Ancelotti confident AC can topple Inter

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is confident his team are ready to demolish their city rivals Inter in tomorrow’s Champions League semi-final first leg.

His reasoning is simple, Milan have total belief in themselves, a quality the former Milan player believes their rivals envy.

“The players are well and they have a two-fold advantage, they are prepared both mentally and technically,” he said.

“Our match will not be determined by who we will face, but by our desire to get to the finals. We believe and it is a great feeling that many would like.”

Ancelotti knows what it takes to win the Champions League having lifted the European Cup as a player with Milan in 1990.

The fact that his role as a coach is vastly different is something Ancelotti is well aware of, but he enjoys the greater responsibility.

“As a player I felt more emotional than responsible, because I was part of a group. Now I have to direct the group, I have to make choices and this is a greater sense of responsibility,” he added on Milan’s official website, www.acmilan.it.

Milan will welcome Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf back following a muscle injury.

He was on the bench for last weekend’s 2-0 win over Como, but is set to replace Italy international Massimo Ambrosini in the centre of midfield, where he will play alongside Ivan Gattuso, Christian Brocchi and Rui Costa.

Despite the signs favouring a Milan victory, Inter goalkeeper Francesco Toldo thinks it will be too close to call.

“It’s impossible to forecast this match,” Toldo told Inter’s website, www.inter.it.

“There will be tension, but it won’t condition the play. It’s a semi-final and both sides will want to play spectacular football, but without giving away too much.

“We’ll have to be determined, like we’ve already shown we can be. Lots of humility is needed to go far.”