Milan face familiar problem

By Paolo Menicucci

The UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul may smash the traditional stereotypes of English and Italian approaches to the game as an attack-minded AC Milan side face Liverpool FC, who have often relied on a classic Italian-style 'catenaccio' defensive display on their way to the final.

Contrasting statistics
Rafael Benítez's Liverpool reached the final by scoring just one goal in their last three games. Meanwhile Milan have failed to score only once in their 12 Champions League games this season, and that was on a trip to Celtic FC in their final group stage match when they rested most of their key players.

Attacking formation
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti usually employs a 4-4-2 formation with Cafu, more a winger than a full-back, on the right, and only one ball-winner - Gennaro Gattuso - in a midfield with talented players like Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Kaká. Meanwhile Benítez has often opted for a defensive 4-5-1 formation.

Ten-man defence
"They were defending with ten players," said Juventus FC coach Fabio Capello after the 0-0 draw at the Delle Alpi stadium that allowed Liverpool to advance to the semi-finals after the 2-1 win at Anfield. "If we had played like that, it would have been labelled as the usual Italian 'catenaccio'.

Intelligent tactics
Chelsea coach José Mourinho, despite not accusing Liverpool of 'parking a bus' in front of their goal, also talked about Benítez's approach after the defeat in the semi-final: "They played well. Of course, they defended. They took their time, with Jerzy Dudek, throw-ins and free-kicks but this is football. It's a game for intelligent people and they were intelligent. They didn't play an offensive game but they played well."

Ancelotti's respect
Ancelotti agreed that Liverpool's victories over Juventus and Chelsea were triumphs for Benítez's defensive approach. "This is not a defect, it is a quality," he said. "They play defensive football but I like Liverpool very much because they are very organised and every player have clear ideas about what to do on the pitch. They can also play attacking football as they did in the first half of their home game against Juventus."

Negative publicity
Milan captain Paolo Maldini, however, said he is tired of Italian teams' reputation for being masters of football's dark arts. "I think it is absurd to think of Italian football like that because Italian teams attack much more than other European teams," he said. "Teams like Chelsea and Liverpool do not go forward at all. Liverpool are very much defensive in their tactics. Once they have the advantage it is very difficult because they have eight or nine players in defence."

Simple balance
In Istanbul Maldini will play his seventh Champions League final and he is sure that Liverpool will play 'catenaccio and counterattack'. "We have probably the best defenders in Europe but we play attacking football so sometimes there is an imbalance in the defence," Maldini said. "Liverpool never lose this balance because they play with much more defensive tactics. In Istanbul we will attack and they will defend."

No plans
The former Italian international was not planning any special treatment for Liverpool forwards Djibril Cissé and Milan Baroš, saying: "My children keep me awake sometimes, but in my sports career I have had no reason not to sleep. Since I started my career at Milan, we have never used man-to-man marking because we only focus on our game. This is the secret of our success."

Unstoppable attack
Catenaccio or otherwise, Milan will be hoping that the irresistible force of their forwards will blow the visitors' defence away.