First finalists come face to face

Olympique de Marseille and AC Milan, the teams who contested the first UEFA Champions League final in 1993, will renew acquaintance in a competitive fixture for the first time since then in Group C on Matchday 1.

Quotes
Didier Deschamps, Marseille coach
Milan are Milan; they have very experienced players, they are motivated. It's up to us to give them a difficult game. Leonardo has players who are used to playing these kinds of games. As far as I am concerned, I do not need to motivate my players. We have a chance to make history and I hope that history will be as happy as in 1993 [when Marseille beat Milan in the final of the inaugural UEFA Champions League]. We will have to be well positioned and cautious because Milan will want to come here for a result. Playing against Italian teams is always difficult because they defend very well. They have a winning tradition and playing Milan, Inter and Juve is always something.

Leonardo, Milan coach
I have no doubts my team has got a strong structure. Marseille is a very good team that can play well together, and with a lot of strong points. They will run a lot, they will play with a lot of enthusiasm in front of a full stadium. They finished second in the French league and they will want to prove that they deserve to be here. As far as we are concerned, we have the talent; we now have to find a balance. The Champions League is an extraordinary competition, and after watching it on TV last year, we are now in it again. It is time to play. Winning on Tuesday is not crucial but it is important. The tradition between these two teams is big, but today is another day. We have to look at the present day even if the past is still in our minds.

Key stats
• Marseille became the first French team to lift the European Champion Clubs' Cup when Basile Boli's 44th-minute goal earned victory over Milan in Munich's Olympiastadion on 26 May 1993.

• Their only other meeting came two seasons earlier in the quarter-finals and Marseille again had the better of things. After a 1-1 draw in Italy, Chris Waddle fired the only goal in the return.

• The Ligue 1 runners-up have won three and drawn one of their last four fixtures against Italian sides but before that they had lost four and drawn two of six games, a sequence that included the 1999 UEFA Cup final when they lost 3-0 to Parma FC.

• Milan's Mathieu Flamini was born in Marseille and played 14 league games for his hometown club before joining Arsenal FC. Team-mates Flavio Roma (AS Monaco FC, 2001-2009) and Ronaldinho (Paris Saint-Germain FC, 2001-2003) have also played in France.

Team news
• Marseille
Out: Bakari Koné (knee ligament), Garry Bocaly (thigh)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

• Milan
Out: Christian Abbiati (knee), Davide Di Gennaro (toe), Gennaro Gattuso (ankle), Marco Borriello (back)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Weekend results
12/09/09 Le Mans UC 72 1-2 Marseille
(Maïga 62; Niang 14, Brandão 70)

12/09/09 AS Livorno Calcio 0-0 Milan

Did you know?
Didier Deschamps captained France to victory in the 1998 FIFA World Cup final against a Brazil side with Leonardo in midfield.