Ancelotti aiming to live the dream

As AC Milan prepare to turn around a 3-2 UEFA Champions League semi-final deficit against Manchester United FC, coach Carlo Ancelotti has described the prospect of reaching the final in Athens as "a Utopian dream".

Utopian dream
Back in the autumn, Milan were languishing at the wrong end of Serie A. A league points deduction and a shortened pre-season had affected form and confidence; Athens looked a long way off. Now, though, the resurgent Rossoneri stand third in the table and one match away from booking their third final in five years. "At the start of the season I said that getting to Athens was a Utopian dream," said Ancelotti. "But now this dream is becoming a reality. This side showed great unity through the tough times. That has brought them this far and now we're confident because we're playing well and we're close to our objective."

Rooney danger
However, that quest has been made harder by the first-leg loss. Milan let a 2-1 advantage at Old Trafford slip, despite themselves rallying after Cristiano Ronaldo's early goal. The competition's top marksman Kaká scored twice only for Wayne Rooney to better the Brazilian with two strikes of his own, the latter coming seconds from the end of a thrilling contest. "Their most dangerous attacking player is without doubt Rooney," added Ancelotti. "But if we concede again it's not a disaster. We know we can score more than once because we've done so twice already."

'Huge achievement'
With the likely return of Filippo Inzaghi, Milan's attack should be all the more potent, the Italian international having registered 36 UEFA Champions League goals in 64 appearances, while morale is high after five straight league wins, culminating in Saturday's 1-0 success at Torino FC. Further good news for the Milanese giants is the return of Gennaro Gattuso (foot) although captain Paolo Maldini has failed to recover from his knee problem. "Getting this far has been a huge achievement," continued Ancelotti. "We've made the cake, now we just need to put the cherry on top."

Treble vision
With the treble in sight, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be thinking similar thoughts. Having taken a five-point Premiership lead and advanced to the FA Cup final, Sir Alex knows he is within touching distance of repeating the triumph of 1998/99. His side showed resilience to turn defeat into victory last Tuesday, and did likewise at Everton FC on Saturday, somehow transforming a 2-0 reverse into a 4-2 win. "We've developed well this season," he said. "Success and confidence has helped the process and some players have done exceptionally well in their first season."

'Doing it our way'
The 65-year-old singled out Milan's Kaká, Gattuso and Maldini for particular praise but insists his team will not be cowed by the sold-out San Siro. The possible comeback from injury of defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić - who both trained on Tuesday - may also compensate for the loss of the suspended Patrice Evra. "This team thrives on the big occasions and tomorrow will be the biggest test yet," continued Sir Alex. "You would expect Milan to score at home but our safety net is an emphasis on scoring. Sitting on the edge of the penalty box doesn't do us any good and it doesn't do the fans any good. So I think if we're going to do it, we've got to do it our way."

Probable teams
Milan: Dida; Massimo Oddo, Alessandro Nesta, Kakha Kaladze, Marek Jankulovski; Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini; Kaká, Clarence Seedorf; Filippo Inzaghi.

Man. United: Edwin van der Sar; John O'Shea, Nemanja Vidić/Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Gabriel Heinze; Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick; Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs; Wayne Rooney.