AC Milan Match Thread

Not done this for awhile . . . . ..



Match-by-match
Season Date Home Score Away Competition
1971/1972 Wed 19 Apr AC Milan 1 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur UEFA Cup
1971/1972 Wed 05 Apr Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 AC Milan UEFA Cup

Gareth Bale will sit out Tottenham's Champions League last-16 first-leg match against AC Milan on Tuesday after failing to recover from a back injury.

The Welshman, who has been a revelation for Spurs in the past year, did not travel with the squad to Italy on Monday despite hopes he might be fit.

That will mean another chance for the rejuvenated Niko Kranjcar, while Rafael van der Vaart (calf) will also play.

Peter Crouch (back) is a doubt, though, as is Luka Modric (appendicitis).

It means boss Harry Redknapp's side could line up at the San Siro with something resembling a skeleton first XI, with long-term absentees Tom Huddlestone, Ledley King and Younes Kaboul, as well as the suspended Jermaine Jenas, also unavailable.

Serie A leaders AC Milan will be without ineligible January signings Antonio Cassano, Mark van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson.

That would mean coach Massimiliano Allegri deploying a three-man front line of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Alexandre Pato, with few attacking options on the bench and key midfield duo Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini also out through injury.

But Bale's absence, in particular, is a big blow to Redknapp's plans - especially following the left-sided player's demolition of Inter Milan earlier in the season.

Despite losing 4-3, Tottenham fought back from 4-0 down on their last visit to the San Siro thanks to a Bale hat-trick, and the 21-year-old produced another man-of-the-match performance when AC's cross-city rivals Inter visited White Hart Lane as the Londoners secured an outstanding 3-1 win.

"I'd like to be able to scare Milan and say he's going to be available, but he's not," said Redknapp on Sunday. "He's struggling to get over this back injury.

"The specialists don't see too much of a problem there. There's nothing that should keep him out too long... [but] we've got to make sure he's right. He's a young lad and he's very important. He's got a great future in front of him.

''On Sunday morning, when the fitness coaches started to push him a bit, he couldn't go on. He doesn't feel he's ready to play. We've got to take our time and make sure he's right when he comes back."

Modric, too, looks unlikely to play, with Redknapp admitting: "He trained on Sunday morning and felt a bit better again but to push him back into it would be difficult. He's not quite up to speed yet."

And that will mean a start for Brazilian Sandro. The 21-year-old was not even named in Tottenham's 25-man Champions League squad for the group stages.

"[Sandro] will be playing, for sure, because I've only got two central midfielders [alongside Wilson Palacios]," said Redknapp. "We've got to wrap them in cotton wool and they'll be playing."

Tottenham qualified for the last 16 after finishing top of Group A, pushing Inter Milan down into second and knocking out FC Twente and Werder Bremen, while finished AC Milan finished second in Group G behind winners Real Madrid.

AC Milan v Tottenham: Italian giants have spring in their step ahead of Champions League meeting with Spurs
Confidence is rising at AC Milan – and not just because there is now the swagger of Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their ranks. This is a season of renewal, a time for changes to finally be made to a team who had grown old and stale.

After Saturday’s 4-0 destruction of Parma, which kept Milan at the top of Serie A, striker Antonio Cassano said: “We were really psyched-up for the game. If we play like that then no one can stop us.”

Certainly the new coach, Massimiliano Allegri, whose appointment last summer to replace Leonardo was something of a surprise, has brought energy, new ideas and a willingness to change.

He showed steel in dealing with the departure of another player of supreme confidence, Ronaldinho, despite the public declarations of president Silvio Berlusconi that the Brazilian was the best player of all time.

At training on Sunday, after the victory against Parma, Allegri joined in a seven-a-side match at the Milanello. The mood was buoyant.

Milan are on the rise under the 43 year-old who was voted Serie A’s coach of the year last season for his impressive work on a relative shoestring at Cagliari.

There have even been comparisons drawn between Allegri and Arrigo Sacchi. Both men come from relatively modest football backgrounds — Sacchi’s even more humble (as he had almost no playing experience) and look at the success that he brought to the Rossoneri.

He led them to the Italian title in 1988 and the European Cup in 1989 and 1990.

Allegri, who was a midfielder for Cagliari, is also committed to attacking football and has, at his disposal, some of the biggest names in the world although one of those, Robinho, may miss out this evening. If not him then Alex Pato — who has not scored in this competition since October 2009 – could be excluded.

Not that Milan are invulnerable. Behind the sheen of a promising season they, like Tottenham, have injury and ineligibility problems.

Allegri is denied the cup-tied new signings Cassano, Mark van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson while Massimo Ambrosini and Kevin-Prince Boateng are injured, as is Andrea Pirlo, who after a long injury lay-off broke down in training last Friday.

It means that there will be a host of familiar thirty-something names in the line-up to face Spurs at the San Siro in the Champions League on Tuesday night, once again attempting to wring out a last hurrah, while Alessandro Nesta is still the mainstay of the defence even though his best days are beyond him.

Even Filippo Inzaghi, at 37, remains in the squad.

Although changes are being made, there is much still to do and Spurs have more than one reason to feel encouraged.

It is also only a year this week since this Milan team were humbled 7-2 over two legs by Manchester United at this same stage of the competition.

And there is pressure also. Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has already warned that the club cannot be eliminated in the last 16 for a third year in a row. The relief that Gareth Bale has not travelled has been palpable after his destruction of Inter Milan. The Italians fear pace.

“For Milan the objective is to advance as far as possible in the Champions League,” Allegri said on Monday, although he bridled at suggestions that Milan were not as strong as the likes of Real Madrid — who topped their qualification group — Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

“This is not true,” he said. “We are ranking first in Serie A and we have been there for the last 13 weeks. We want to move on and we have all the potential to get to the final.”

Milan have a relatively poor record against Premier League sides — Arsenal also defeated them in this competition in 2008 — with Allegri anticipating a match of “high intensity” against an “aggressive” team.

AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur: club are ready to reach European heights, says manager Harry Redknapp
Up in the gods in the imposing Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Harry Redknapp declared that for Tottenham Hotspur “the sky is the limit”.


This flight of fancy of a Champions League campaign, which brings Spurs up against seven-time winners AC Milan on Tuesday, can be the start of a new era for the club.

“We are now genuinely a team who can look to be a top-four team every year if we want to keep progressing and the owners want to give us the backing, which I think they do.

"Tottenham is a big club with fantastic potential,” Redknapp said ahead of a tie which kicks off the quest to reach the quarter-finals as the first of the four English teams to rejoin the competition.

“There is nothing between us and Arsenal,” Redknapp added. “We are right there on the coat-tails of Man City and we are not a million miles off Manchester United. A few years ago we would have been.

"The gap has closed massively and there is not a lot between the clubs anymore.”

That ambition, he said, was shown in the, albeit fruitless, pursuit of £30 million-plus strikers in the January transfer window, a chase which he said he expected to be renewed in the summer.

“To have Champions League football for the first time at Tottenham this year they [the owners] have realised this is where we want to be,” Redknapp said. “It’s up to us to find the right targets.”

On Tuesday night it is up to Redknapp to find the right formula with depleted resources to achieve a result against the Serie A leaders that will keep the second leg alive.

“We have to make sure we are in the game when we get back to White Hart Lane,” he said.

Quite how Spurs do that had William Gallas chuckling – after all he had called for “caution” and here was the manager admitting his team could play only one way: attack.

“I don’t know which tactic we will play,” Gallas said. “Only he will know if we can do it [play with caution] or not.”

The central defender did not have to wait long for an answer.

“We have not got the players to come here and shut up shop, we are an attacking team and that is how I like it,” Redknapp said.

“Whoever I play, Lennon, Rafa [Van der Vaart], we are not set up to come here and stick five defensive midfielders across the middle of the park because we haven’t got them.

“Attacking football is what got us here in the first place. We have had a go all through this competition so we will have a right go again at the San Siro.

"We can score here. I don’t want to concede bags of goals, for sure... but as far as shutting up shop goes, it’s a non-starter.”

After a 38-year wait since the 1972 Uefa Cup semi-final to return to Milan, Spurs arrive here for the second time in four months and memories of that incredible evening, when they went four goals down to Inter Milan only for Gareth Bale to score an irresistible hat-trick that launched him on to a world-stage, swirled around the press room.

“It was a big night for us,” Redknapp said of a 4-3 defeat that felt like a victory. “If we had lost by six or seven it could have destroyed our season. The comeback that night was very important to where we are now.”

But Spurs are also here without Bale, who has failed to recover from a back injury and did not travel. Redknapp will decide on Tuesday whether to gamble on Luka Modric, who is recovering from appendicitis.

He is also without the injured Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas, who is suspended.

“This time we have not quite got the same personnel,” Redknapp lamented.

Modric trained on Monday night and despite Redknapp’s declarations that he is not fit enough to start – “the only two midfielders I have who are fit are Sandro and Palacios,” he said – it could be that the manager intends to gamble.

It may be worth it, especially if Redknapp is intent on attack. As long as Peter Crouch is fit the only other selection quandary is to choose between the in-form Niko Kranjcar and the more defensively aware Steven Pienaar.

If Modric plays, it could be bad news for his fellow Croatian.

Despite the difficulties, Redknapp claimed he would not have swapped the draw, and would rather play Milan than a team such as Copenhagen, who Spurs would have been strong favourites to eliminate.

“We’ve got to do it the hard way,” Redknapp emphasised. “It’s a great draw against one of the top clubs in world football.”

Couldnt ask for a better tie, this is after all why we try so hard to get into the CL .
win lose or draw games like this with so much importance attached to it don't come along often
so sit back , crack open the beers and enjoy it

Luka Modric to start

By Wayne Veysey http://www.goal.com

Luka Modric will make a remarkable return to the Tottenham starting line-up for Tuesday's showdown against AC Milan at the San Siro, Goal.com UK can reveal.

Manager Harry Redknapp has decided this afternoon to take a gamble on his star midfielder, barely a fortnight after the Croatian had his appendix removed.

Barring any last-minute reaction to the operation in the warm-ups, Modric will start in central midfield alongside Wilson Palacios.

Rafael van der Vaart will also start after recovering from a calf injury and Peter Crouch gets the nod ahead of Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko.

In defence, Vedran Corluka is preferred to Alan Hutton and it is believed that Niko Kranjcar will start on the left side of midfield ahead of Steven Pienaar.

Redknapp claimed in his pre-match press conference last night that the match would come too early for Modric, but knows how crucial it is that Spurs, already robbed of Gareth Bale through injury, do not get blown away in the first leg.

Really carnt wait for this, beers chilling in fridge lucky shirt pressed and ready to go on, COYS!!!

What a half!!! Spurs have been awesome so far! COYS!!!!!

Whose the man ? Crouchinio's the man ! And Joe Jordan is our bouncer . . . .

what a game, im knackerd just watching it! YIDDOS!!!

2225: So, while the 4,500 travelling Tottenham fans continue to party the night away in the upper reaches of the San Siro - what an unbelievable night they must be enjoying - it's time for me to take my leave. A memorable win for Harry Redknapp's side, then... but it is, of course, only half-time in the tie. It's all set up for a barn-stormer at White Hart Lane on 9 March, though, isn't it? Elsewhere, it was honours even between Valencia and Schalke, Newcastle secured a precious three points away at Birmingham in the Premier League, and there was more incident than you could shake a stick at in the Championship and Leagues One and Two too. Plenty for Wednesday to live up to, then, and in Arsenal-Barcelona we have another stunner for us to look forward to. I can't wait. See you then, people.

2222: AC MILAN 0-1 TOTTENHAM
Mandeep Sanghera reports: "AC Milan skipper Gennaro Gattusso's antics might threaten to grab the headlines but Tottenham should be given plenty of credit for their display in beating the Serie A leaders at the San Siro. Absolutely superb."

Tottenham earned a memorable first-leg win at AC Milan to give themselves the upper hand in their last-16 Champions League tie against the Serie A leaders.

Peter Crouch stroked in the winner after 80 minutes from a pass by Aaron Lennon, who had led a blistering Spurs counter-attack.

Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes had twice kept his side level with two superb saves from Mario Yepes headers.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a late goal disallowed for Milan as Spurs held on.

The match was marred by a touchline fracas which saw Milan's combative midfielder Gennaro Gattuso appear to headbutt Tottenham assistant manager Joe Jordan after the final whistle.

Gattuso had already been in an altercation with Jordan, seemingly shoving him in the face close to the Spurs dug-out when they clashed during the game and the Italian continued his battle after the match.

The result would not have helped the combustible Italian's temper, in addition to the AC Milan captain picking up a yellow card which rules him out of the return leg, as his side were made to look second best for most of the game at a rain-soaked San Siro.

A touch of nerves from Spurs almost let Milan back into the game but, after Robinho's far-post shot had been diverted wide, Ibrahimovic was rightly punished for pushing Michael Dawson before guiding in a shot with his back to goal.

The aim of Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was to make sure his side were still in the tie going into the return leg at White Hart Lane but his players did so much more.

Crouch, who had come on as a late substitute when his former club Liverpool lost to AC Milan in the 2007 Champions League final, had led the line tirelessly before being rewarded with his late goal.

It marked a win which came from some of the attacking football Spurs are capable of but also the type of resolute display Redknapp had doubted his team could produce.

Spurs' swashbuckling style has made them one of the entertainers of this season's competition but, despite Redknapp vowing to attack, he also had one eye on tempering his side's adventure with vigilance.

The memory of Tottenham being four goals and a man down after 35 minutes when they played Inter Milan at the San Siro in the group stages might have had an influence on his thinking.

He preferred the more defensive-minded Steven Pienaar to Niko Kranjcar, who had grabbed two winners in the last two games, on the left of a midfield also including holding players Sandro and Wilson Palacios.

However, there was still plenty of threat up front and the visitors were unlucky not to have a penalty when Rafael van der Vaart's cross appeared to be blocked by the arm of Milan centre-back Alessandro Nesta in the opening minutes.

The aerial threat of 6'7'' striker Crouch made life uncomfortable for the Italian league leaders and he almost scored when Vedran Corluka's incisive pass released Lennon, whose cross was intercepted by keeper Christian Abbiati.

In diving to palm away Lennon's cross, Abbiati got a knock to the head and had to be replaced by Marco Amelia.

Spurs had a degree of control and comfort, while Milan looked lethargic and laboured.

A long range Van der Vaart left-foot strike was tipped over by Amelia before the Dutchman produced a sublime chip which went agonisingly wide as Spurs went close.

Milan had brought on Alexandre Pato for the ineffectual Clarence Seedorf at the break and, as they began to to carry more of a threat, Spurs keeper Gomes was called into making a crucial save.

From Gattuso's dinked cross AC Milan centre-back Yepes guided a header towards the top corner and it took a dive at full stretch for Gomes to palm his effort wide.

The home side's increased appetite spilled over into overly aggressive play at times and ex-Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini should have been sent off for a two-footed lunge on Corluka but he somehow escaped with a yellow card.

Jonathan Woodgate, who had not played since November 2009, came on for Corluka as some of Milan's antics started to ruffle Spurs' feathers.

It took another crucial save from Gomes to keep his side level as he again kept out a Yepes header from close range.

But the visitors stunned the San Siro crowd when Lennon left the AC Milan side in his wake as he stormed upfield and the winger had the composure to slide the ball across to Crouch to slot in for a famous victory.

Milan's Gennaro Gattuso apologises for Jordan head-butt

AC Milan captain Gennaro Gattuso has apologised for head-butting Tottenham coach Joe Jordan after a 1-0 loss in the Champions League last-16 first leg.

Italy international midfielder Gattuso squared up to the 59-year-old Scot and pushed his head towards Jordan's face.

The 33-year-old ex-Rangers player looks set to be disciplined for his actions.

"I lost control," said Gattuso, who had earlier pushed Jordan in the face. "There is no excuse for what I did. I take my responsibilities for that."

The Italian added: "I was nervous. We were both speaking Scottish, something that I learned when I played in his home city of Glasgow, but I can't tell you what we said.

"I didn't want to argue with players and I did it with him, but I was wrong to do what I have done. I will have to await what they decide."

The pair had already clashed on the touchline during a bad-tempered second half in which Mathieu Flamini escaped with a only booking for a two-footed challenge on Vedran Corluka.

The Croatia full-back left the field on a stretcher and was later seen on the substitutes' bench with crutches and an ice pack on his ankle.

"The tackle from Flamini was a horrendous tackle," Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp commented. "It was a sending off. He was two or three feet off the floor with his two feet raised.

"It was a leg-breaking tackle. Corluka will have an X-ray tomorrow but I don't think he has broken it but he could have done easily."

The Flamini challenge turned the second half into a feisty affair, with Gattuso becoming increasingly aggressive.

The former Rangers favourite confronted Spurs striker Peter Crouch before collecting a booking that will rule him out of the second leg for a lunge at Steven Pienaar.

At the final whistle, he removed his shirt and headed straight for Jordan, hurling abuse at the Spurs first-team coach before lashing out with his head.

The Milan midfielder was pulled away by team-mates and briefly stopped to embrace Spurs defender William Gallas before following Jordan down the tunnel.

"I don't know why it all got so silly," Redknapp added. "Gattuso had a flair-up with Joe Jordan. I don't know why.

"He obviously hadn't done his homework. He could've picked a fight with somebody else. Putting his head into Joe's face, it was crazy. He lost his head."

Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri said he was disappointed with Gattuso's conduct but claimed his rage was sparked by a late tackle on him by Pienaar which preceded the touchline clash with Jordan.

"Flamini's tackle was quite a bad one but the foul on Gattuso on his knee was also a bad one," Allegri stated.

"I don't know what happened at the end of the match. It was not nice to see. I think there was a reason but there is no excuse for that."

Describing the scene on air, BBC Radio 5 live's Mark Pougatch said Gattuso had "lost it".
Italian football journalist Gabriele Marcotti added: "Gattuso is an emotional player but after getting angry he calmed down enough to hug and kiss William Gallas and Harry Redknapp.

"You think he is going to calm down then he goes after Joe Jordan. Absolutely incredible."

Redknapp joked that it was not wise to pick a fight with Jordan, who played for AC Milan between 1981 and 1983 after long spells with Leeds and Manchester United.

"There would be only one winner there - Joe," the 63-year-old Spurs said. "I'd have my money on Joe. Of all the people to pick on, don't pick on Joe."

AC Milan 0 - 1 Tottenham


Tottenham earned a memorable first-leg win at AC Milan to give themselves the upper hand in their last-16 Champions League tie against the Serie A leaders.

Peter Crouch stroked in the winner after 80 minutes from a pass by Aaron Lennon, who had led a blistering Spurs counter-attack.

Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes had twice kept his side level with two superb saves from Mario Yepes headers.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a late goal disallowed for Milan as Spurs held on.

The match was marred by a touchline fracas when Milan's combative midfielder Gennaro Gattuso headbutted Tottenham assistant manager Joe Jordan after the final whistle.

Gattuso had already been in an altercation with Jordan, seemingly shoving him in the face close to the Spurs dug-out when they clashed during the game and the Italian continued his battle after the match.

The result would not have helped the combustible Italian's temper, in addition to the AC Milan captain picking up a yellow card which rules him out of the return leg, as his side were made to look second best for most of the game at a rain-soaked San Siro.

A touch of nerves from Spurs almost let Milan back into the game but, after Robinho's far-post shot had been diverted wide, Ibrahimovic was rightly punished for pushing Michael Dawson before guiding in a shot with his back to goal.

The aim of Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was to make sure his side were still in the tie going into the return leg at White Hart Lane but his players did so much more.

Crouch, who had come on as a late substitute when his former club Liverpool lost to AC Milan in the 2007 Champions League final, had led the line tirelessly before being rewarded with his late goal.

It marked a win which came from some of the attacking football Spurs are capable of but also the type of resolute display Redknapp had doubted his team could produce.

Spurs' swashbuckling style has made them one of the entertainers of this season's competition but, despite Redknapp vowing to attack, he also had one eye on tempering his side's adventure with vigilance.

The memory of Tottenham being four goals and a man down after 35 minutes when they played Inter Milan at the San Siro in the group stages might have had an influence on his thinking.

He preferred the more defensive-minded Steven Pienaar to Niko Kranjcar, who had grabbed two winners in the last two games, on the left of a midfield also including holding players Sandro and Wilson Palacios.

However, there was still plenty of threat up front and the visitors were unlucky not to have a penalty when Rafael van der Vaart's cross appeared to be blocked by the arm of Milan centre-back Alessandro Nesta in the opening minutes.

The aerial threat of 6'7'' striker Crouch made life uncomfortable for the Italian league leaders and he almost scored when Vedran Corluka's incisive pass released Lennon, whose cross was intercepted by keeper Christian Abbiati.

In diving to palm away Lennon's cross, Abbiati got a knock to the head and had to be replaced by Marco Amelia.

Spurs had a degree of control and comfort, while Milan looked lethargic and laboured.

A long range Van der Vaart left-foot strike was tipped over by Amelia before the Dutchman produced a sublime chip which went agonisingly wide as Spurs went close.

Milan had brought on Alexandre Pato for the ineffectual Clarence Seedorf at the break and, as they began to to carry more of a threat, Spurs keeper Gomes was called into making a crucial save.

From Gattuso's dinked cross AC Milan centre-back Yepes guided a header towards the top corner and it took a dive at full stretch for Gomes to palm his effort wide.

The home side's increased appetite spilled over into overly aggressive play at times and ex-Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini should have been sent off for a two-footed lunge on Corluka but he somehow escaped with a yellow card.

Jonathan Woodgate, who had not played since November 2009, came on for Corluka as some of Milan's antics started to ruffle Spurs' feathers.

It took another crucial save from Gomes to keep his side level as he again kept out a Yepes header from close range.

But the visitors stunned the San Siro crowd when Lennon left the AC Milan side in his wake as he stormed upfield and the winger had the composure to slide the ball across to Crouch to slot in for a famous victory.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp tempers joy with realism


Harry Redknapp revelled in Totenham's 1-0 win at AC Milan but warned against the north Londoners taking their Champions League progress for granted.

Peter Crouch's goal has given Spurs the edge for the second leg of the last-16 tie at White Hart Lane on 9 March.

Spurs boss Redknapp said: "It was a great night, a fantastic performance."

But he added: "We've done half the job. We know they're dangerous. We have the advantage but it's half-time. It's still all to play for."

Crouch stroked in the winner in the 80th minute after a pass by Aaron Lennon to earn the Premier League side victory over the Serie A leaders.

Although the north Londoners had the better of the game, two vital saves from goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had kept them on level terms before Crouch struck.

"They did exactly what we asked of them. We got a great result, exactly what we deserved," Redknapp, 63, added.

With French referee Stephane Lannoy disallowing Zlatan Ibrahimovic's last-minute strike, the visitors' resolute defending at the San Siro paid off.

"It was a great game of football, I thought we deserved the win in the end. I thought we limited them to not many chances and I think we were the better side. It's a fantastic achievement," match-winner Crouch reflected.

Some of the gloss was taken off Tottenham's win because of a touchline bust-up between Spurs assistant manager Joe Jordan and Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso.

The pair had clashed during the game on the touchline during a bad-tempered second half in which Mathieu Flamini escaped with a only booking for a two-footed challenge on Vedran Corluka that resulted in the Croatia defender being carried off on a stretcher.

And, at full-time, Gattuso, 33, squared up to Jordan and head-butted the 59-year-old Scot.

Gattuso, who has since apologised, will be out of the return leg after picking up a yellow card during the game but AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri still holds out hope his side can overturn the deficit.

"We have to play a different game in the second leg," Allegri commented.

"Qualification is still open, we will go to England with a lot of faith."

Congrats on a fine win.
As soon as Lennon got the ball I thought 'ere we go

Job half done boys, but an away goal in hand, a bit of needle, it's a good return leg to look forward to.

Jeez, imagine Spurs Arsenal final... Wembley deffo not big enough lol