Milan - Manchester United

Rooney has never experienced a defense like Milan's in his life. Let's be fair, Milan are a settled team, we are not.


Kin hell is Cafu on the juice or what? He's 36???

Fair play to Milan. I hope they win it now we're out. At least that will ease the pain a little.
 
Oh....... arse.

I hoped and I thought we may have had a chance, but at the end of the day all of our 1's and 2's didn't fall in the right place and they got a goal. didn't matter really, we didn't score. we had a few nearly's! But our most potent strikers weren't there when it mattered.

good game, that bastard kaku-minge! upset our whole squad!


I may take a sickie tomorrow. :(
 
We got problems on the flank, tonite there was totally no usage of either flank, saved for a few feeble ones from giggs.

the right side was just empty...whereas Cafu was strolling on the right flank at will.
 
Rentboys won on a cheat goal. Carvalho pulled the Barca keepers arm to hinder his attempted save. Thar's a storm brewing.
 
I couldn't see if United were playing, all I saw was players playing in white United kits, if that was Manchester United playing the spirit wasn't there.

I am sooooo hurt that it is so painful to even post.

I am taking a vacation from the forum, but will still participate in the Caf tipping comp.
 
I knew it at 7:30 pm last night that we were gonna lose. The stupid bitchin ass company that i subscribe to decided to take out the channel the game was supposed to be on eventhough i pay for all channels but apparently there was a new rule that know one knew about so i pay for all channels except that channel and if i want that channel i´m gonna have to pay an extra 15 quids for a channel that on average shows on match a month i don´t think so. I spent all the match wondering what the hell was going on cause i couldn´t get through to that frigging stupid channel! So the night was dead to me from there on...so i knew it wasn´t gonna be a good night.

Plus i blame that gooner jazz for jinxing us ;) I´m putting all my jinxing ability into destroying the gooners tonight *muah*

But how good was that second ronaldinho goal...shame about chelski i hope they break a leg or something ;)

and it´s always darkest before the dawn, can´t have a rainbow without a little rain, can´t have sweet without the sour and all that..
 
PAOLO BERLUSCONI: 'Plaudit to the English fans'
09/03/2005

MILAN - Paolo Berlusconi said: ’It was a beautiful game, very well played tactically as our coach has got us used to. A match offering good confirmations and new discoveries. I really wanted to see the real [Jaap] Stam, tonight he was impressive in defence. Our individuals all stood out, United's stars less, and this thanks to Milan who didn't concede anything. I mention one name above all: Rino Gattuso. Moreover, to see [Marcos] Cafu, who is not a young boy anymore, to press down indefatigably on the right flank to keep on attacking was really wonderful. They were denied by a woodwork, the same happened to us, and it was even more beautiful, and there was also a penalty appeal for us. However, it is fine like this. Their merit was the audience: at the end of the game the English fans applauded us, it was a good sensation.'
 
Keane: Misfiring Reds fell short.

ROY Keane has delivered a typically blunt assessment of another failed Manchester United Champions League campaign.

The Red Devils skipper could not have worked harder to inspire his team to victory over AC Milan.

But after a pair of Hernan Crespo match-winners shepherded United out of the competition at the first knock-out stage for the second season running, Keane, who it is looking increasingly likely will never have the chance to grace a European Cup final, was left nursing a deep sense of underachievement.

"The last 16 is no good to anybody is it?," he said.

"We live with the expectation. That is part and parcel of playing for a great club.

"Losing a game such as this is obviously disappointing for the manager, the staff and the players. But if you don't score in two games, you don't deserve to go through do you?"

It was a rhetorical question and required no reply. For once Keane, the epitome of the never-say-die attitude that has characterised Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, opted not to publicly lambast sections of his team.

There appeared to be no simmering sense of injustice under his mop of dark hair, more an uncomfortable acceptance that this United side just may not be good enough.

Truth

For the startling truth is not only did the Old Trafford outfit fail to score in a two-legged European tie for the first time since Borussia Dortmund knocked them out at the semi-final stage in 1997, in 180 minutes, they also failed to force Milan keeper Dida into a single meaningful save.

"There were 11 of us out there and we all have to look at each other," said Keane.

"We had a few half-chances and in a tight game you need to take them - we didn't, they did.

"It would have been nice to play better but the aspect which is more disappointing than not scoring the goals we wanted is that we didn't test their keeper a bit more.

"It is a fine line," added Keane. "In any top game you need to take your chances, which is what Crespo has done.

"These are the lessons we keep learning. We have some very good younger players at this club. They will be better for the experience next year."

At 33 there are not that many next years left for Keane, who does not class himself a European Cup winner because he was suspended for the victory over Bayern Munich even though he was awarded a medal, now discarded in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

So, though he has four triumphs to his name in the FA Cup already, he will be leading from the front as United attempt to secure a semi-final spot, and some of their lost pride, at St Mary's this weekend.

"We are straight into training again and we will look to bounce back from this. Showing character is what it is all about."
 
Comment: A lesson learned
Stuart Brennan

THERE can be no Geordie-style crying, no wailing or gnashing of teeth, just a simple acceptance that United were beaten by the better team.

An early exit from the Champions League is never satisfactory, especially for a club of the Reds' standing.

But last season's last-minute crash to Porto was far more painful, as it came against a team United should have beaten, and would have done but for a poor linesman's decision and Tim Howard's mistake.

That hurt was exacerbated by the fact that Porto went on to win the damned thing.

As for Milan, you just have to wish them luck - an excellent team and deserving winners.

But where do United go from here? The glib answer is St Mary's Stadium on Saturday for an FA Cup quarter-final.

Sir Alex Ferguson maintains that one trophy a season, any trophy, is a good return for a Premiership club.

But, as he watches Chelsea disappear over the horizon in the league and into the Champions League quarter-finals - with one cup already banked - he knows that even an FA Cup triumph will do little to fill the hollowness.

You can bet that he and Carlos Queiroz have already started their inquest, and are thinking of next season's CL campaign.

Ferguson talks about improving his team by small percentages every year, and that is really all that is needed.

They can learn a lesson in possession football, movement and technique from Milan, but for all the Rossoneri's dominance, there is not as much distance between the two sides as the two games would make you think.

The obvious improvement needed for next season comes between the sticks.

Rookie

This two-legged tie was lost when Roy Carroll allowed Clarence Seedorf's shot to bounce off his chest to Hernan Crespo's feet at Old Trafford a fortnight ago.

Howard should be afforded more time - he is still a rookie - but United clearly need someone else.

Critics have castigated Ferguson for not "buying a keeper" in the winter transfer window, as if he could pop down to JJB Sports and take one off the shelf.

But it has to be a Red priority in the summer, along with the perennial search for Roy Keane's successor in midfield.

Keane remains one of the best, if not the best, midfielder in the Premiership, but at San Siro he could no longer summon the demonic desire that carried United through the semi-final against Juventus in 1999.

There are plenty of problems to iron out, but few Reds would have surveyed the team Ferguson played in Italy without their mouths watering.

Ruud van Nistelrooy - clearly unfit - Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes make an attacking five to worry anyone, if they get the ball.

Yet the dominance of possession that Ferguson had promised after the first leg did not materialise. Too many players gave the ball away cheaply, with Mikael Silvestre and Gabriel Heinze particular culprits.

What an irony that a Frenchman and an Argentinian should manifest a bad trait that is so typically English when it comes to European football.

The plus points are that Rooney and Ronaldo, both very quiet on the night, will emerge from the gloom of San Siro as better players.

Milan must be hot tips to win the Champions League now.

There is no disgrace for United, just lessons to be learned and a goalkeeper to be sought.
 
United blow £10m windfall
Stuart Mathieson

MANCHESTER United blew a potential £10m European windfall again last night.

The 1-0 San Siro defeat and a second successive last 16 KO will hit the Old Trafford bank account and could impact on manager Sir Alex Ferguson's summer spending.

United have banked around £4m in UEFA prize money following their group stage successes, but crashing out in the first knockout phase has immediately denied them a definite £1.5m bonanza for taking part in the quarter-finals and a further £1.5m from gate receipts from an Old Trafford tie.

A £2m-plus pay cheque for making the semis has also gone, along with a near £3m if they'd reached the Istanbul final in May, and the possible extra £2m for winning the Champions League.

Another home full house £1.5m for the last four has been wiped from the potential income and the revenue from TV in UEFA's Market Pool has been thrown away.

Last season's winners Porto, who knocked the Reds out in the last 16 a year ago, picked up prize money worth around £8m in the latter stages after their success over Ferguson's side.

Blow

Because of England's TV audience pulling power, United still banked a bigger cheque at the end of the competition than Porto, but a second successive financial blow in the Champions League will be worrying the Reds hierarchy, who are on the brink of facing a takeover bid from American tycoon Malcolm Glazer.

The club do not budget on European Cup final success but chief executive David Gill has warned that if early knockouts happened year after year, then the Reds would have to reassess their plans.

Having sanctioned the purchase of Wayne Rooney last August, when Fergie was said to have blown his 2005 kitty on the England striker, clearly any plans the boss has to re-establish the Reds among Europe's elite in the summer transfer market are going to be hit.
 
Ruud: Reds on learning curve
Paul Handler

RUUD van Nistelrooy insists United's youngsters will have learned a valuable lesson from their heart-breaking San Siro defeat.

The Dutch striker lacked his usual sharpness on Tuesday, while Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Quinton Fortune were also guilty of missing chances over the two legs against AC Milan.

However, Van Nistelrooy believes the current crop of United youngsters have enough quality to succeed in European competition.

"If we had scored first through Giggsy's chance or my chance then it would have been a different game definitely," he told United's official site. "But overall I think we did play well and gave everything. I think it wasn't meant to be.

"The result was very disappointing. To come here at 1-0 down was a hard one to take but I think we gave everything we had. Unfortunately they scored the first one and really made it difficult for us.

"We have a younger side than Milan. I think the experience they have was an advantage for them, and the decisive moments showed that. For us now, we learned and the younger lads got great experience and we can go on and build on this I think.

"We showed we're not far off and there's a few things to improve and that's what we want to achieve."
 
Fergie: Ruud lacked sharpness

SIR Alex Ferguson is convinced Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Achilles injury cost Manchester United their chance of knocking AC Milan out of the Champions League.

The prolific Dutch striker is clearly still short of match fitness on the evidence of his below-par display at the San Siro as United went tumbling out of the Champions League at the first knockout stage.

Though he battled hard, van Nistelrooy failed in his efforts to add another goal to his incredible Red Devils’ European tally of 36, screwing his two best chances well wide.

After three months on the sidelines, it is bound to take the 27-year-old time to get back in the old groove and Ferguson acknowledged a fully-fit van Nistelrooy might have turned the tie in United’s favour.

“There is a fine line between winning and losing matches such as these and there is no doubt if we had been able to get more games into Ruud van Nistelrooy, we would have been in a better position,” said Ferguson.

“My hope was that we would score the goal that changed the game.

“We had three outstanding chances, two of which fell to Ruud. Obviously, he is a player who would normally take them.

“But on the night, when it was really important, maybe that lack of sharpness cost him.”
 
Ferguson praise for evergreen duo

SIR Alex Ferguson has admitted he was left stunned by AC Milan's evergreen defensive duo Cafu and Paolo Maldini.

Brazilian full-back Cafu covered an incredible amount of ground down the right flank at the San Siro and set up Hernan Crespo for the Rossoneri's goal.

On the other side, Maldini put in a typically solid performance to keep Cristiano Ronaldo quiet - a remarkable feat when you consider the Italian was playing for Milan before Ronaldo was born.

Ferguson said: “Cafu’s performance was important - he must have two hearts the way he keeps going.

“And if Maldini carries on for another four or five years I think I will quit.”

Ferguson had already stated in the pre-match build-up that he believed the winners of this tie could go on to lift the trophy in Istanbul on May 25 - and nothing which happened tonight has dissuaded him from that opinion.

The Scot added: “Yes, I think they are good enough to win the competition - what they have is something special.

“We play a lot of European teams on their own grounds and have to tolerate a lot of histrionics.

“We didn’t get any of that from Milan. They conducted themselves in an impeccable manner.

“That is what makes them a little bit special. They can definitely win the Champions’ League this season.”
 
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