and I hope the boys do as well | Forum
miaowang123
Oct 29 '17
MILAN - Seven-time winner AC Milan is in the unfamiliar position of being the overwhelming underdog when it hosts Atletico Madrid in the first leg of its Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday. Dontrelle Inman Jersey . Atleticos best finish in the competition is runner-up 40 years ago but it is top of the Spanish league along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, and qualified from its group with an almost perfect record — slipping in a 1-1 draw at Zenit St. Petersburg. Milan is going through another transitional year and is under the guidance of inexperienced coach Clarence Seedorf. The Italian team is further hampered by injuries and suspensions. Despite its difficulties, Milan is the only Italian team to progress to the knockout stages. Can it pull off a shock? Here are five things to know about the match: KAKA CONCERN: Talismanic AC Milan playmaker Kaka expects to be fully fit in time. Kaka recovered from the flu to play in Fridays 1-0 victory over Bologna but had to be replaced 10 minutes from time after injuring his right ankle. The Brazilian returned to training on Monday. "After Fridays win, were confident and ready for Wednesday," said Kaka, who scored against Celtic in the group stage. AC Milan is without Sulley Muntari and captain Riccardo Montolivo, who are both suspended, and Stephan El Shaarawy, Valter Birsa, Robinho and Bryan Cristante, who are all injured. Cristian Zapata is also doubtful with injury. New signing Keisuke Honda is cup tied, having played in the Champions League this season for CSKA Moscow. MILAN MISERY: AC Milan looks to the Champions League as a welcome distraction from its domestic woes. Milan lies ninth in the Serie A after the exact same number of wins, draws and defeats — eight. Its mediocre form got coach Massimiliano Allegri sacked at the beginning of the year, and former player Clarence Seedorf replaced him. It is the 37-year-olds first managerial experience. However, Seedorf knows the tournament better than most. The Dutchman lifted the trophy the last time Milan won the competition, in 2007, and is the only player to have won the league with three different clubs — Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan twice. "They are favourites in every area, but the Champions League is something different," Seedorf said. "I am confident but it will be difficult. We need to have a very great game. "The 2007 Champions League represents the characteristics of this tournament. You can give so much more if you are all together. That year we werent at the highest level, but we changed in the Champions League. We have to do so again now." SAN SIRO STAGEFRIGHT? Atletico will be relieved goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will play after a recent dip while the Belgium goalie was sidelined by injury. Courtois has been instrumental in helping Atletico share the lead in the Spanish league and for finishing the league group stage undefeated. The first leg away will not daunt Atletico, their goalkeeper insists. "We wont be intimidated by (the San Siro). Weve already managed good results at difficult stadiums such as Sevilla, or Bilbao," Courtois said. "We also went into the group stage with little experience and succeeded. If we maintain the same intensity as we have in the league all season we shouldnt have any problems." Courtois expects his teammates to keep Mario Balotelli from breaking out: "Im not sure how well defend against him, Im sure the coach knows, however." ATLETICOS TWO DIEGOS: While David Villa has returned from injury to be available, Atletico will be leaning on a pair of Brazilian Diegos at San Siro. Striker Diego Costa and midfielder Diego Ribas are expected to be key players. Diego Costa recovered his scoring touch in a 3-0 win over Valladolid on Saturday, while Diego Ribas is showing the form of two seasons ago when he helped Atletico win the Europa League. "I like important games like this. Atletico is a big club and we should be playing these types of games," Diego Costa said. "They certainly motivate you, so going to play at the San Siro will be memorable. We can get a result there." SIMEONES MILAN LINK: Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone knows San Siro well. He spent two seasons there as a player with Inter Milan from 1997-99. In that period Inter drew three times against Milan in the league, winning once. It also suffered a hefty 5-0 defeat in the Italian Cup. Also, Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati spent the 2007-08 season on loan at Atletico. Dexter McCoil Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. Keenan Allen Jersey . -- Brad Gushue of St.LAPEENRANTA, Finland - Canadian head coach Kevin Dineen knew it would be a stiff challenge to get his team back on track after a crushing semifinal loss at the world under-18 hockey championship. His team rose to the occasion Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Sweden in the bronze-medal game. "The sting from yesterday is not something we hid from or pretend didnt happen," Dineen said. "We accepted it and moved on. I think we take satisfaction that we worked hard and that things worked out today." A day earlier, Canada erased a three-goal deficit before dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Czech Republic. The loss prevented the 2013 champions from returning to the gold-medal game. Determined to come home with a medal, the Canadians started off slowly Sunday before finding their form in the third-place game. Brendan Perlini, Lawson Crouse and Travis Konecny scored and goalie Mason McDonald made 38 saves. "We were not going to miss an opportunity to represent our country well," Dineen said. "The unity that this group has shown to come together in this short little timeframe, I think there was a lot of encouragement within our group and a lot of very quick chemistry that made yessterday very disappointing. Dan Fouts Jersey. "But even so, I think we got great satisfaction from todays win." Swedens Henrik Tornqvist opened the scoring with a short-handed goal midway through the first period. Perlini answered with a power-play goal at the 17:02 mark. Crouse put Canada ahead at 11:57 of the second period and Konecny provided an insurance goal with less than five minutes to play in the third. "Weve spent five weeks together and weve done a lot of work," Dineen said. "Things didnt end the way we wanted to but on the flip side of that, that time could come down to the game today. They played extremely hard. "Theres one thing that we certainly wont fault them (for) — we had great effort throughout this whole tournament." Linus Soderstrom made 23 saves as Sweden settled for a fourth-place finish. "There was no guarantee how it was going to end," Dineen said. "But in saying that, I think we all walk out of here — and I hope the boys do as well — (feeling) that theyre a little wiser about the game and a little better for the experience." The United States won gold later in the day with a 5-2 victory over the Czechs. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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