AC Milan won the draw for the final and opted to take on Liverpool in the white shirt for the UEFA Champions League final in Athens on 23 May.

The UEFA draw allowed Carlo Ancelotti's side to wear their traditional red and black shirt for the Champions League tie in Athens, but AC Milan insisted on wearing their away kit because they had lost to Liverpool in the final two years earlier.

That year's final was played in Istanbul and AC Milan were 3-0 up at the end of the first half, but they were held back by their opponents in the second half. The extra-time match was tied, and AC Milan lost on penalties and missed out on the title.

Of course, it is undeniable that AC Milan believe that the white jersey will bring them good luck as they have won the European Championship six times, four of which are in white. These four were victories over Benfica in 1963 and 1990, Steaua Bucharest in 1989 and Juventus in 2003.

Facing the upcoming UEFA Champions League final, Brazilian ace Pele has made his own predictions, believing that AC Milan with Kaka and Seedorf will crush Liverpool.

Pele believes that while Steven Gerrard's Liverpool will give AC Milan a tough stop, the Italian's technical superiority will give them the last laugh.

Pele said: "Kaka is improving and developing on a trajectory that has exceeded my expectations and when he's at his best, AC Milan are terrible. And he's at his best right now. ”

'For Liverpool, Kaka is hard to resist and it's not just Kaka that's scary. The cooperation and connection between him and Seedorf was very effective. Seedorf was quiet, but he provided balance, and he was able to suddenly make a good pass and have a lot of assists. ”

However, Pele believes that Liverpool will give AC Milan a greater resistance than Manchester United. 'For AC Milan, playing Liverpool would be completely different from Manchester United. Liverpool don't want to play pretty, they are physically strong and don't give too much space to their opponents. And then they fought back sharply. ”

Ultimately, Pele said he was optimistic about AC Milan winning the title. "But logically. AC Milan are favourites, they have the technical advantage, they have players who can bring a difference, and that will be decisive. ”

Two years ago. Pele has also expressed his optimism about AC Milan. But Liverpool made an incredible comeback in the second half to clinch the title, and hopefully Pele's prediction will come true this time.

Of course, if Liverpool can beat Milan on May 23 to lift the Champions League, it will be a pinnacle of Benitez's personal achievements: two European titles in three years, which many top coaches cannot hope to match. His players have praised Benitez as a "master tactician" and new owner Gillett has praised him as an "incalculable asset", but the team has always been uncompetitive in the league. Great or Failed? Perhaps Benitez needs more time to prove himself.

Reunited after 2 years. Milan remain the darlings of the media chase. Benitez laughed: "Six weeks ago, Liverpool could have been the favourite. But after Milan's big win over Manchester United, they gained more voice. I can understand why Alex Ferguson is backing Milan – his side lost to a great team – but we all think differently. I have to say Milan are more difficult to beat this time because the team is more balanced. It can be difficult for our defenders to defend, but it's a bit dangerous to talk about Kaka alone because the rest of the Milan players are very good. ”

Rafael Benitez's counter-attacking tactics have worked wonders in the two-legged European arena. But the game was not pretty, and Baldano said angrily: "Playing against a defensive team is like having sex with a tree!" Benitez responded: "I've known Baldano for 20 years and all he did was talk. What great football is a concept pulled up by critics and football speakers, what does it mean to play well? What I understand is to play well and win. ”

But Benitez's victory was only in the Champions Cup. On the domestic stage this season, Benitez has been a complete underdog. The league fell behind its opponents from the starting line, and two cup games were humiliated by Arsenal, which also provoked Mourinho to mock Liverpool as a "cup team" who would not play in the league before the Champions League semi-finals.

Mascherano retorted: "That's what people call Boca Juniors in Argentina because, like Liverpool, they have won a lot of cups. But I think it's unfair to call them "cup teams", and they've proven time and again that they're capable of winning all kinds of championships – including leagues. "But Benitez's Liverpool and league titles are still far away.

Two years ago in Istanbul, Rafael Benitez opened the show with a stupid trick. He surprisingly sent Colwill, who had no end in injury, instead of the in-form Smitchell to start. Glass Man left with an injury less than 30 minutes into the game, and Liverpool fans even booed when they were replaced. Two years later, Benitez will face the same dilemma: how to configure the wings?

After Oleio and Garcia were exempted due to injury, Benitez was short of options on the left. In the semi-final against Chelsea, he had to continue to use Zenden. However, the Dutchman fell behind in the battle with Ferreira, but fortunately Colwill returned from injury and came on as a substitute in the last two league games, and was voted the best by the official website in the final game. But with the lessons of Istanbul, will Benitez dare to use Covel?

Surprisingly, Cendon sprained his knee during a training camp in Spain, and it is doubtful whether he will be able to recover in time. But Benitez said: "Colwill did a good job in the 30 minutes with Charlton, but I'm going to keep watching. If Zenden can't recover, Benitez's other option is to push left-back Risse up front, with right-back Arbeloa switching to left-back, as he did against Barcelona, and Risse also scored a goal at Camp Nou. There is no doubt about Risse's attacking prowess, and two years ago, it was the Norwegian winger who fired a cross for Gerrard. What worries Benitez is the solidity of the left-back, who was intimidated by Traore two years ago. Traore was reckless in the opening minute and was broken by Maldini. Benitez, who is based on a clean sheet and then seeks to counter-attack. It is likely that strong troops will be stationed in the rear.

Milan, on the other hand, seems to be conceding for the Champions Cup. In this round of Serie A against Udinese, none of the 11 main players in the Milan Champions Cup final were included in the squad, and even Kaladze and Cafu were not on the second line.

With the prospect of challenging for the league title, all the bets were placed on the Champions League final, which can be explained by the 2-3 defeat at home to Udinese in the 37th round.

The penultimate round of Serie A began with AC Milan losing 3-2 at home to Udinese. The 41-year-old Costacuta scored a penalty. It ended his 22-year career with AC Milan and his second goal in Serie A. Gourcuff scored his first Serie A goal. Udinese is each scored by Gian, Di Natale and Barreto.

The atmosphere at the San Siro is relaxed, and the main players of AC Milan are all dressed casually. Talking and laughing on the sidelines, captain Maldini also brought his son with him, while Jonk sat in the stands to watch the game.

In order to prepare for the Champions Cup in four days' time, Carlo Ancelotti adopted a "Benitez-style rotation". Lined up with an all-bench lineup. And on the bench. With the exception of goalkeeper Fiori, all of them are youth players. Gilardino and Borriello made their first Serie A start, with Simic partnering Favali in central defence and Costa Costacuta, who made his last appearance for Milan, playing in midfield, all of whom wore the number 5 shirt as a sign of respect.

Although AC Milan lost 3-2 at home to Udinese, the outcome of the game was no longer important, with veteran Costacuta putting on his farewell match in front of tens of thousands of spectators at the San Siro. This is the main concern of journalists after the game, and it is also the one that Ancelotti talks about the most.

"It's a day that belongs to the Costa Kuta. He deserves this qiē. The retirement of a superstar is always emotional, but I'm very happy for him, it's a big celebration. Carlo Ancelotti said after the game.

Speaking about Costacuta's future, Carlo Ancelotti revealed: "Despite saying goodbye to his playing career, Costacuta will be with us and make a huge contribution, he will have the same great performance as a coach, I want him to stay on the coaching staff, his experience will help the players a lot next season, AC Milan are always good at taking advantage of these assets." ”

Costacuta took a penalty in the game to end his career, and Carlo Ancelotti smiled and said: "Penalty? He's the penalty taker we named today, he thought about it for a moment but he got the understanding that there's always something special when you're playing the last game of your career. ”

In this game, Di Gennaro and three other young players were given the opportunity to play for AC Milan, Ancelotti said: "AC Milan's youth team has had a great season and they didn't get what they deserved, but the players have grown, Galli has done a great job and today I gave the youngsters the opportunity to play and they deserve such a reward." ”

Turning to the Champions Cup, Carlo Ancelotti explained the current situation of the team: "The Champions League final is approaching, we are in good shape now, today we have a high quality training, the physical condition of the players is optimistic, now the pressure is gradually increasing, but we are able to deal with the pressure very well, it is normal to be a little nervous, to play in Athens in such a season is an extraordinary thing, we are all happy for it, our enthusiasm will be an extra motivation for us. ”

Speaking of Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti also answered reporters' questions: "How do I think about Liverpool's training camp in Spain? I guess they did it to get used to the hot weather. ”

Liverpool arrived at the San Javier Stadium in Murcia at 6pm sharp, and as soon as the players walked out of the departure hall, they were stunned by what they saw: the hall was packed with Spanish fans singing and dancing. This was confusing for Benitez and his players, as they had prepared for the trip to Murcia in full secrecy and did not release much information to the outside world.

It took a few seconds for Benitez to tell from the red and white scarves around the necks of the fans in the airport hall that they were local Sevilla fans from Murcia who had gathered to fly to Glasgow to watch the UEFA Cup final. 'It's a good thing it's the Sevilla fans, otherwise training would have been delayed this afternoon.' Benitis to his assistant Ochow. Torena said.

Liverpool were not subjected to much harassment at Murcia Airport. In one way, it reflects the indifference of the Spanish fans to their arrival, despite the fact that the team has a considerable number of Spanish players and the coach is also a Spaniard. This situation where no one pays attention. There are two reasons for this.

The meeting between Sevilla and Espanyol in the UEFA Cup final has attracted the attention of too many fans; On the other hand, the championship battle in La Liga is in full swing, and Spanish fans have no extra energy to pay attention to what happens to teams in other countries. The sight of Liverpool arriving at the Hyatt Regency was greeted by just 50 fans at the door: the vast majority of those waiting for Liverpool were Britons living in nearby holiday villas.

Liverpool's four days at the LaManga Club were spent in relative peace. LaManga Club is a fairly private clubhouse with security guards at the entrance and exit throughout the resort. Only the owners of the villa and guests of the hotel are allowed to enter. And the owners and guests here, most of them are British.

Spaniards, who have relatively low incomes, do not have the spending power of such high-class clubs. Moreover, the local Spaniards have always regarded the club as the land of the British. They had always been unhappy with the large number of villas bought by the British, and in their view the club was nothing more than an invasion by the British in pounds.

It is 70 km east from Murcia. Come to the easternmost peninsula of Iberia. It's LaManga, which is where Liverpudlian prepared for the Champions League final.

LaManga is Spanish soil, but from a small town a few kilometres away, the flags of the United Kingdom and the European Union begin to fly here. Walking to the door of the LaManga Club resort, the doorman's strong London accent makes people change time in a trance, and suddenly come to the British Peninsula.

In fact, this resort has three full-length 18-hole golf courses. Almost all of them were British property. The British, who rarely see the sun a few times a year, invest heavily in this sun-drenched Spanish land. And Hyatt Hotels Group has also seen the strong spending power of the British here. A five-star resort hotel was built. This is the hotel where the Liverpool team stayed during their stay in Murcia.

It was not for nothing that Benitez chose such a place, in fact, many of the top officials of the Liverpool Club have their own properties in the resort, and they have a long history of dealings with the top management of the Hyatt hotel. Benitez himself is a Spaniard, born in Madrid, and since he was a child, he has often spent holidays on the Mediterranean coasts of Valencia and Murcia.

When it came time to decide to take the team to the Mediterranean coast, Benitez had three options, but in the end he chose Murcia, the most important reason for which was that his strength and conditioning coach Victor. Salinas was born in the city of Carthage, not far from LaManga, so he knows the climate and conditions of LaManga very well.

Hyatt's LaManga Club Hotel, although not majestic, has all the hallmarks of a five-star hotel: a large spa, a luxurious open-air swimming pool, a full-size golf course, and even a natural soccer field.

Every winter, it receives football teams from cold countries such as Germany, England, and Sweden for winter training. In addition to the full-size course, the wave pool allows players to relax their muscles underwater, while the well-equipped equipment room provides the team with all the conditions they need for strength training. Liverpool can enjoy almost the same training conditions here as they did in England, but the weather and food here are unmatched by Liverpool. Benitez said: "I want my players to have a total relaxation of body and spirit at LaManga, and I believe this resort has provided us with what we need. ”

Compared with Liverpudlian's preparation, Milan is more still in China, but the media is starting to worry about the prize money after winning the championship, and it doesn't like the British team at all!

According to Sporting Italia, the UEFA Champions Cup will bring AC Milan 66 million euros, which will allow AC Milan to be comfortable in the summer transfer market, while Milan Sport lists Shevchenko, Eto'o and Ronaldinho as three names that Berlusconi has already committed. There will certainly be a shining name in the summer transfer market, but who is he?

It was Pasqualin who stood up to answer, the well-known Italian agent and expert in the transfer market who gave an interview yesterday to El Nacional. In particular, AC Milan's transfer market and demand have been analysed, and Pasquelin has more inside information than the media, and he will not hide it from the club's officials. In Pasquelin's opinion, the shining name is basically decided.

"AC Milan's big deal? In my opinion, the most likely is Shevchenko, although Chelsea are not necessarily happy to let him go. But the card in AC Milan's hand is Shevchenko's affection for AC Manchester United and Italian football, and through the persistence of the player himself, it is achievable. Pasquelin said.

What follows is Pasquelin's point of view. 'The form of the transfer is key, and I understand that if Chelsea can allow a loan, then the transfer can be done immediately,' said Pasqualin. But. Will Chelsea agree to a loan move for Shevchenko, who spent €45 million to bring in? Pascualin was optimistic, "Yes, a loan is possible. In Pasqualin's view, AC Milan do want Sheva back, but the Ukrainian has not been in good form this season and Chelsea will definitely lose a lot of money by selling Sheva now. Put Sheva on loan to AC Milan for a season, if there is a good table xiàn. Whether it's a move to AC Milan next season or a return to Chelsea after regaining confidence, it's better for Chelsea. Of course, in the case of a transfer, AC Milan will benefit enough to have the funds to get Sheva this season as long as they find a price that is acceptable to both parties.

Of course, there is also a trade model that everyone does not want to see, Jonker uses it in exchange for Shepchenko, which seems a bit funny and the two rotate back and forth between the owners, which seems impossible, but in fact, if Milan really want Shepchenko to return, this method is the most feasible.

Indeed, yesterday Sheva also congratulated AC Milan, who did not accept the ticket to the Champions League final offered by AC Milan in order to avoid suspicion, saying: "Maybe it would be better for me to go and see my old friends, but if that is the case, there will definitely be a lot of rumours about me in the London media." But I'm happy anyway, I'm happy to see my friends lift the trophy, I'm happy for their success in getting revenge on Istanbul, I've sent congratulatory texts to them all, I have a thousand reasons to be happy. ”

So is it possible for Gianluigi Buffon to join? Pasquelin is not optimistic: "That's the second point I want to make, Buffon was possible until yesterday, but after the final of Dida, I am convinced that in the end he will remain at AC Milan next season as the team's main goalkeeper, that's for sure." The assumption of Buffon's arrival could have actually come to an end after yesterday's game. ”

According to the Spanish media, Emerson is quite close to joining AC Milan, but Pasquelin believes that AC Milan actually have other options, "Obviously AC Milan will make a little move in midfield, and in my opinion, Donati's return is feasible, he has played well in Atalanta this season. Donati moved to AC Milan from Atalanta for €12 million in 2001 at the age of 21, but a season later, Donati began a loan spell with no place in the team, and last season at the familiar Bergamo, he finally regained his old feeling, and apparently his watch impressed AC Milan as well.

If neither Shevchenko nor Donati have to spend money, where will AC Milan invest in the summer?

"I think AC Milan will invest more in a young defender," Pasquelin said, revealing a name that AC Milan are interested in, "I have always believed that Zampata is the right person, he is very young, there is room for improvement, and he is now a reliable defender, he is a suitable investment." Of course, Pozzo's attitude is very important, and the club allows some 'veterans' such as Iaquinta, Muntari and Di Natale to transfer, but perhaps hopes that a young man like Zampata will keep another Sachi, but Zampata's own desire to transfer is very strong, and he hopes that his career can make a leap. I knew that AC Milan were interested in him, and he told me that I was confident that I would be a part of AC Milan, but of course, it would eventually be a matter of dealing with Udinese. (To be continued......)