi has only good words for his former chief. "We all have good memories of Carlo Ancelotti and I am really happy that he led his team to this final and that he is also really close to winning the Coppa Italia," he said. "But obviously all of us are just focused on winning this trophy."

'Extra motivation'
Tacchinardi watched from the sidelines as Juventus beat Ajax to win the 1996 Champions League, but came on as a substitute in the subsequent final defeats by BV Borussia Dortmund and Madrid. "This can be an extra motivation for us but can also be dangerous," he says of those disappointments. "After losing two finals in a row you can fear losing the third. I just hope that the team will be calm, serene and motivated."

'We will give everything'
As for Juve's opponents, Tacchinardi says: "Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta are in fantastic form and it is really difficult to score against them. It is impossible to say what kind of match it will be. I just know that we will give everything we have to win and when we are at our best it is really difficult for everybody to beat us." More of the form that beat Madrid, and that will be true again.