AC Milan Match Thread

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp says Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale could be fit for the last-16, second-leg Champions League tie with AC Milan.

Van der Vaart has been out with a calf problem, while Bale returned on Sunday after six weeks out with a back injury.

"We will play an attacking team," said Redknapp, whose side lead 1-0 from the first leg. "We'll play [Aaron] Lennon and probably Gareth Bale and have a go.

"And Van der Vaart has a good chance for Wednesday, I hope he will be fit."

Playmaker Van der Vaart has been out since Spurs won the first leg 1-0 at the San Siro on 15 February.

Bale made his first appearance since 22 January when he came on as a substitute in Sunday's 3-3 Premier League draw at Wolves.

"When Gareth came on and started to run with the ball, it was exciting," said the Spurs manager. "We've missed that for the last five or six weeks.

"That was his first real exertion for six weeks. He started straight away to run with the ball and, when he does that, he scares people to death.

"He carries the game at the opposition and that makes a massive difference."

Milan beat Juventus 1-0 on Sunday ahead of the second leg at While Hart Lane and, while Redknapp is planning an attacking strategy, he is concerned by his side's defensive frailties.

In addition to the goals conceded at Wolves, Tottenham also let in three at Blackpool in their previous fixture.

"There were lots of positives for me from the [Wolves] game but we just didn't defend well in a couple of positions and that is a problem," said Redknapp.

"Conceding goals is a concern. Conceding three at Blackpool was a concern. It is disappointing to let three goals in, especially when you score three."

At Tottenham Hotspur (1)

Results Total %
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (100.00%)

AC Milan 0 (0.00%)

Draws 0 (0.00%)

Goals Total Av.pg
Tottenham Hotspur 2 (2.00pg)

AC Milan 1 (1.00pg)

Record Scores
Highest Aggregate 3 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 AC Milan 1971/1972
Highest Tottenham Hotspur score: 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 AC Milan 1971/1972
Highest AC Milan score: 1 AC Milan 1 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1971/1972

Match-by-match
Season Date Home Score Away Competition
2010/2011 Tue 15 Feb AC Milan 0 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur Champions League
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

this may not be pretty. we will play 451 with vdv and crouch. wimbledon style.

I watched their game on Saturday away to Juve and they looked pretty solid defensively, not allowing their opponents one single shot on goal throughout the game! Was not a fast game thou and I hope the speed of our game should get us through....

Be good if we can just do them early on but we know we're gonna be put through the rinser one way or another ...

early goal would be good.

i just watched the last 20 mins of the blackpool game. i really hope they stay up. they are a credit to the prem league. they stil attacking and should of made it 3 2 near the end

yea sorry

Phlegmini speaks out. Reckons he is like Napoleon. Yup 4 foot and a dog end tall & as crazy as a sh*t house rat . . . . . . .


Mathieu Flamini: I'm an Arsenal man, I love to duel with Spurs. I'm just like Napoleon...

According to a much-respected member of the French media, Mathieu Flamini is a typical Corsican. Cultured and yet combative is roughly how he describes him. 'Like Napoleon,' he says.

It feels like dangerous territory. A sweeping generalisation that might actually offend the former Arsenal midfielder now relaxing on a sofa at AC Milan's famous Milanello training ground. You can imagine the reaction. 'Napoleon? You serious?'

But Flamini is comfortable with the comparison. Delighted in fact. 'Napoleon is part of our history,' he says, his eyes lighting up. 'It is very important and I am proud of that. I grew up in the south of France but I had a Corsican education. My roots are there and I spent a lot of time there as a child. You know you can still go to Napoleon's house in Ajaccio.'

So cultured yet combative is about right then? 'I guess that's true,' he says. 'There are two different people. The person I am on the pitch and the person I am off it. When I am on the pitch I play in midfield and I like to play hard. I am an aggressive player. But off the pitch I have my hobbies. I like art, I like music. Away from the pitch I am much quieter.'
He knows where this is going. To San Siro, of course, and that moment during the first leg of Milan's Champions League last-16 tie against Tottenham when he appeared to launch himself, two-footed, at Vedran Corluka. He says he went for the ball. Corluka and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp thought otherwise. Not least because of the way he then turned to the Milan crowd to celebrate a tackle that earned him a yellow card but was more than worthy of a red.

'They said I should go to jail!' he says. 'I have never been in trouble in my life and I can assure you there was no intent in the challenge. I deserved the booking because I did injure the player. But I went to see him afterwards in the dressing room to check he was OK.'

He says he was somewhat surprised by the reaction. 'What made me smile was that English people, English newspapers, talk a lot about that tackle,' says the 27-year-old. 'I spent four years at Arsenal and I grew up with English football. I come from an English school. I was educated in England. At Arsenal we played a passing game but it was a tough game with passing.

'Everybody knows that the English league is the hardest, the most physical. In the Premier League you can see tackles like that every week.

'Of course, it is important to always play the ball. It's important to play with the right spirit. But I went for the ball. In four years in England I don't think I was ever sent off straight away. It's not like I have a reputation for bad tackles. I have never really had any problem of discipline. Most of the time at Arsenal we were the team that was kicked.'

He does, however, admit that he was particularly pumped up for that game. 'Arsenal is still in my heart and it was Spurs,' says the player who left north London for Milan in 2008. 'It was special for me. Games with Spurs were always big battles.

'Like I said, on the pitch I am a different person. I am feeling everything, full commitment. I then turned to the fans because at that moment I felt I had won my, how do you say, duel? Yes. I had won my duel. I had won the tackle.

'There is so much adrenaline, so much passion, and I turned to the fans. It is important to win those tackles and have character in the team. But after that I went to see the player. At that moment I didn't realise I had hurt him.'

Such a lack of remorse might be fuelled, perhaps understandably, by the sheer hostility between the two teams ahead of tomorrow's second leg. Caused initially by that volatile clash between Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso and Spurs coach Joe Jordan, and then fuelled further by Redknapp's comments in the wake of Tottenham's 1-0 win.

Redknapp sat in the San Siro afterwards and declared that the Barclays Premier League is superior to Serie A, having questioned whether Milan's players were good enough, individually, to secure a place in his team.

It seems it did not go down terribly well in Milan. Particularly among the more successful members of a dressing room, multi-European Cup winners among them, who do not take too kindly to being written off by the Champions League new boys.

'Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect his opinion, but I don't think he's right to say that,' says Flamini.

'It was only last season that Inter Milan won the Champions League. And this is a club with great history, great success and some great players.
'I have played in both England and Italy and the football is different. The Premier League is fast and furious from the first minute to the last. It is very strong, very quick. The Italian league is slower but more tactical. There is less space, and because of that it is harder to score goals. It is easier to beat the teams at the bottom of the league in England than it is in Italy. The Italian league is strong too.
'We lost 1-0 to Tottenham but I don't think we deserved to lose that game. We will go there and fight for the place in the quarter-finals and I am very confident we can do that.

'Like I said, I respect him (Redknapp) as a manager and as a person. Everyone has his opinion. But I have mine and, from what I have seen from the first leg, I am very confident we can win the game.
'We knew Tottenham were a good team. We had seen their games against Inter and I had watched them against Arsenal. They had a good first half but in the second half we were bossing the game in the middle. We were much the better team after the interval.'

Milan are a team in transition. Maybe even in decline. Paolo Maldini has finally retired and others would appear to be fast approaching that point in their careers. But they sit at the summit of Serie A and there is something that says it would be foolish to write them off just yet.

One only has to sit in the bar at Milanello where journalists and players mingle in a way Sir Alex Ferguson would never allow. You want a sandwich from the staff canteen? No problem. Coffee? Beer even? This is a classy football club. Incredibly hospitable.

Players come and go, always saying hello. Alexandre Pato, dare it be said with what looks suspiciously like a second chin, wanders through. Then Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi, Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Sadly there is no sign of the snarling Gattuso or Barbara Berlusconi, the beautiful daughter of Silvio and someone who now works at the club.

Carlo Ancelotti might have recently declared that there is 'no gratitude' in football but they remember him fondly here. Only the aforementioned Maldini can match him for the number of appearances in the many photographs that adorn the walls. Chelsea's manager is everywhere.

Rather than daunting, Flamini finds it all inspiring. 'My father is Italian,' he says. 'So I am half Italian. To come to Italy, to one of the biggest clubs in the world, to be part of this, to train and play with these players, is a dream for me. I enjoyed my time at Arsenal and I still have great friends there. Cesc, Tomas, Robin. But my family were very proud when I came here.

'To play with Maldini, Ronaldinho, Dida, Seedorf, Ambrosini. Legends. For my career but also for my personal experience it is fantastic.

'It is a team in transition. There are younger players coming into a team with players who have won everything. But there is still the same ambition. At Milan you are expected to win titles and trophies - win every game.'
Milanello enjoys a stunning rural setting but it is the bit outsiders can't see that impresses Flamini most: the subterranean MilanLab. 'It is completely different to anything I saw in England,' he says. 'The lab is underground and it is very impressive, full of technology.

'After every game they will do tests to check our physical condition, how we feel. And it is done individually. Everyone has different work. It is adapted to your age, your form and your physical condition. You can see how some of the older players keep going.'

Many of the methods were introduced by Ancelotti. 'He signed me,' says Flamini. 'I only worked with him for a year but I enjoyed a good relationship with him. He's a great person as well as a great coach and the chance to know him was a real privilege. He is very honest, someone very close to his players.'

He might even agree that Flamini is a bit like Napoleon.


Horrible little man . . . . . .

Milan worried by the 'different' problems posed by Crouch

By Mark Fleming


You would think after Gareth Bale's exploits against Internazionale in the Champions League earlier in the season, when he scored a hat-trick at the San Siro, the Italian club's neighbours and visitors to White Hart Lane tomorrow would have him down as the one to stop. Not so. Milan's Brazilian defender Thiago Silva instead says Peter Crouch is the man they fear most when they visit Tottenham Hotspur, attempting to overturn their 1-0 defeat of three weeks ago.


Crouch scored Spurs' late winner in the first leg and is in line to return for Harry Redknapp's starting team for the visit of the seven-times European champions and Italian league leaders, having watched Sunday's 3-3 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers from the bench.

Crouch saw Jermain Defoe score twice and Roman Pavlyuchenko once at Molineux but Redknapp is likely to turn to the former Liverpool striker. Crouch has been Spurs' unlikely hero in Europe this season with seven goals in eight games, compared with a meagre return of just two goals in 26 Premier League appearances.

Crouch's success in Europe is helped by Tottenham's opponents' lack of experience at dealing with such an aerial threat. Statistics at the weekend showed Crouch has won 71 per cent of his aerial duels in the Champions League, but 57 per cent in the Premier League. "He is the strongest player I have marked in the Champions League," Thiago Silva said yesterday of Crouch.

His team-mate, Robinho, agrees that Tottenham pose unfamiliar problems for Milan. The former Manchester City striker said: "They play in a different way, focusing on physical strength, plenty of crosses into the box, especially because they have a very tall player in Peter Crouch. I think they will play exactly the same way again."

Milan may be wary of Crouch, but perhaps they should be more concerned with Bale, who played the final 25 minutes of Sunday's game, his first action since 22 January when he suffered back problems.

Bale destroyed Internazionale in a memorable 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane in November, when he made the Inter right-back Maicon look like a stumbling novice. Now he comes up against Ignazio Abate, who has been the Milan right-back this season and played in the first leg, when Bale was absent, replaced by Steven Pienaar.

In his 25-minute display at Molineux, Bale demonstrated that he has fully recovered from his injury. Redknapp used him on the right flank, rather than his usual role on the left, but he was still able to power his way past George Elokobi four times.

Redknapp said: "He came on and made a big difference. He seems OK. We'll keep our fingers crossed. When he came on and started running with the ball it was exciting and we've missed that in the last five or six weeks."

The Tottenham manager also expects Rafael van der Vaart to be fit to face Milan, having been without the Dutch star for the past two games with a calf injury. Redknapp said: "We'll be positive. We'll play an attacking team. If [Aaron] Lennon's OK we'll play with Lennon and probably Bale and Crouchy's had a fantastic European campaign as well."

Milan travel to London without midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, who is banned following his post-match clash with Spurs assistant coach Joe Jordan. The Rossoneri's former Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng is likely to miss the second leg with an ankle injury, leaving them with a makeshift midfield of Mathieu Flamini, Clarence Seedorf and German youngster Alexander Merkel.

Milan plan to take game to Tottenham
(Chris Bevan : 09:17 UK time, Tuesday, 8 March 2011)



He has spent the last 18 years playing for the world's biggest clubs in the top echelons of the European game, so these days it is safe to say it takes something special to surprise AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf.

But even the 34-year-old Dutchman was taken aback by the pace of Tottenham's Aaron Lennon - or "the man on the motorbike" as he calls him - when their teams fought out an electric first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

It was a typically rapid raid down the right by Lennon that led to Peter Crouch scoring the only goal of an intriguing encounter at the San Siro on 15 February, giving Spurs a crucial advantage in their quest for a quarter-final place.

"I told Lennon that the police would stop him for speeding," Seedorf said with a smile. "I told him he was not allowed to go this fast."

Lennon's pace was only one sub-plot of an absorbing match that demonstrated the tactical flexibility of Spurs boss Harry Redknapp and Rossoneri coach Massimiliano Allegri. But the England winger could again have a big role to play when the sides do battle in Wednesday's return leg at White Hart Lane.

One thing is already certain. Milan will approach this game in a very different fashion to the way they did that first meeting, when Allegri said beforehand: "Our objective is not to concede a goal." This time, the opposite is true: Milan have to score (at least) one goal to have any chance of progressing.

When I spoke to him last week, Seedorf told me that Milan must take the game to Tottenham and play more like they did in the second half at the San Siro than the first, when a combination of their own cagey approach and their opponent's pressing game resulted in the Italian side being pinned back in their own half and struggling to impose themselves on the game.



"What we didn't expect at the start of the game was for Tottenham to be waiting for us on the halfway line and then coming at us so strongly," said Seedorf, who was operating in the hole behind Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic but was subdued by the constant attention he received from Spurs midfielder Wilson Palacios.

"But I think Spurs gave so much in the first half that in the second they could not do it with the same intensity. That's why I would say that if we can add more speed to our game on Wednesday, especially with how quickly we move the ball, then we can create the space we didn't manage to find early in the first game.

"The main thing, though, is that we are a little bit more attack-minded and have enough players looking to do some pressing up front like we did later in the game."

Milan retained their 4-3-1-2 formation for the entire 90 minutes of the first leg but the average position of their players before and after the break (when Seedorf was substituted) demonstrates how dramatic Allegri's change in initiative was when it became obvious his side were being outplayed. It had to be.

But Spurs are adaptable, too. Arguably, Milan's switch actually suited them. It meant Redknapp's men defended far deeper in the second half - as they will if they are under pressure at White Hart Lane. They continued to keep the Italian side's frontmen quiet, while using the speed of Lennon to counter-attack quickly down the right.

That might be a recurring problem for Milan on Wednesday, especially if Gareth Bale is fit enough to start on the opposite flank. The Welshman twice destroyed Inter Milan in the group stages of the competition.

Seedorf recognises the threat that Bale poses but says he has seen enough of him to know there are ways of keeping him quiet. That said, his own side have often struggled to deal with width and pace this season.

"Those were two excellent games from Bale against Inter," Seedorf said. "But I have also followed how he has been doing in the Premier League. In Europe, that type of player can give his side a big advantage against teams who don't really know how to defend. They find more space. Bale can make a great difference, not only with his speed but because he has great feet, too. However, we know how to defend."



Contrary to the approach that characterised their route to the last 16, Tottenham clearly know how to defend, too. Redknapp may like to encourage the belief his side are simply a gung-ho outfit but we saw at the San Siro that there is far more to his approach than that - even if, unlike Allegri, his instinct is to look for goals.

Going forward, even if Bale is not fit enough to start the game, we can expect Spurs to use their widemen as much as possible and try to find Crouch with high balls into the box from the wings, much as they did in the first leg.

But, whether they attempt to push Milan back or sit deep themselves, Redknapp will demand defensive discipline from Spurs, who will again attempt to starve Robinho and Ibrahimovic of possession and chances by working hard from the midfield backwards. And that includes the wingers, who must track back as well as attack.

I put it to Seedorf that he will not come across players like Crouch, Lennon and Bale too often in Serie A, where Milan are five points clear at the top of the table after wining at Juventus on Saturday. He disagreed, saying that it is not Tottenham's players that are different, only the way they are utilised.

To back up his view, Seedorf turned to MIlan right-back Ignazio Abate.

"In England, games are much more open, with teams going for the win and being less tactical," said Seedorf. "In Italy, you won't find that sort of space to do the damage. Abate has the same kind of speed as Lennon but he does more work defensively than offensively. It is down to a different way of thinking."

Wednesday's meeting offers us a teasing reversal of both those tactical stereotypes - the English manager's inclination to attack and the Italian's to defend. Much of the outcome will depend on how well each man operates outside his comfort zone. As for Seedorf, he will hope there are no more surprises in store for him or Milan.

You can read the second part of my interview with Seedorf - about how much European football has changed during his career - next week.

Tottenham winger Gareth Bale will be given until Wednesday to prove his fitness for their Champions League last-16 second-leg tie with AC Milan.

Manager Harry Redknapp said Bale trained on Tuesday and showed no ill-effects from his long-standing back problem, but his legs were a bit stiff.

"His back's fine but he was stiff in the legs," stated Redknapp.

"It's touch and go. We'd love to start with him but if he's not quite right I wouldn't want to take a chance."

There is better news on Dutch playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, who has not played since Spurs' first-leg 1-0 win in Milan because of a calf injury.

"Van der Vaart has a good chance for Wednesday, I hope he'll be fit," said Redknapp.

Winger Bale made his first appearance since 22 January when he came on as a substitute in Sunday's 3-3 Premier League draw at Wolves.

"When Gareth came on and started to run with the ball, it was exciting," added Redknapp. "We've missed that for the last five or six weeks.

"That was his first real exertion for six weeks. He started straight away to run with the ball and when he does that, he scares people to death.

"He carries the game at the opposition and that makes a massive difference."

Milan beat Juventus 1-0 on Sunday ahead of the second leg at White Hart Lane and while Redknapp is planning an attacking strategy, he is concerned by his side's defensive frailties.

In addition to the goals conceded at Wolves, Tottenham also let in three at Blackpool in their previous fixture.

"There were lots of positives for me from the [Wolves] game but we just didn't defend well in a couple of positions and that is a problem," stated the Spurs manager.

"Conceding goals is a concern. Conceding three at Blackpool was a concern. It is disappointing to let three goals in, especially when you score three."

The Italians will be missing three key players for the match - Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini are both injured, and Gennaro Gattuso was already ruled out through suspension even before he launched his notorious post-match attack on Spurs coach Joe Jordan.

Coach Massimo Allegri recognised his side could not afford to repeat their first-leg display but he had confidence in their ability to overturn the deficit.

"We can do it because we're a strong team and we're in good shape, physically and mentally," he commented.

"The first leg was a strange game. We know that Tottenham is a strong team and we can't commit the errors made at the San Siro."

Bale, who produced a dazzling one-man show when Spurs played Milan's neighbours Inter in the group stages, has attracted the attention of the Serie A outfit.

Allegri said he was all too aware of the threat the Welshman posed but he felt they could deal with him.

"He's a very important player with great physical and technical attributes but Tottenham isn't just Bale," he stated.

Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan: Gareth Bale to start on bench for Champions League clash
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that Gareth Bale looks likely to only be fit enough for a place on the bench for Wednesday's clash with AC Milan.
The Welshman took part in a training session on Tuesday morning after making his comeback from a six-week back injury layoff as a substitute in the 3-3 draw at Wolves on Monday night.

That appeared to put the 21-year-old in line to start Wednesday's Champions League second leg at White Hart Lane, but Redknapp confirmed that his star winger is likely to begin the last-16 clash at White Hart Lane on the touchline after he felt stiffness in his legs following the session.

Redknapp said: ''Gareth trained this morning, he still felt a little bit stiff. His back was okay but he felt a little stiff in his legs so we will wait until tomorrow to see how he is.

''It's touch and go. At the moment it would be doubtful whether he would be fit to start.''

Bale's loss is a big blow to Tottenham Hotspur but Redknapp will take comfort from the knowledge that his side beat the Rossoneri 1-0 without him three weeks ago in the first leg of the last-16 tie at the San Siro.

Redknapp was boosted by the news that Rafael van der Vaart is fit to start on Wednesday after he missed the game at Molineux with a calf injury.

Younes Kaboul, Vedran Corluka and Ledley King all trained and could also play

Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan: Rafael van der Vaart keen to embrace Champions League chance with both feet
In the space of two extraordinary years, Rafael van der Vaart went from honing his mercurial football skills on a caravan park to joining the best academy in the world and then watching his new Ajax team-mates become European champions.
As a starry eyed 12 year-old, he could have been forgiven for thinking that Champions League glory would follow rather easily throughout his career.

Yet 16 years on, and after spells at Ajax, Hamburg and Real Madrid — clubs who between them have won 14 European Cups — he has still never gone beyond the quarter-finals.

It is a glaring omission to his CV that rather undermines those who would already bracket Van der Vaart among the world’s very best players. It is also something that clearly rankles and should work to Tottenham’s advantage this season.

“When I went to Madrid I thought, ‘Now it’s going to happen, I’m going to play in a Champions League final’, but then we lost against Lyon and Liverpool. I was really disappointed and now I hope I do something with Tottenham,” he said.

“It’s difficult to compare us with Madrid because the pressure was so high. For six years they never reached the quarter-finals so the pressure was so big.

"With Tottenham it is different. Everyone is pleased that we played well and won a lot of games in the Champions League.”

That difference in expectation is perhaps also an explanation for the way that Van der Vaart has so excelled this season. Some players are just a natural fit at certain clubs and Van der Vaart has thrived under the man-management of Harry Redknapp.

There would certainly be an irony in Van der Vaart leaving the most successful club in European football history and then immediately realising his ambitions with a team playing in the Champions League for the first time.

“It’s gone so well and I feel really at home here,” he says. “My first days it felt like it was a family. It’s a great team. I like to be here in England, the people are really open, my team-mates love to play with me and that’s why I played so well. We want to attack, not defend.

“It’s great because I’m used to attacking. In Holland, with the national team, we always play to score goals and our manager here is the same.

"He wants football, he wants goals, he wants to give the people in the stadium a special night and that’s how I feel. I have a good feeling and a lot of confidence but it’s still half-time, the big games in the season are coming.”

Tonight will be the biggest to date when, amazingly, Van der Vaart will be facing an opponent in Clarence Seedorf who was in that Champions League winning team with Ajax in 1995.

“I was just a bambino,” says Van der Vaart, “I was playing with his younger brother in the academy. He is an example for all of us, he has won the Champions League four times and that is unbelievable.

"It’s an honour to play against him and it’s nice because our family are still in contact.”

Van der Vaart also goes way back with AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was an Ajax team-mate when they were beaten in the last minute of the 2003 quarter-final by AC Milan.

He still rates Ibrahimovic among the world’s best strikers for his combination of technique and power, but also draws a comparison with Tottenham’s Peter Crouch.

Van der Vaart is well aware — and blissfully unconcerned — by grumblings from Milan at the way Spurs exploited Crouch’s height during the first leg.

“I think we can play really good football but when Crouch is playing then it’s normal we try to reach him because he’s a big guy and I’m always behind him,” says Van der Vaart.

“I’ve already scored six or seven times when he put the ball down. It’s our quality and it’s really hard to defend. We want to reach the final and, if it’s with long balls, then it’s with long balls.”

As for tonight, Van der Vaart is expecting there to be no need for extra time or penalties. “It’s going to be hard because they know now we have a good team,” he says.

“It’s one game, they will give everything. Normally we always score at home so I think it will be over in 90 minutes.”

Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan: former Arsenal man Mathieu Flamini can expect barracking at White Hart Lane
Harry Redknapp has warned Mathieu Flamini, the former Arsenal midfielder, that he can expect an especially hostile reception at White Hart Lane on Wednesday during the Champions League second leg between Tottenham and AC Milan.
Flamini spent four years at Tottenham's fiercest rivals from 2004 until 2008, but has most antagonised Spurs fans with his dangerous tackle on Vedran Corluka at the San Siro that Redknapp described as “horrendous”.

Corluka suffered a badly sprained ankle and has not played since. Flamini did apologise but said on Monday that Redknapp had been “very clever to make a big story” of the incident and denied being a dirty player.

With Gennaro Gattuso suspended after the badly tempered first leg that Tottenham won 1-0, Redknapp knows that Flamini is likely to be the target for the home fans.

“He probably will [get a bad reception],” said Redknapp. “It will be a great atmosphere at White Hart Lane anyway. When you are in the position we have got ourselves into, European nights at White Hart Lane are fantastic.

“We have not had Champions League nights there and this year they have all been fantastic – Inter Milan was amazing and this will be even bigger.”

Redknapp also said that his assistant, Joe Jordan, had “moved on” after being butted by Gattuso. “He’s the quietest man in the world away from football — you couldn’t meet a nicer guy,” said Redknapp.

Jermain Defoe is relishing the prospect of an electric atmosphere and, with the final at Wembley, admitted that he gets emotional even thinking about the possibility of playing such an important match in his home city.

“I’d probably start crying,” said Defoe. “Just playing in any final really is special but to play in the Champions League final in London at Wembley, being a Londoner, [would be] fantastic. The Inter game, and winning at AC Milan, was fantastic. It’s just been magical to be honest. It’s a great time to be at the club.

“At the beginning of last season people didn’t really speak about us finishing in the top four, so to actually finish there and have that consistency which we showed towards the end of the season was great. To do it again this season is even better.”

Defoe believes that Tottenham must take the game to Milan despite holding the advantage but is also wary of the Serie A leaders on the counter-attack.

“We’ve got to go out and from the first whistle just try and score,” he said. “The stadium is going to be rocking, so we’ve just got to work hard and play like we have been.

“I think they will come and sit back and try and frustrate us and make it difficult. If you switch off at any stage, especially in the Champions League, you can get punished, especially with the players that they’ve got going forward.”

Despite his two goals against Wolves on Sunday, Defoe is unlikely to start on Wednesday night.

The expectation is that Rafael van der Vaart will again play in a free role behind Peter Crouch, who missed Sunday’s 3-3 draw against Wolves, with Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale providing pace and width down the two flanks.

AC Milan, meanwhile, have confirmed that former Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng will miss the match after suffering a sprained ankle during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Juventus.

Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan: match preview
Read a full match preview of the Champions League last 16 game between Tottenham Hotpsur and AC Milan at White Hart Lane on Wednesday March 9 2011, kick-off 19.45 GMT.


Champions League

Wednesday March 9

Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan
White Hart Lane
Kick-off: 19.45 GMT
TV: ITV1

Previous meetings

The form and history books are against Milan. Tottenham have won all four of their home games in the competition so far, and only once in Champions League history has a team come back to win after losing a home first leg.

The teams’ only previous competitive meeting was in the semi-final of the 1972 Uefa Cup. Tottenham won the home leg 2-1 before drawing 1-1 in Milan and going on to win the final against Wolves.

Milan have won just two of their 16 European games on English soil, but they captured the trophy at Wembley in 1963 and Old Trafford in 2003.

Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, Gallas, Lennon, Pienaar, Modric, Palacios, Crouch, Van der Vaart,
AC Milan: Abbiati, Pato, Seedorf, Boateng, Flamini, Jankulovski, Abate, Silva, Nesta, Robinho, Ibrahimovic.

Man in charge

Frank de Bleeckere (Belgium): One of the oldest referees in the competition, De Bleeckere took charge of Spurs’s 3-2 defeat to Young Boys in the first game of this season’s competition.

Key clashes

Aaron Lennon v Marek Jankulovski: Lennon’s domination of Luca Antonini at the San Siro decided the game. Jankulovski has only played 90 minutes once this season and will have to make up in nous what he lacks in sharpness. Expect him to play deeper than usual, preventing Lennon from making runs in behind him.

Wilson Palacios v Pato: Massimiliano Allegri made an error in not starting Pato in the first leg, but Milan must give him as much of the ball as possible. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic occupying the centre backs, the onus is on Palacios, with Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s help, to cut the supply to Pato.

Vedran Corluka v Robinho: Spurs and Manchester City fans will remember Robinho’s abject performance at White Hart Lane in 2009. Corluka has not played since being injured in the first leg; Robinho should try to test that right ankle by pressing the Croatian.

Last six matches

Tottenham

Wolves (A) D 3-3
Blackpool (A) L 1-3
AC Milan (A) W1-0
Sunderland (A) W2-1
Bolton (H) W 2-1
B’burn (A) W 1-0
AC Milan

Juventus (A) W1-0
Napoli (H) W3-0
Chievo (A) W2-1
Spurs (H) L 0-1
Parma (H) W4-0
Genoa (A) D 1-1

Guts brought the glory. One of the greatest evenings in the long history of Tottenham Hotspur saw a performance not rooted in traditional crowd-pleasing flair but in resilience, in a determination to resist AC Milan's constant attacks.

Spurs protected the goal Peter Crouch scored in the San Siro with their lives, defending with resolve and intelligence to survive an often nervy 90 minutes.

Even when Pato began to test the strength of their back-line, Spurs stood firm. Even when Alexander Merkel came on to remind Europe of his rich potential, Tottenham refused to yield.

When Milan did manage to get past the indefatigable Sandro, a marvellous resistance movement in midfield, they ran into the indomitable Michael Dawson and William Gallas. They ran into a human wall that would not be moved.

Make no mistake; this was a fierce examination of Spurs' qualities. This was a Milan far removed from the static, unimaginative, fractious first-leg hosts. This was a Milan who remembered their heritage, who played with belief and adventure, particularly when the ball was at the clever feet of Pato.

There was more vim in Milan's movement, more belief. Clarence Seedorf, who looked 50 in the San Siro, looked 20 here and bossed midfield for long periods.

Still Spurs would not wilt. A team that has scored 25 goals in its previous nine European games this season can never be accused of being negative; last night simply showed their other traits, their mettle, their togetherness.

Never can a stalemate here have been so rapturously celebrated. This was Spurs in dream-land, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

As the players swapped shirts, respect etched in every handshake, tens of thousands of fans with cockerels on their chests crowed: "Are you watching, Arsenal?'' Probably not. Too painful. Particularly with Gallas so prominent.

As Arsenal deal with the toxic fall-out from their meltdown by the Med, Spurs took a stride closer to the Wembley final.

Nobody can begrudge them their progress. Winning at San Siro, a deserved victory, was an impressive feat. Winning through to the last eight with their best player, Gareth Bale, on the pitch for only 24 minutes was a reminder of their strength of resources in personality and personnel.

If the praise for this will be spread amongst Redknapp and his players, and the chairman Daniel Levy in bankrolling the building of such a strong squad, then Tottenham fans should also take a bow.

For with 10 minutes remaining, and with Milan waxing and Spurs waning, the home supporters lifted Redknapp's tiring players with a rousing rendition of "Come On You Spurs". It was sung with a visceral intensity, a deep belief that their team could come through this late Milan storm.

The players responded to the exhortations. Benoit Assou-Ekotto put in an immense tackle on Pato. Dawson continued to relish his duel with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Sandro nicked the ball and triggered quick little counters. Vedran Corluka looked exhausted, yet he rallied, lifted by the supporters.

As team and terraces combined, Tottenham's manager looked on proudly. This European odyssey really is an astonishing achievement by Redknapp, a journey into the Champions League unknown that has brought the best out of him and his players.

Talk about a rollercoaster. Spurs have been 3-0 down to Young Boys Berne and 4-0 down to Inter Milan yet here they are, the first Premier League side into the last eight. Tottenham's hunger for Europe is unmistakable.

On a very special night at the Lane, the noise was deafening from the first whistle, slipping into brief lulls as nerves bit deep, but still the support was strong. Invective filled the air at times, particularly when the ball was close to Mathieu Flamini, who felt Spurs' wrath for his Arsenal connections and for almost snapping Corluka in two at the San Siro.

The scale of Spurs' evening work was soon evident. Flamini, Seedorf and Kevin-Prince Boateng patrolled midfield, cramping Rafael van der Vaart's style. Upfront, Milan's three attackers, Robinho and Pato nimbly supporting Ibrahimovic, began to live up to their famous names.

And so it began, part siege, part carnival. When Robinho fell under Assou-Ekotto's challenge, far too easily for local tastes, Sandro reacted sharply to clear Pato's poor free-kick. Then Ibrahimovic unleashed a 35-yard free-kick, demanding a save at full stretch from Gomes.

Spurs were under sustained pressure, Sandro fighting fires in the centre. Spurs willingly sustained pain in pursuit of the ball, Gallas accidentally caught in the head by Ibrahimovic's boot.

Still the visitors flowed forward, streaks of red and black across the green of White Hart Lane. Robinho darted down the right, slipping the ball in to Pato, whose shot was blocked by Dawson.

When Pato then dribbled down the inside-left channel, Gomes ran out, Brazil versus Brazil. Pato won, leaving his compatriot on the deck with the goal vulnerable.

Pato cut the ball back to another Brazilian, Robinho, whose shot caught Assou-Ekotto and dropped goalwards only for Gallas to clear from under the bar.

Opportunity did knock for Spurs, albeit quietly. Van der Vaart enjoyed their best two chances of the half, a free-kick that flew just over and then a low drive that thudded into Christian Abbiati's midriff.

Milan also had a marvellous chance, the ball shifting between Robinho and Ibrahimovic before Pato almost beat Gomes.

Spurs began the second half in far more assertive fashion. Aaron Lennon was quick to show, lifting spirits and crosses. Lennon's threat was now obvious, soon confirmed when poleaxed by Marek Jankulovski. Flamini then caught Assou-Ekotto, triggering much glee when he was booked.

The tension was unremitting. Robinho, Pato and Robinho again tested Gomes in a mad scramble. Then the Cardiff cavalry arrived, Bale greeted with a huge cheer by the Spurs fans and with a late challenge from Flamini.

With 14 minutes left, Merkel also came on, linking well with Pato, whose shot found the side-netting. As the last few minutes seemed reluctant to go, some Spurs supporters almost could not bear to watch. But they could sing.

And then came the chant, sweeping Spurs on a tide of emotion into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Great night.

Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan: Harry Redknapp says Spurs victory is the realisation of an impossible dream
Harry Redknapp has hailed Tottenham Hotspur’s achievement in reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League as the realisation of “an impossible dream”.
A goalless draw on Wednesday was enough to eliminate AC Milan and secure Tottenham's place in the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition for only the second time in their entire 129-year history.

Redknapp, though, said that he would be simply celebrating with a cup of tea, a bacon roll and a walk of his dogs along the beach at his Dorset home.

“The fans are already dreaming,” he said. “What we've achieved is an impossible dream. Nobody could've seen this coming. It’s the first time we've ever played in the Champions League.

"It's amazing what the players have done. I don't know how far we can go. We have done very well to make the last eight.

"If someone said that two years ago, people would've said you were crazy. To win such a tough group and then to beat AC Milan - top of Serie A - anything else is a bonus.

"We deserve to be here and have enjoyed every minute of it.”

Asked what it meant to him personally, Redknapp said: “I don't get too carried away. I will have a bacon sandwich, a cup of tea and take my dogs out. I’ve had ups and downs.

“Life is a roller-coaster and I just try not to get too down or go overboard. It's about the fans. They have had a great night.”

Tottenham’s progress through the group stage was characterised by their attacking football but, last night, they showed enormous defensive resilience to maintain their 1-0 first leg lead.

“It was nervy but fantastic,” said Redknapp. “If people thought we were going to smash Milan out of sight they've not been watching football. It was a difficult, difficult night.

“I enjoyed the occasion but not the 90 minutes. I was looking at the clock, hoping it would get to 90 and be over. We were playing AC Milan, top of the league and who have lost three games all season.”

Redknapp had particular praise for the defensive midfield performance of Sandro and his two centre-backs, Michael Dawson and William Gallas.

“Sandro was immense - he's powerful, strong, aggressive - and the centre-halves defended for their lives,” he said. “We normally score and let goals in but I would've taken 0-0.”

Tottenham supporters will take particular delight at surpassing Arsenal in this season’s Champions League and Redknapp admitted that he had been amazed by Barcelona’s dominance on Tuesday.

“Barcelona gave one of the finest performances I've ever seen,” he said. “They were amazing. Arsenal are a great team but they looked out of their depth, on another level.

“To play against a side [Arsenal] that keeps the ball and are the best passing team in the league and make them look so ordinary was amazing. But who knows? We're still in here, in the last eight and we want to go as far as we can.”

Tottenham Hotspur v AC Milan: Harry Redknapp sticks to his beliefs but resilience sees Spurs home
Sixty three minutes into this contest and Gareth Bale pulled on his lilywhite shirt. Two minutes later and he was introduced, replacing Rafael Van der Vaart, and it was another confirmation that here was a manager who would not betray his beliefs.
There are still moments in the storm. There are moments when the release of tension simply results in a desire to stand motionless. Henry James Redknapp was a study in such behaviour on Wednesday.

At the final whistle he had led Tottenham Hotspur into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

As that whistle blew he was the first English manager to reach the last eight since Terry Venables coached Barcelona in 1986; the first to do so with an English club since Liverpool’s Joe Fagan the year before that - and the first to do so since the European Cup was transformed into the Champions League two decades ago.

And he had done so at the first attempt, aged 64. He has never been in this competition before. Ever.

In achieving that Redknapp reduced Clarence Seedorf, the AC Milan captain and a player who has won “the trophy with the big ears” no less than four times with three of Europe’s greatest clubs, to tears. That’s how much it meant as he left the pitch.

By then Redknapp had already exited down the tunnel. He shook hands with Milan coach Massimo Allegri, clearly telling him that his team had played well, but he did not acknowledge the delirium that wrapped around the stadium at this most improbable of goalless draws. If anything he looked unsure of how to respond.

Sometimes it comes down to this. Redknapp has managed teams for more than 1,200 games in professional football and spoken more than once of the 9-0 defeat he suffered in his first game in charge of Bournemouth 28 years ago.

He has a human touch, is disarming and can joke about playing AC Milan and not “Raggy-a*se Rovers” and about celebrating with a bacon sandwich and cup of tea - a stock line of his - and although it lives up to a personae it’s simply a veneer.

He talks about how tactics don’t win matches, inviting ridicule from those who don’t understand him or what he means, and he bridles at any suggestion that he is ‘learning’ anything from this European adventure as if it is an accusation that he is some kind of novice.

He knows exactly what he is doing, how he wants his team to go about its job and what the strengths are and, above all, he wants his players to be bold and positive and to *play*.

“Spurs are on their way to Wembley,” sang the disbelieving home supporters at the end and that old song, so associated with the FA Cup Final, a trophy that Spurs have romanced so many times, has new resonance with the Champions League Final being contested at the stadium just 13 miles around the North Circular road come this May.

Can Spurs make it? Maybe. Just maybe they can. Peter Crouch, whose goal at San Siro ultimately decided this tie, talked of how “sometimes you have to park the bus” but Spurs didn’t do that on Wednesday.

No chance, as Redknapp would say. It’s not Harry’s Game. True, he introduced Gareth Bale and Jermaine Jenas and withdrew Rafael Van der Vaart but there remained a commitment to attack. There always is.

The outstanding performers were in defence with William Gallas and Michael Dawson excellent and, above all, in a type of player that Redknapp had claimed his club did not possess - a defensive midfielder.

The young Brazilian Sandro was simply outstanding with a display of aggression and no little courage which was a commodity flowing through Redknapp’s team.

And to think that Sandro had not even been registered for the group stages and had been upset after turning up at the airport for one flight only to be gently informed he wasn’t eligible. How far he has come; how far Spurs have come.

“Life is a roller-coaster,” Redknapp said when asked about how he would celebrate. “I’ve had my ups and downs”.

And sometimes the ups lead to a more sober response than the downs - it’s a mark of many leading managers, including Carlo Ancelotti - and he followed that mould last night.

In a quieter moment hopefully he also afforded himself a smile for he has transformed the fortunes of a club that was bottom of the Premier League table when he arrived three years ago. He deserves the praise.

What Redknapp has brought is belief. Van der Vaart has spoken about how the manager builds confidence and moulds a team and given the Dutchman’s outstanding pedigree and the clubs he has performed for that is high compliment.

Van der Vaart is no fool and Redknapp isn’t either. He has nurtured Aaron Lennon into a player who is striking fear and, of course, the phenomenon that is Bale who could only be used for the last half hour as he was limited by recovering from injury.

Spurs didn’t play particularly well, they weren’t allowed to, and maybe that is what caused Redknapp’s irritation.

If so, it smacks of a professionalism also. Everyone is talking about the need to avoid Barcelona. But those left in this competition will also be privately whispering another team they would be keen not to face.

No-one wants Spurs. No-one wants to face Redknapp

Champions League elimination to Tottenham has left 'bitter taste', says AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has bemoaned his side's lack of efficiency in the final third after Tottenham claimed a goalless draw at White Hart Lane to advance into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Needing to score an away goal, Milan couldn't find a way past the Tottenham defence in the second leg of their last-16 tie and went out 1-0 on aggregate.

The Serie A leaders dominated for long spells at White Hart Lane but were unable to grab the goal their display deserved.

Allegri said: "I feel bitter about the elimination. We didn't manage to progress, but failure is part of football.

"We couldn't score, because we got the last touches wrong.

"However, the performance mirrors our good form. Now we have to concentrate on the championship, we're all ready for the last 10 Serie A games and three Italian Cup matches. From now on, we'll focus on the championship again."

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was also quick to turn his attention to the Rossoneri's remaining targets this season after their Champions League elimination.

Ibrahimovic, who was largely anonymous, is now focusing on preserving Milan's five-point lead in the Scudetto race, while they are also through to the last eight of the Coppa Italia.

He said: "We did well as a team but getting eliminated is never good, even if we put in a fine performance. It's still a defeat.

"The difference between us and Tottenham is that they took their only chance in the first leg.

"We have done well as a team in our last three games. We're still in the running for the Serie A title and the Italian Cup, so from now on we have to concentrate on these competitions.

"In my opinion we were better than them, but the better team does not always win. Now we're eyeing the other two trophies."

The visitors created numerous chances, with Alexandre Pato and Robinho wasteful in front of goal.

Brazil international Pato said: "I had some shots and tried to score, but sometimes it goes like this.

"It's disappointing to get knocked out of the Champions League in this way.

"It's hard to take, because we dominated the game, but in the end we paid for the goal conceded at the San Siro.

"I thought we could go all the way this season, because we had the right players to do it."