Kaka Eyes Quater Final

Milan’s Kaka believes a sold out San Siro will be the key to reaching the quarter finals of the Champions League.

The Rossoneri held a dominant Arsenal side to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates stadium on Wednesday night in a game which did not exactly live up to all the pre match hype.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men are now in pole position to go through. The Rossoneri have never lost at home to English opposition in this competition and so they seem favourites to progress.

“The return leg I can imagine being played in front of 80,000 fans at San Siro, above all they are our fans and with a Milan side who will surely be very aggressive,” Kaka told Corriere Dello Sport.

“Personally I have to make the most of training in the next few days as my knee is in good condition, but I still have to find a good match rhythm.

“Arsenal played good, they are a very technical team, well organised and they are capable of changing positions constantly.”

Milan will be hoping to continue their good form in Europe’s elite competition.

Ancelotti Optimistic For Second Leg

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti Believes his side have a foot in the quarter final after holding Arsenal to a draw at the Emirates.

The Gunners clashed with the Rossoneri in the first leg of the Champions League knockout stages and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

It was an entertaining clash and Emanuel Adebayor hit the bar in the dying seconds as Milan held on. The coach believes his side can complete the Italian job and win in the San Siro.

“The 0-0 is not a fundamental result but it’s a good one,” Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia.

“It’s not a result which makes us feel comfortable but we did play well and we did suffer a little.

“We could have played better. It will be difficult in the second leg but we hope we can go through. Ancelotti also explained his decision to start with 18-year-old Brazilian Alexandre Pato up front.

“We started with him because we wanted some pace in attack. With Pato we had more opportunities because their defence plays a high line.”

Milan have never lost to English opposition in the San Siro in this competition and they will be hoping to continue that record in the second leg.

Pato leads Selecao trio

Milan unleash Alexandre Pato on Serie A in an all-Brazilian attack with Kaka and Ronaldo from the start against Napoli this evening.The Rossoneri are giving the 18-year-old talent from Internacional his debut six months after completing the £10m move.‘The Duck’ was not eligible for official competition before the January transfer window because he only turned 18 in September.Pato was expected to start upfront with Alberto Gilardino, but Ronaldo’s return to fitness has prompted Coach Carlo Ancelotti to go with the Selecao selection instead.San Siro is packed out for tonight’s clash with Napoli, as Milan fans hope to witness their first Serie A home win of the season.There is a special atmosphere at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, as the stadium is also hosting a celebration with a parade of their 18 international trophies.We’ll have half-time and full reports plus post-match comments from Milan-Napoli, so keep checking back on the Football Italia website!Official line-upsMilan: Dida; Bonera, Nesta, Kaladze, Maldini; Seedorf, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Kakà; Pato, RonaldoNapoli: Iezzo; Cupi, Cannavaro, Domizzi; Garics, Hamsik, Gargano, Bogliacino, Savini; Sosa, Lavezzi

Ancelotti Hails Ronaldo, Pato And Seedorf

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was full of praise for returning Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who played his first game of the season at San Siro, scoring two goals in the process.

Praise For Returning Ronaldo
The Rossoneri's 5-2 win against Napoli made Ancelotti smile, but what pleased the coach especially was Ronaldo.
"We were very good, especially Ronaldo," declared the Milan coach at the end of the game.
"He's a phenomenon and he proved this even in a condition which was not too brilliant."Ronaldo started to train on the 2nd of January, after 6 months of injury," he added.
"I'm happy for him, who suffered more than all of us."

Pato's Brilliance
Ancelotti then spoke about Pato's debut who scored a goal and created also many other goal scoring opportunities.
"He has great quality. It was his first game and some mechanisms must be perfected. However he was very, very good," opined the Milan coach.
“Pato has pace, the ability to turn and shoot.
"We could see that in training as well, so now we have to work on how to provide him with better service. He certainly has the talent."
Elaborating the attacking trident, he added: “This was a system we had never really tried before, especially with these particular players, but we will certainly continue honing and using it.
"They proved they can combine brilliantly on the field and get some great results.”

Defensive Concerns
Despite the emphatic result, Ancelotti was aware that defensive frailties need sorting.
"We had a risky approach, but that was necessary at this stage of the season to get the victory and the team responded well.
“Napoli’s first goal came because we were unbalanced, the second was Kakha Kaladze’s error for the penalty.
“Massimo Ambrosini obviously has to put even more work in with this system and it’s tough.
"He did a lot better in keeping his position in the second half. Ronaldo and Pato have never played together, so a few risks were bound to be taken.”
Of course, Gattuso's return from suspension could drop Ambrosini to the bench.
“It is a problem we have to face in the future and it won’t be an easy decision, as we have a great midfield and wonderful strikers," responded Ancelotti.
"In some games we will need someone to step aside and will use those occasions so that players can have a breather to be fresh all the way to the end of the campaign."

More Of The Same From Seedorf
Clarence Seedorf is one of those players who has blown hot and cold this season, but this was one night when it was spot, despite him being used in a deeper role.
“I would always like to see Seedorf play with this spirit and he was probably Man of the Match for me," he praised.
"He was involved in every move and we all have to be very alert to make the most of this system.
“Seedorf feels he is a Trequartista and played a crucial role in winning the Champions League last year. He is not the only one who must make a sacrifice for the team, but everyone has to work together for the squad.”

Zambrotta Woudn't Be Bad
Silvio Berlusconi made a public declaration on Gianluca Zambrotta earlier on Sunday, saying: "He would love to join Milan and I don’t think we’ll have too many problems reaching an agreement with Barcelona.”
Ancelotti was in agreement, and responded with a typically mischievous simle: “He wouldn’t be a bad signing, would he?”

AC Milan's £100m facelift

There are reports Milan will use £100m from a sponsorship deal with Adidas to revamp the squad with Ronaldinho, Sebastien Frey, Gianluca Zambrotta and Amauri.The Rossoneri need to rejuvenate their side as several players are nearing retirement age, most notably Paolo Maldini and Marcos Cafu.The ‘Corriere dello Sport’ claims this weekend that there will be huge changes over the summer, ending a period of relatively careful spending by the holders of the European and World club titles.The funding will come from a contract with Adidas and whole new marketing strategy that would bring in up to £100m to be poured back into the transfer kitty.The first target is Ronaldinho, whose position at Barcelona is increasingly untenable after disagreements with the club, teammates and coaching staff.The Brazilian would cost around £40m and encourage more stars to join the San Siro giants, including his Barca colleague Zambrotta at £7m.World Cup winning full-back Zambrotta had already been heavily linked with the Rossoneri for the past two seasons.A new goalkeeper is needed to replace the under-fire Nelson Dida and the prime candidate is Fiorentina’s Frenchman Frey.Parma midfielder Andrea Dossena and French international Willy Sagnol could arrive for a combined £6m and a bid for Catania defender Vargas – who is thought to be closer to Roma – is on the cards.Midfielders are in short supply as Yoann Gourcuff and Emerson have so far failed to make an impact.Lyon’s Swede Kim Kallstrom is available for £7m and Dynamo Zagreb talent Modric is another alternative for the same price.In attack Milan are in the race with Juventus, Inter and Roma for Palermo starlet Amauri.