Sport Today

Again AJAX will teach Milan how to play Football !

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: >Ok guys give me some predictions on this game
: >My score : AJAX - MILAN : 3 - 1

: >Again AJAX will teach Milan how to play Football !

: Here's mine  Ajax - Milan 1 - 4
: The lesson will go other way.
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Ajax   -   AC Milan   0 - 2

boring     magnificent

m
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An Ajacied

Qing Ye
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                Ajax 2, AC 1

It is written.

This is a completely different Milan side from the one in the first round.
 Il Genio and Simone will shine.  It's gonna be a long train ride back to
Amsterdam for the Ajax fans...

Ajax, Ajax
fa fa culo

Angel
Forza Milan
Milan Club in Austin, Texas

Ajax Amsterdam 3, AC Milan 1

Ajax plays an attacking style of play and I don't think that Milan can show
up last year's performance vs. FC Barcelona again. A few Milan players may
shine, but Ajax is a real team and not an assembly of individuals.

Wolfgang

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Forza AJAX, so the final score will be

(Royal) AJAX - AC MILAN         3 - 0

        17 minute : Jari Litmanen
        53 minute : Patrick Kluivert
        89 minute : Good old Frank Rijkaard (Penalty).

That's all for now, Bye Happy Tom and the crew !

Haha, this really shows who dominates Europe.  
Cheering for Ajax in Italian; I'm sure other Ajax supporters are really proud
of you.

other players ??.... nope

new coach ??.... nope

new tactics ??.... nope

and don't give me that World Cup fatigue shit, 'cause Ajax had 10 players
in the World Cup, even more than AC Milan.

roger

I'm happy that Ajax was able FOR WHATEVER REASONS to shake off their World
Cup effort better than Milan - but that doesn't automatically mean that
Milan didn't suffer from some type of World Cup hangover.  Different players,
different training regimen, different diet, DIFFERENT MENTALITY!

Here is Milan's record in official games (Italian Cup, EC1, Serie A,
Intercontinental Cup, etc.) from August 28th until December 21st 1995:

                     G      W   T   L    GF   GA

Milan                25     8   8   9    20   22

Here is Milan's record from January 8th (Dec. 22nd until Jan. 7th there were
no official games played).

Milan                22     14   5   3   44   20

Can you see a difference there??  I think most people with a rudimentary
knowledge of the number line could determine that, yes, something changed
over the Christmas holidays and the team is definitely playing better now
than then.  Yet, how can this be, because they have the same players, coach,
& tactics.  Well, golly, I don't know why Milan played like shit in those
three months, but they're a better team now and to deny that is just plain
stupid.

I'm still worried about the final because Milan's three losses include two
pretty convincing trouncings at the hands of Lazio (4-0) and Juve (2-0) and
a less convincing, but still worrisome 3-1 at the hands of Inter a few weeks
ago.  Clearly AC Milan is no longer the wonder team of several years ago,
but we all knew that already.  So my worry is not that we will see a replay
of the two Milan-Ajax games from the fall, my worry is that this is one of the
few finals in the last eight years which Milan has gone into without an
overwhelming advantage.  Let's look at what happened to Milan in those finals
which were sort of "even" going in:

1989 - Intercontinental Cup -
Milan - Nacional Medellin  -  Milan players later commented that this was
the best team they had faced up until that time (you South American fans
take note - the players have no trouble recognizing quality).  The game
was won by Milan in OT on a lucky break (free kick from Evani goes in 1'
from the end due to poor positioning by the barrier).

1993 - EC1 final -
Milan - Marseilles - an outstanding Milan team against an equally outstanding
opponent.  Milan misses two very easy goals early on.  Boli heads in a corner
by outjumping Rijkaard (recall the height difference between the two players)
and, of course, nobody is at the far post and Rossi does his impression of
a statue.

1993 - Intercontinental Cup -
Milan - Sao Paolo - a very even game going into it.  The game is decided
in Sao Paolo's favor (3-2) again by the breaks: Massaro's rocket in the
first half thunders off the crossbar, hits the stunned goalie on the back,
but does not go in (how many times have you seen the goalie deflect those
types of shots in off his body, eh?), and 4' from the end there is Rossi's
disastrous clear where he swats the ball off Muller's thigh and into the
net.

1994 - EC1 final -
Milan - Barcelona - a very even game going into it.  The game however is
basically decided by the lack of concentration of the Barcelona players.
They had won the Spanish Liga only a few days before at the last minute as
a player on Deportivo La Coruna blows a penalty kick.  As much as I love
Milan, I don't believe they were, in general, 4 goals better than Barcelona.
To think that game can be used as "proof" of how good Milan was is idiotic.
Just look at how poorly they played at the end of the italian league season
that year.

With the exception of the anomalous game against Barcelona last year, all the
other games were decided by lucky, yes, lucky, breaks (not all of them
against Milan - if Evani's shot doesn't go in, I'm sure that the combination
of Higuita's talents and italian lack of nerves during penalty shootouts
would have given the Cup to Nacional Medellin).  

That's why I'm so worried about this final. It will be decided by a few
breaks here or there - as most soccer contests between equally matched
opponents are.  This is so, despite the endless rationalizations AFTERWARD
about how the team that won "deserved" to win.  

It's almost as if soccer fans desperately need to know that there is order
in the Universe (the game) and that justice triumphs in the end.  Well,
that ain't the way things are no matter how much we may wish to the contrary.

I would even say that pitting Ajax's fast forwards versus Milan's slow defense
will produce more breaks for Ajax so that if I were forced to predict
a score, I would rationally predict:

           AJAX   2     -     MILAN  1        (rational prediction)

but since it is not the Milan team from the fall playing, I can hope that
one or two breaks go Milan's way.  So:

           MILAN  2     -     AJAX   1        (emotional prediction)

Rest assured that whatever the outcome is, we will ALL (both pro-Ajax and
pro-Milan parties) understand afterwards why the game could not end any
other way but the way it did.

One last note.  You did notice, didn't you, that Rossi played a HUGE
negative part in the two Milan losses above...I think the boy may have
a *** habit of *** in really tense situations.  Everyone can play
goal when you have a big lead, the really great goalies are the ones that
won't crack under pressure.  Playing well in the quarterfinals or semifinals
is nice but the really great ones save their best for the final games.
We'll see which version of Mr. Rossi shows up in Vienna on the 24th.  He
will have to make a few key saves for Milan to win the title.  I predict
that he will fall short...

Cheers,
Loris

Ajax 2 - Milan AC 1

I think Savicevic is the best midfielder in the world when
healthy. If Massaro doesn't***up the chances that Savicevic
provides, it will be close, hard fought final, but I believe the
rossoneri will prevail. Of course, Kluivert could get loose of
Maldini and Baresi, but don't count on it because I think Milan
will try to monopolize the ball. I know I am looking forward to
the final!

Angel -- don't count on Inter being the same team next year. With
Marotti now owning club some effort will made to get offense
back into the nerazzuri. I think we will see a new more
offensively minded Inter next year. Next derby -- VINCERA'
L'INTER!