Champions League, Manchester United 3-2 Ac Milan

Rooney trumps Kaka to give United edge

Wayne Rooney brilliantly trumped AC Milan's Brazilian star Kaka to fire Manchester United to an exhilarating 3-2 victory in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final here on Tuesday.

The victory was all the more remarkable given the hosts were outplayed at times by a mesmeric Milan outfit, who bounced back in superb style from Ronaldo's fourth-minute opener and were never likely to be the powderpuff opposition Roma provided in the last round.

Brazilian striker Kaka looked to have put Milan firmly in the box seat as he first cancelled out Ronaldo's opener and then fired the visitors into the lead before half time. Rooney restored parity just ahead of the hour mark, before sending the majority of the 73,000 fans crammed into the stadium into raptures with a wonderful solo goal with seconds remaining. It was not quite as majestic a performance as two weeks ago, when United trounced Roma 7-1, but no less satisfying; rather than the free-scoring fluid football witnessed on that magnificent evening a fortnight ago, this victory was steeped in courage, grit and determination.

As is their want when faced with Italian opposition at Old Trafford, United took an early lead and there was little surprise as to the identity of the scorer and after much UEFA deliberation, Ronaldo was credited with the opener after just six minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo used all of his height to rise and meet Ryan Giggs' corner with a header that hit Dida's shoulder, sending the ball looping goalwards. Dida tried to get back, but only succeeded in nudging it over the line under pressure from Gabriel Heinze.

Kaka confirmed that was a one-off with the first of his two strikes on 19 minutes. It was a brilliant goal and one that embodied all that is good about the silky Brazilian - not only did he show his abundant pace and skill, but he also displayed his coolness in front of goal, bursting onto Clarence Seedorf's through ball to leave both Michael Carrick and Heinze for dead, before slotting across Edwin van der Sar.

Kaka was undoubtedly the star of the show in the opening 45 minutes, and his second gave Milan the lead going in at the break, although this time he was gifted a shooting opportunity, when Heinze and Patrice Evra collided on the edge of the box. Kaka simply strode forward and confidently slotted home. At 2-1 up, Milan threatened to swamp United as their retention of possession and passing began to highlight just why they are such a force to be reckoned with in Europe.

United never gave up hope, and Rooney's 59th minute strike against the run of play kept alive their interest in this tie. The England striker finished well, but it was all about Paul Scholes' scooped pass through, which baffled the Milan defence and played his team-mate in on goal. Dida did his best to make the save, but the ball looped over the line to set up the stage for Rooney's winner. Giggs was the provider, lacing a pass through for Rooney to run onto and take on a first time shot. The surprise and accuracy of his effort caught out Dida at his near post and gave United a slight advantage ahead of next week's trip to Italy.

Manchester United's second half performance had possibly deserved the victory, and after the equaliser, the hosts poured forward in search of a winner. Fletcher came close on 63 minutes only to see Dida pull a flying save right out of the top drawer, before Giggs flashed a free kick inches wide of the post and Ronaldo hit the side netting.

For Milan, Kaka posed a constant threat, while Alberto Gilardino toiled up front on his own to no avail. Coach Carlo Ancelotti's main striker in Europe has struggled all season and on this evidence, is some way off discovering his form. More worrying news for coach Carlo Ancelotti was that Paolo Maldini and Gennaro Gattuso had to be substituted, and both players will now face a race against time to be fit for the second leg in eight day's time.

Manchester United: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Smith, Solskjaer, Dong, Richardson, Eagles, Lee.

Booked: Evra, Giggs.

Goals: Ronaldo 6, Rooney 59, 90.

AC Milan: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Maldini (Bonera 46), Jankulovski, Gattuso (Brocchi 52), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Gilardino (Gourcuff 84).
Subs Not Used: Kalac, Cafu, Inzaghi, Favalli.

Booked: Kaka, Bonera.

Goals: Kaka 22, 37.

Champions League, Manchester United 3-2 AC Milan extended highlights:

Champions League, Bayern Munich 0-2 AC Milan (agg 2-4)

Milan strikes eliminate Bayern Munich

Experience told as clinical AC Milan scored twice in the space of four first-half minutes to claim an impressive 4-2 aggregate victory over FC Bayern München, and a semi-final against Manchester United FC.

A four-minute burst done the damage on the half hour mark, and Ottmar Hitzfeld's side never really recovered despite pushing the Rossoneri in the second half.

Seedorf scored in the 27th minute when he received a pass on the edge of the Bayern area from Kaka and showed great footwork to neatly take the ball past two challenges and shoot between Daniel Van Buyten's legs into the bottom right-hand corner.

The Dutchman - the only player to have won the Champions League three times with as many clubs - then turned provider as he flicked on an Andrea Pirlo pass to free Inzaghi through the middle. The Italian did what he does best against Bayern and fired his sixth goal in five appearances against the Germans in the competition past a helpless Kahn! There was a hint of offside about the goal, but it was marginal and did not take away from the confidence with which Inzaghi hammered the ball home, especially following his earlier lack of composure on the ball.

Up to that point proceedings had been rather cagey, Bayern going closest to opening the scoring after eight minutes through Christian Lell. A Mark Van Bommel ball to the far post was driven into the ground by the 22-year-old and the shot had Dida beaten.

Massimo Oddo was well-positioned on the line to clear and Inzaghi then spurned a glorious opportunity to open the scoring at the other end. A Paolo Maldini dink over the top was miscontrolled in a situation that has so often seen the Milanese striker take a touch and finish with aplomb.

Lukas Podolski had a shot saved at close range by Dida, and Inzaghi fluffed a header after a good frist-time cross from Marek Jankulovski before the flurry of action on the half hour mark produced Milan's goals.

With Bayern dazed following their Italian opponents mercenary streak, Podolski had the only remaining chance of the half as he failed to get a toe on a tantalising free-kick into the goalmouth, and it remained 2-0 to the visitors going into half time. Bayern pushed Milan in the second half, and the impressive Lell almost created a goal for Hasan Salihamidzic ten minutes after the restart when he curled a delightful ball to the far post that Oddo managed to turn behind.

Van Bommel tested Dida with some fierce shots and the Dutch midfielder, alongside Lell, was the most impressive of the Bayern players in his application and determination. Milan defended resolutely to keep the home side out though, and Claudio Pizarro headed straight at Milan 'keeper Dida with ten minutes remaining in what was one of their better chances of the half.

Van Bommel had yet another shot tipped around the post as full time approached, but Bayern lacked the thrust that was required to really push Milan to the limit and time eventually ran out for the German side.

Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld:
"It's a very big disappointment.

"We got a 2-2 draw in Milan and we had great hope that we would advance. But we always knew that Milan can win away from home.

"We were unlucky not to score first. It may have been different then.

"They got a lot of confidence from those two goals and they have great players. We tried everything and we went out fighting, but Milan was clearly the better team."

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf:
"I am delighted we have qualified and even more so that I scored.

"We have taken a step towards the final but Manchester United know us well."

Bayern Munich: Kahn, Salihamidzic, Lucio, Van Buyten, Lahm, Ottl (Santa Cruz 46), Hargreaves, Van Bommel, Lell (Gorlitz 77), Makaay (Pizarro 61), Podolski.
Subs Not Used: Rensing, Karimi, Ismael.

Booked: Van Bommel, Salihamidzic.

AC Milan: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Maldini, Jankulovski, Gattuso (Cafu 87), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf (Gourcuff 80), Kaka, Inzaghi (Serginho 70).
Subs Not Used: Kalac, Kaladze, Oliveira, Bonera.

Goals: Seedorf 27, Inzaghi 31.

Bayern Munich 0-2 AC Milan extended highlights:

Champions league, AC Milan 2-2 Bayern Munich

Justice done as Van Buyten puts Bayern in the driving seat

Daniel van Buyten did not cause much of a stir in Manchester during his five appearances for City three years ago. Then he was on loan from Marseille and searching for career direction; now he is a big-money purchase for Bayern Munich and the robust Belgian justified several down payments with not one but two late equalisers here last night. Van Buyten's second, over three minutes into injury-time, gives Bayern away-goals advantage in the second leg next week and took some of the glare off the Russian referee, Yuri Baskakov, whose 84th-minute penalty award to Milan infuriated the Germans!

AC Milan had appeared to be on their way to a controversial win when Kaka had tucked away a highly dubious penalty in the 84th minute, awarded after he had gone down in the box after a sliding tackle from Lucio. Replays clearly showed Lucio making contact with the ball rather than Kaka, his Brazil international team-mate, but Russian referee Yuri Baskakov pointed straight to the spot.

The first shot on goal arrived in the 14th minute when Ambrosini headed towards goal following a corner kick, but Rensing parried the shot and saved his goal. Bayern's only chances were coming from long-distance shots and the best goal-scoring opportunity arrived in the 23rd minute when Ottl's powerful strike from 21 metres was well saved by Dida.

Still, Milan were in total control of the match and could have opened the score in the 36th minute when Oddo ran on the right hand side and crossed towards the middle, but Gilardino's close-range header was superbly saved by Rensing, who proved once again that he is a worthy substitute of Oliver Kahn.

Milan deserved to be ahead, and even Rensing's defiance was powerless to stop them finally taking the lead after 40 minutes. Oddo's cross found Pirlo at the far post, and his header looped beyond Rensing.

Gilardino had a perfectly good goal ruled out soon after the break, the linesman wrongly flagging for offside after the much-maligned Milan striker had clipped the ball over Rensing after running onto Kaka's pass.

Van Buyten levelled against the run of play when the Milan defence had failed to clear Hasan Salihamidzic's cross.

Kaka restored Milan's lead, slotting home from the penalty spot after Lucio had been harshly penalised. But Van Buyten had the last laugh, capitalising on some poor Milan defending to equalise with the last touch of the game.

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti:
"The team deserved to win for what it did. Bayern has a better chance of qualifying now but I think we were the better team. We need to regroup.

"However, we can draw strength from our performance tonight."

Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld:
"It was a really great match, full of emotion and surprises. We deserved the draw given the way we fought until the very end.

"Milan was definitely the better team in the first half and Rensing was truly excellent. So, we're very grateful to him."

AC Milan: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Maldini, Jankulovski (Kaladze 87), Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf (Gourcuff 85), Kaka, Gilardino (Inzaghi 71).
Subs Not Used: Kalac, Cafu, Bonera, Brocchi.

Booked: Gilardino.

Goals: Pirlo 40, Kaka 84 pen.

Bayern Munich: Rensing, Sagnol (Lell 67), Lucio, Van Buyten, Lahm, Salihamidzic, Hargreaves, Ottl, Schweinsteiger, Makaay (Santa Cruz 86), Podolski (Pizarro 68).
Subs Not Used: Dreher, Scholl, Gorlitz, Demichelis.

Booked: Salihamidzic, Van Buyten.

Goals: Van Buyten 78, 90.

Champions league, Milan 2-2 Bayern munich highlights and goals:

Serie A, Inter Milan 2-1 AC Milan

Inter fight back to win Milan derby

Inter Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner as Inter Milan bounced back from their disappointing exit from Europe in midweek with a narrow triumph over city rivals AC Milan on Sunday in the derby match.



Ibrahimovic struck with 15 minutes remaining to give the Serie A leaders a deserved victory in a thrilling encounter at a sold-out Giuseppe Meazza stadium. Substitute Julio Cruz had levelled the score shortly after the re-start to cancel out Ronaldo's first-half strike against his former club.




Inter Milan showed plenty of character after their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Valencia, to keep their unbeaten run in Serie A. Coach Roberto Mancini's decision to replace Crespo with Cruz proved a wise move by the coach, as the latter struck seconds after entering the game.



Crespo was first to test Dida with his central strike proving an easy catch for the AC Milan goalkeeper. The Rossoneri then pressed forward and Andrea Pirlo sent a warning to Inter with his curled free-kick going just wide off the near post. Mancini was forced to make his first substitution shortly after, with Maxwell replacing an injured Fabio Grosso. Midway through the first half, Pirlo's right-footed effort forced Julio Cesar to palm over the crossbar for a corner.



Marek Jankulovski had a lucky escape after his clearance inside his own area proved an assist for Crespo, who fired wide off the far post. On the half hour mark, Inter should have been awarded a penalty after Daniele Bonera brought down Ibrahimovic inside the area but the referee surprisingly booked the Nerazzurri striker for diving and played on.


Inter increased the tempo and looked more threatening from then on. The hosts twice had the opportunity to break the deadlock. Crespo's close-range header from Nicolas Burdisso's cross went just wide off the far post.



In the 38th minute, a fantastic play by Luis Figo saw the Portuguese get past two players before firing towards the far post but Crespo was unable to get the all-important touch. Just when Inter were playing at their best Milan struck.

Ronaldo got past Maxwell before firing a left-footed strike towards the far post with goalkeeper Julio Cesar unable to reach it.



Mancini made a half-time substitution with Walter Samuel replacing Olivier Dacourt. Inter picked up where they left off and should have equalised shorlty after the break, with Ibrahimovic's close-range strike forcing Dida to dive low to clear. Milan were quite happy to sit on their lead and wait to hit Inter in the counter attack.



They should have done just that on 53 minutes, with Gennaro Gattuso missing a great chance to double his team's lead, with his angled strike narrowly missing the far post. It proved costly for the Rossoneri, as Inter equalised seconds later.



A cross from the left by Ibrahimovic found Cruz inside the box whose first touch was sufficient to beat Dida. Cruz almost struck his second shortly after, with a classy back-heel touch going inches wide over the crossbar.

AC Milan attempted to react, with Pirlo's central free-kick proved an easy catch for Julio Cesar, but it was Inter who looked more deadly. A defensive mistake to fire past Dida and give his team a lead. The goal proved a hammer blow for the Rossoneri.



Coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to bring in Alberto Gilardino and Yoann Gourcuff failed to spark the Rossoneri as they conceded their first defeat of the year at the hands of their arch-rivals.



INTER Milan (2): 12 Julio César, 23 M Materazzi, 11 F Grosso (6 Maxwell), 4 J Zanetti, 2 I Cordoba, 16 N Burdisso, 5 D Stankovic, 7 L Figo, 15 O Dacourt (25 W Samuel), 8 Z Ibrahimovic and 18 H Crespo (9 J Cruz)


Subs: 21 S Solari, 6 Maxwell, 91 M Gonzalez, 20 A Recoba and 1 F Toldo

AC MILAN (1): 1 N Dida, 3 P Maldini, 25 D Bonera, 44 M Oddo (2 M Cafu), 18 M Jankulovski, 10 C Seedorf, 23 M Ambrosini, 22 R Kakà, 8 I Gattuso, 21 A Pirlo and 99 L Ronaldo

Subs: 20 Y Gourcuff, 11 A Gilardino, 17 D Simic, 7 R Oliveira, 32 C Brocchi, 16 Z Kalac

Serie A Inter Milan 2-1 AC Milan highlights and goals:

UEFA Chmapions League draw result

Quarter Finals will be played on 03/04 and 10/11 of April:

AC Milan Vs. Bayern Munich

PSV Vs. Liverpool

Roma Vs. Manchester United

Cheslea Vs. Valenica

Champions League, Milan 1-0 Celtic

Brave Celtic edged out by AC Milan

AC Milan advanced to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the sixth consecutive season but they needed extra time to secure a 1-0 victory over Celtic FC at San Siro.

AC Milan's starting line-up included seven of the team that played in the 2003 Champions League final in which they beat Italian rivals Juventus on penalties. Milan came close to taking the lead in the fourth minute when Clarence Seedorf fed Kaka in space, but KAKA's curling right-footed shot was clawed away by Boruc's fingertips.

Undeterred, Celtic came forward and had a penalty appeal turned down when Jiří Jarošík's angled strike came off Maldini in the area. Kaká was the key figure, though, and he put Marek Jankulovski through with a perfectly-timed pass which the midfielder cut back for Filippo Inzaghi at the near post, only for McManus to make a vital block. Milan's next move required another such intervention, as Inzaghi shaped to despatch Seedorf's cross but was denied by Lee Naylor.
Celtic advanced in search of an away goal yet were almost made to pay when Shunsuke Nakamura lost possession outside the Rossoneri box. The hosts broke in a flash, Jankulovski releasing Kaká down the left though the latter drove wide. Kaká was relishing his supporting role behind Inzaghi and was at the hub of everything Milan created, even conjuring a shot on goal from a prone position which was foiled by another goalline clearance on 37 minutes.

AC Milan still dominated possession with Andrea Pirlo, Seedorf and Kaká weaving numerous intricate exchanges, although Celtic continued to hold firm with Boruc making comfortable stops from Pirlo and Massimo Oddo. Carlo Ancelotti's men spurned a great chance when Maldini's header was saved and he slipped at the crucial moment as the ball fell into his path with the goalkeeper prostrate. In a frenetic finale, Boruc brilliantly clawed a Seedorf free-kick away from the top corner, before Kaká's long-range strike rebounded off the bar.


AC Milan, who had 25 goal attempts in the 90 minutes, finally found a way through when Kaka drove at a backpedalling Celtic defence and coolly finished.



Carlo Ancelotti, Milan coach
We won playing with simplicity and maturity but also by taking a few risks as our defenders, especially the full-backs, were pushing forward for most of the game. In the latter stages of the match we attacked with eleven players, probably risking too much. But the chances we created during that period gave us more confidence for extra time. Kaká is a great player and I don't take it as a bad thing when people say we are dependent on his performances. Milan always play their own way, no matter who the opponents are. Our philosophy is always the same - try to win every game. I don't think we are favourites to win the Champions League, but a few teams who were considered favourites are out of the tournament. If I had to choose one team I would like to face in the quarter-finals, I would say Liverpool.



Gordon Strachan, Celtic manager
Milan had more technique, but we had more determination. We have to improve the technical aspects of our game but I'm really proud with what my team has done. We gave our very best and only the goal was missing. We were fantastic from both an attacking and a defensive point of view. We have a lot of young players and this is a fantastic experience for us that will be extremely useful for the future. If we improve technically we can become tough opponents for anybody. I feared Milan would score in the latter stages of the 90 minutes when they pushed forward, forcing us to defend in the box. However, we believed until the end we could have scored.

AC Milan: Dida, Oddo (Simic 116), Bonera, Maldini, Jankulovski, Gattuso (Brocchi 79), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi (Gilardino 73). Subs Not Used: Kalac, Favalli, Gourcuff, Oliveira.

Booked: Ambrosini.

Goal: Kaka 93.

Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, McManus, O'Dea, Naylor, Nakamura (Miller 106), Lennon, Sno (Beattie 97), McGeady, Jarosik (Gravesen 62), Vennegoor of Hesselink. Subs Not Used: Brown, Wilson, Kennedy, Riordan.

Booked: McManus, Naylor, McGeady, Lennon.

Champions league Ac Milan 1-0 Celtic, highlights and goals video:

Champions league, second day results

Milan 1-0 Celtic

Arsenal 1-1 PSV

Manchester United 1-0 Lille

Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid

Full reports and videos will be added tonight!

Uefa Champions league, first knockout round, second leg

Uefa Champions league, first knockout round, second leg schedule.

Matchday 8 - Tuesday, 06 March:

Lyon 20:45 Roma
Liverpool 20:45 Barcelona
Chelsea 20:45 Porto
Valencia 20:45 Inter Milan

Matchday 8 - Wednesday, 07 March:

Milan 20:45 Celtic
Arsenal 20:45 PSV
Manchester United 20:45 Lille
Bayern Munich 20:45 Real Madrid

For the Cmapions league Full coverage please click here
First day matches reports and videos are now available click here now!

Ronaldo takes flight with AC Milan

Ronaldo may not have UEFA Champions League football to look forward to this week but the Brazil striker will be a contented man today after getting his AC Milan career off to a flier.

Madrid move
Ronaldo joined AC Milan for €7.5m from Real Madrid last month, with some believing the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year to be past his best. While the move meant he would no longer be eligible for this season's edition of Europe's élite club competition, he was eager for the challenge of helping Milan break into the Serie A top four before the end of the campaign.

Timely interventions
After a substitute appearance in last week's 2-1 win at AS Livorno Calcio, Ronaldo had a hand in three of his new club's goals at AC Siena. First his header made it 1-0, but Siena quickly equalised. His pass then set up Ricardo Oliveira to restore the Rossoneri's lead before another leveller from the home side. Ronaldo then tapped in to make it 3-2 before a third Siena goal looked like ensuring a draw, only for Massimo Ambrosini to edge an enthralling game 4-3 at the death.

Fantastic day'
Ronaldo, who has taken the Number 99 shirt at Milan, could be forgiven for not playing a part in the decisive goal as his exertions had left him severely hampered by cramp. "I gave everything I had," he said. "I was cramping up all over the place, but I managed to finish the game. I missed a good chance to score in the first half. In general I don't make those kinds of mistakes, but I'm really happy for the win. It was a fantastic day, but we can't afford to concede so many."

UEFA Champions League, First knockout round schedule.

First knockout round matches that will be played on 20/2/2007 - Match kick-offs are listed in CET:

Celtic VS. A.C Milan, 20:45
PSV VS. Arsenal, 20:45
Lille VS. Manchester united, 20:45
Real Madrid VS. Bayern Munich, 20:45

First knockout round matches that will be played on 21/2/2007 - Match kick-offs are listed in CET:

Roma VS. Lyon, 20:45
Barcelona VS. Liverpool, 20:45
Porto Vs. Chelsea, 20:45
Inter Milan VS. Valencia, 20:45

Full reports and matches' highlights:

PSV VS. Arsenal
Lille VS. Manchester united
Real Madrid VS. Bayern Munich
Inter Milan VS. Valencia
Porto Vs. Chelsea
Barcelona VS. Liverpool

Second leg Schedule

Ronaldo set to seal his move from Madrid to Milan today

Milan's coach, Carlo Ancelotti, expects Ronaldo's transfer from Real Madrid to be completed today, Ronaldo had a medical on Friday and Milan's vice president Adriano Galliani is in Madrid to tie up a deal for an undisclosed amount.

"He is a great player, he brings a lot of enthusiasm to the team," Ancelotti said. Ronaldo will join a team who have found some form and won their fourth game in five when Filippo Inzaghi scored in a 1-0 victory over Parma yesterday.
Milan are ninth, but with only three points separating them from Lazio and Catania in fourth they are close to a Champions League place.

Barcelona 'Free' Belletti For Four Year Milan Deal;

Barcelona will hand Juliano Belletti a letter of freedom, armed with which, the Brazilian will sign a four year deal with Milan. Belletti was set to leave the Nou Camp last summer, but his Champions League winner prompted Barcelona to hang on to him.

Belletti has seen little action this season following the arrival of Zambrotta, and AC Milan's interest had him in two minds. He had another 18 months to run on his contract, but reports coming out of Barcelona suggest that his agent has negotiated a four-year deal with Milan, and that the Catalans will hand him a letter of freedom, thus allowing him to move to Serie A this month.

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born April 22, 1982 in Brasília, Brazil), simply known as Kaká, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Brazil and the Serie A club A.C. Milan.
He got his nickname "Kaká" because his little brother Rodrigo could not pronounce the word Ricardo when they were young. Rodrigo called his older brother "Caca" which Ricardo later changed to "Kaká".

Ricky risked his life by badly jumping off a diving-board which caused him the fracture of a vertebra. This could have meant the end of his football career but he believes Jesus allowed him to recover and become the star footballer he now is. For this reason, every time he scores he points his fingers to the sky as a sign of thanks.

Club Career:

Kaká made his debut at Sao Paolo FC. in 2001 when he was 18 years old. In the first season, he scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, and 10 goals in 22 appearances in the following season. At the age of 17, while he was still still at the youth squad, Sao Paulo was set to sell Kaká to Turkish 1st division side Gaziantespor. The deal did not occur, however, because the manager of Gaziantespor, Nurullah Sağlam, and the clubs board refused to pay a price of $1.5m for the 17 year old. After joining Sao Paolo FC senior squad, his performance attracted attention from European clubs.

He joined AC Milan in 2003 for US $8.5 m, a fee described in hind-sight as "peanuts" by club owner. Within a month, he became a first team regular, an he has been a starter ever since.

On April 9, 2006, he scored his first Rossoneri hat-trick against Chievo Verona. All three goals were scored in the second half.
In 2006, Real Madrid showed an interest in signing the 24 year old star, but both Milan and Kaká refused to sell. Kaká signed a contract extension until 2011.

Watch a compilation of Kaká's best goals with Ac Milan and the Brazilian national team:

One of the world's most lethal marksman, Hernán Crespo is deceptively quick and skilful and has been a regular goalscorer everywhere he has played.

A protégé of Daniel Passarella at CA River Plate, Crespo won two national championships in Argentina as well as a Copa Libertadores in 1996 before joining Parma AC, where he won the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia in 1998/99 and another Italian Cup the following season. S.S. Lazio paid a then world record €60m to acquire Crespo, who finished the 2000/01 season as Serie A's top scorer with 26 goals. FC Internazionale Milano handed over €20m, plus Bernardo Corradi, to secure his services in summer 2002, but after an explosive start with the Nerazzurri a thigh injury halted his progress. Crespo joined Chelsea FC for €24.25m in 2003 but was unable to settle in London, scoring ten times in 19 Premiership appearances. He returned to Italy on a year-long loan at AC Milan, to be reunited with his former Parma coach Carlo Ancelotti, but the season ended in the disappointment of a UEFA Champions League final defeat against Liverpool despite Crespo's two goals. He returned to Chelsea refreshed for 2005/06 and scored their opening goal of the Premiership season, adding nine more as they retained their English crown. However, Crespo still wished to return to Italy and rejoined Inter on a two-year contract, with Chelsea retaining the right to take him back next summer.

Now watch Crespo's magic!!

On the contrary of filthy Materazzi, Paolo Maldini is a brilliant defender... he's got a unique CLEAN defending style.
Maldini is an Example of how a football defender and a team captain should be.
Maldini, I Love U!

The famous and unforgotable Champions league final of 2004-2005 season, I never get bored when I watch this match between AC Milan & Liverpool.

I'm a Milan fan, but Liverpool players showed what they were made of at the second half and they deserved the cup.