Strachan salutes Kaka genius

CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan claims his players will once again come up against a “genius” in Kaka when they take on AC Milan in the Champions League tonight.

The Brazilian star was the difference between the two sides in the last 16 of the competition last season, his extra-time winner sinking the Hoops in the San Siro.

Strachan insists Kaka, who will play his 50th Champions League match at Parkhead, is the most exciting component in the Rossoneri’s star-studded squad.

He said: “They have good players all over the place but Kaka is probably one of the most exciting.

“If you are looking for excitement then he has got that, you saw that with the goal he got against us last season.

“When everything seemed fine and we were attacking, suddenly they break away, the ball comes off big Evander Sno and he has the ability to go past another couple of people and score.

“That’s just genius and sometimes you have just got to hold your hands up to genius.”

While the Milan squad contains the bulk of the team which went on to beat Liverpool 2-1 in last May’s final, Strachan was keen to stress how his squad is even less experienced than when the two sides met last season.

He said: “It’s a different team. We are missing good experience in Paul Telfer and Neil Lennon. Those two had played a lot of games. Their team is nearly the same, they have the same bodies.

“My players are bubbling at the moment. They are quite happy with their performances and they should be, but it’s a young side.

“We had young versus old game yesterday [at training] and we had Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell in the old side — and both are 25. It just shows you how young this side is and myself and the coaches are looking forward to them gaining more experience.

“There’s a lot of guys like Massimo Donati, Scott Brown, Scott McDonald and Jean-Joel Perrier Doumbe who have not played (much) Champions League football.

“But we are looking forward to playing against some of the best players in the world.”

Striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink’s hamstring injury picked up in the 3-0 win over Dundee United on Saturday has definitely ruled him out but Strachan will give midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura every chance to prove his fitness.

Donati insists revenge will not be on his mind tonight. The 26-year-old joined the Parkhead side in the summer for a reported fee of £3m (€4.3m). It followed six years at the San Siro, where Donati was loaned out for almost the whole period to various clubs such as Parma, Torino and Atalanta.

“I hope to show them that they made a mistake selling me but I don’t look back. The past is in the past. I want to play well but I’m not out for revenge or anything like that. I want the team to play well and for me to play well within that team.

“It is very important for me that we win but it is more important that the team wins. I always put the team first.”

Croatia defender Dario Simic has expressed his desire to leave AC Milan in the January transfer window.

“I don’t think I have anything to prove. I have made 100 appearances for my national team. The fact that I’m not playing is not good for me and I’ve decided to leave in January.”