Tears of joy

Milan's Seedorf overwhelmed after making history

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -- Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf broke down in tears after becoming the first player to win the European Cup with three different clubs on Wednesday.

Seedorf helped AC Milan to a 3-2 penalty shootout win over Italian rivals Juventus in the Champions League final at Old Trafford, adding to his successes with Ajax Amsterdam in 1995 and Real Madrid in 1998.

"It's incredible, incredible," Seedorf told British television broadcaster ITV Sport. "I don't have any words. I am so, so happy."

Sobbing, the Dutchman -- one of two Milan players to have his penalty saved -- added: "It has just been a great spectacle for us, a great atmosphere today, a great stadium.

"I think Milan deserved it, during the game we were the better team I think."

Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, back to his best after a bad knee injury earlier this season, scored the winning penalty for Milan.

He said: "I just tried to stay as calm as possible. In these situations it's a bit like a duel between the goalkeeper and whoever's taking the penalty.

"For me, this is the biggest trophy I can win. My injury at the beginning of the season could have been disastrous, but at the end I've managed to make a difference."

Asked what he felt, Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti told Italian television: "Satisfaction, joy -- I'm feeling all these things equally at the moment."

Ancelotti was sacked by Juventus in 2001 but said he did not want to talk about any feelings of vindication.

"Tomorrow there'll be plenty of time to talk about things like that," he said. "For now I just want to celebrate with my players."

Huge joy

Juventus coach Marcello Lippi lamented the absence of his injured Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved, who was suspended for the final.

"It was always going to be difficult without Nedved," he said. "With him in the side we would have been able to push forward more. Then we suffered injuries to [Igor] Tudor and [Edgar] Davids. Those certainly didn't help."

Milan captain Paolo Maldini celebrated his fourth European Cup triumph with the club 40 years after his father Cesare helped them to their first success in the competition in 1963.

"To lift the cup as captain is a huge joy for me," he said. "To be here again so many years after the first one [in 1989], and to follow in my father's footsteps is something really special."

Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi said: "To win on penalties isn't maybe the best way to clinch it. [Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi] Buffon pulled off a phenomenal save to stop me scoring in the first half, but the most important thing was that we won.

"It's been a tough year for Milan at times, but this makes up for it."

Milan finished third in Serie A this season but Inzaghi only had praise for Ancelotti.

He said: "The boss has always done great things. He'd already finished runner-up in Serie A twice. If we can round off our season with victory in the Italian Cup, it'll be an even greater year for us."

Milan will take a 4-1 lead over AS Roma into the second leg of the Italian Cup final at the San Siro on May 31.

Buffon, who saved two of Milan's penalties, said: "I think overall we had the better penalty takers. Maybe we could have taken them a bit better, but I'm an optimist and tomorrow's another day. There will be more opportunities in future."

 

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