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Ferguson ponders trumping Milan's ace
By Mark Ogden

AC Milan had been preparing for their Champions League semi-final with Manchester United for just over half an hour when the mind games began.

"We're not as strong as the team that beat Manchester United two years ago, and that's our problem," Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani claimed, before turning on his heels to sprint for the team bus already pulling away from Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena.

After their ruthless Champions League victory over the Germans on Wednesday night, the six-times European champions are now the only barrier between United and an all-English encounter with Chelsea or Liverpool in the final in Athens on May 23.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson did not need to witness Milan's nerveless display against Bayern to realise that Carlo Ancelotti's team will provide as tough opposition as United could possibly face in the last four.

As it happened, Ferguson and his assistant, Carlos Queiroz, had ringside seats in Munich as Milan dismissed the inconvenience of a 2-2 first-leg draw in the San Siro to end Bayern's unbeaten home record in Europe with first-half goals from Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi.

Milan's team-sheet said it all about their durability and experience in Europe's premier competition. Eight of the starters in Bavaria had lined up against United in the San Siro when Hernan Crespo's goal completed a 2-0 aggregate victory over Ferguson's injury-ravaged team in the 2004-05 round of 16, and it will be the usual suspects again at Old Trafford on April 24.

Ancelotti's starting XI in Munich had an average age of over 29, but there was no suggestion that Milan's 'legs' were on the wane. Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta remain formidable at the heart of the defence and the pace of Lukas Podolski was quickly nullified by the vast experience of the Milan pair. The full-backs, Massimo Oddo and Marek Jankulovski, are not of the same calibre, however, so keeping Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs free of injury and suspension could be crucial for United.

How United deal with the free-moving Kaka could also be key to the outcome of the tie. The Brazilian, this season's Champions League leading scorer with seven goals in 10 appearances, was barely troubled by the attentions of Owen Hargreaves in Munich, and Michael Carrick's defensive capabilities are no match for those of his England team-mate.

Does Ferguson therefore deploy Darren Fletcher or John O'Shea to shadow Milan's golden boy? Or will it be Paul Scholes, who is available for the first leg on Tuesday week after serving a one-match European suspension.

The door may be open for Ferguson to make special plans for Kaka, but the 7-1 demolition of Roma will have reminded him that fortune favours the brave in Europe, so does he stick or twist?