Milan worthy of final despite scandal, insists Ancelotti

AC MILAN coach Carlo Ancelotti believes his team fully deserve to be in the Champions League final despite having their reputation tarnished by the match-fixing scandal.

The Rossoneri began the Serie A season with an eight-point deduction, but were allowed to enter pre-qualifying in the European tournament and have now made it all the way to the title decider against Liverpool in Athens.

Moreover, the Rossoneri have secured their place in the competition next season with a strong finish in the domestic league.

“We have deserved this final,” said Ancelotti. “Perhaps more than any other team considering the punishment we were handed. If we win this competition we will fully merit the trophy.”

Milan have also struggled with injuries this campaign but Ancelotti will have all his players available for Wednesday’s showpiece.

“It has been the most difficult season since I’ve been at AC Milan,” the coach continued.

“But the positive thing is that there has been a great harmony within the team and the club.

“We have tried to resolve our problems and I can say that they have been resolved.

“Considering what we have gone through this season we are very strong going into the final.”

Ancelotti remains optimistic that his team will not be haunted by their last meeting against Liverpool two years ago in Istanbul.

“This is a new adventure for us and we hope this time it goes our way,” said Ancelotti. “That game back then was played and won by Liverpool, this is a different story.”

Unlike that encounter in Turkey, Ancelotti will not have the likes of former AC Milan strikers Hernan Crespo or Andriy Shevchenko to terrorise Liverpool’s defence.

“Perhaps on the cards we are inferior to the team that played two years ago,” said the Rossoneri coach. “But from a psychological point of view, we are stronger.”

Milan will be hoping for the same outcome they have already secured against British opposition this season. The Rossoneri beat Celtic and Man United on their way to the final.

“Liverpool have a Latin mentality when they play, especially in defence,” he said. “Our past games don’t give us much of an indication with respect to the final. We want to win, it’s not going to be easy and we will do everything in our power to get there.

“The important thing will be to impose our quality and I think Liverpool will try to do the same. Our aim is to play an open game but of course, that will only be determined by the way our rivals play.”

Ancelotti confirmed he will not order the man-marking of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

“Gerrard has a lot of quality,” he said. “He is charismatic but you cannot just focus on one player. Our rival is Liverpool not Gerrard.”

The Italians have sold their allocation of 17,000 tickets and the club’s vice-president Adriano Galliani has admitted they could have shifted a lot more.

“We had more than 70,000 requests for tickets, but we had to give priority to our season-ticket holders,” he said.

However, there is concern that some fans will be unable to get to Athens in time as 400 flights are expected to be cancelled due to yesterday’s air traffic controllers’ strike in Italy.