Milan give Berlusconi chance to return to winning ways

Euroscene: AC Milan's dynamic owner, media tycoon and outgoing Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, beaten in last week's Italian general election, will look to his prized possession to put him back on the winning road in tonight's mouth-watering Champions League semi-final, first leg clash with Barcelona at the San Siro.

For the neutrals, this is one of those games that, on paper at least, has everything. Two prestigious, quality teams take the field with a dramatis personae that includes some of the most flamboyant talents in the modern game. Among the many "plays within the play" are the clashes between the Brazilians Ronaldhino and Kaka, between Cameroon striker Eto'o and Ukraine bullet Andriy Shevchenko and between the playmakers, Barcelona's Deco and Milan's Andrea Pirlo.

Games like this do not always live up to exaggerated expectations. Too much at stake, we pundits claim. Too late in the season, we add, the teams are not as effervescent and brilliant as they were in the autumn. A combination of pressure, stress and weariness will win out over athletic brio and creative genius. Or will it?

This just might be one of those occasions when the sum of the brilliant parts does add up to a spectacular whole. For a start, both sides are designed for attacking football. Barcelona have looked a better side defensively this season than last but, for all that, under the coaching of Dutchman Frank Rijkaard they are a side who come out to play. Could it be any different when you have such as Ronaldhino to lead the line for you?

Likewise, as Milan's disastrous Champions League final defeat by Liverpool in Istanbul last year emphatically underlined, this is a side by Italian standards at least, less than waterproof in defence. It would be nice to say that Milan, like Barcelona, have improved defensively this season but all the indications of this season would argue otherwise.

It is true that Georgian Kakha Kaladze has proved a more than effective replacement for the ageing Paolo Maldini in central defence, alongside Alessandro Nesta. Yet, it is equally true that Milan have conceded soft goals from set-piece situations this season. Furthermore, Brazilian goalkeeper Dida currently seems very insecure, an insecurity that he transmits to those around him.

Conclusion: Milan really have only one option - to go out there and try to take the game to Barcelona.

Both sides warmed up for the tie with important 1-0 wins on Good Friday. Ironically, the Spanish fixture list pitted Barcelona against Villarreal, the side Arsenal meet in the other Champions League semi-final. Given that they are leading the Spanish league, Barcelona could hardly afford to snub the tie. Yet, with a 11-point lead over Real Madrid and Valencia going into the game, they were under only relative pressure.

Forthcoming Champions League combat weighed heavily on the minds of both coaches with Villarreal's Manuel Pellegrini resting Diego Forlan, Alessio Tacchinardi and Juan Riquelme and Juan Pablo Sorin.

For his part, Rijkaard left out no less than Ronaldhino. In the end, and not without difficulty against the Villarreal reserves, Barcelona won 1-0 thanks to an 11th minute goal from the prolific Eto'o. One negative note for Barcelona was the injury to Swedish striker Henrik Larsson, who, along with Argentine protege Lionel Messi, is now out of both legs of the tie.

Milan had a more difficult tie when meeting city rivals Inter Milan in the second league derby of the season. Despite their recent vicissitudes, including above all that Champions League elimination by Villarreal, Inter gave as good as they got for 70 minutes. Uncharacteristically, they lined out with a 4-5-1 formation in which Brazilian Adriano was the lone ranger up front.

For much of the game, Inter managed to put a serious spanner in the Milan works, blocking the flowing football and, in the end, only going down to a 70th minute Kaladze goal that owed much to defensive error.

For all that, however, Milan had reason to be satisfied with their performance. As against Olympique Lyon in the second leg of their quarter-final tie, the side stuck to their task even when not playing well.

Amongst those watching from the San Siro stands was Berluscon. Delighted to be back in the heart of what he calls his "family", the defeated prime minister said he expected tonight's game to be "very attractive".

He did not need to add that it will be all that more attractive if his favourite team wins, putting him back into his accustomed role of winner.

AC Milan v Barcelona San Siro, 7.45 On TV: TV3, UTV