Gio ready to embrace destiny
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Article summary
uefa.com diarist Giovanni van Bronckhorst is keen to keep a cool head as he and his FC Barcelona team-mates aim for the UEFA Champions League final.
Article body
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is keen to keep a cool head as his FC Barcelona team-mates look to build on their 1-0 first-leg win against AC Milan and win a place in the UEFA Champions League final.
We produced a great team performance in Milan to earn a crucial advantage in the first leg of our UEFA Champions League semi-final but nothing is decided yet and we have to approach the second game with exactly the same frame of mind.
'A few nerves'
There were maybe a few nerves early on in the game at San Siro and we took a while to settle into our normal style. For them Alberto Gilardino hit the post and Victor Valdés had to pull off a good save to keep out a header by Andriy Shevchenko. But I think that those scares helped to give us the wake-up call we needed to step up our game. We were a little bit lucky that they didn't score and sometimes in football when luck has gone your way you have to build on it.
Team performance
It was a matter of just keeping going and working hard for the whole game and then we were able to start to get a bit on top. We had a good spell when we had a lot of possession and made very few mistakes. Of course, Ronaldinho has got a lot of credit from the game and rightfully so because Ronnie is a great player. His ball for Ludovic Giuly to score was fantastic. But it was a team performance and I think we did really well to hold the midfield.
Milan changes
I think you always learn something from every game you play and there will be lessons that we take for the second leg. But, having said that, it is a wholly different game and Milan can step up their performance and even play in a different way. They changed their tactics a bit in the second half at San Siro and dropped their defensive line a bit deeper.
'Right on the night'
We are so close to Paris now that nobody can even think about not making it to the final and I'm sure that same determination is in the Milan squad. We will both go out with confidence and passion to win so it will be down to who gets it right on the night. We know that we have the team to win this match and get to the final and we are completely focused on the task.
