MaldiniISgod
designated hippy
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2007
- Messages
- 1,088
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- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Fav. Players
- Maldini, Kaka, Nesta
Pippo Inzaghi is polishing his scoring boots for Wednesday’s semi-final against Manchester United, as he seems certain to push Alberto Gilardino on to the bench.
“I feel ready and am in good shape,” said the Milan striker. He is the best Italian scorer in Champions League history with 40 goals in 67 games – 56 in European competition overall – and netted a crucial strike in the 2-0 quarter-final victory at Bayern Munich.
Gilardino was preferred in the lone striker role in the first leg at Old Trafford, but was very disappointing in that 3-2 defeat.
“It is flattering to know that the fans are expecting my goals, but I am convinced that to beat Manchester United we will need a great Milan performance, not just from me.”
With Carlo Ancelotti resting Kaka, using Clarence Seedorf for only 65 minutes and playing Gilardino for the entire 90 in the 1-0 win at Torino on Saturday, it seems likely that he will use Inzaghi supported by those two creative midfielders.
“It is wonderful to feel so much confidence in my abilities, because that really helps. I can guarantee I will give it my all, just as my teammates will. We hope to give our fans and ourselves a performance on a par with our game in Munich.”
The Rossoneri were in trouble during that quarter-final when they were held 2-2 on home turf by Bayern, but qualified by winning the second leg 2-0 in Germany.
Now they are again called upon to overturn a negative situation, but this time Inzaghi points out they have an advantage.
“There are games you cannot wait to play in. It is a Champions League semi-final and we know that we’re facing a tough side, but we are also aware of our own strength. Plus we are playing at San Siro and that is a valuable bonus.”
It's nice to see him so excited about the match, it's adding to the confidence that he already has which is great. I admit at first I had my doubts about Pippo, but if anyone is going to pull it off for us it's him.