Shift in thinking

Milan, Juve make compelling case for defense

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -- AC Milan's triumphant Champions League campaign, culminating in a cagey victory over Juventus on penalties in the final, may have signaled a subtle shift in thinking at the top level in Europe.

While Italian teams have struggled in the European Cup in recent seasons, Spanish sides, led by Real Madrid, have dominated thanks to their collective style of relentless attack and defense bordering on the reckless.

What this season's campaign has shown, through the experiences of Juve, Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, is that flashy forward play and straight shooting will only get you so far unless that approach is backed by first class defense.

The two most exciting sides in Europe this season were Real Madrid and Manchester United yet they were both absent from the final.

Real faltered uncharacteristically in the competition this term and were close to going out in the second phase but they recovered their attacking style with a brilliant and remarkable 6-5 aggregate victory over United in the quarterfinals.

Alex Ferguson's side boasted the Champions League top scorer in 12-goal Ruud van Nistelrooy but they were bundled out because Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand were unable to cope with the guile of Raul and the power of Ronaldo.

"All teams that win Champions Leagues have tremendous knowledge at the back," Ferguson reflected in Manchester this week.

Cut to shreds

"My defenders didn't want to be left alone with the likes of Ronaldo or Raul. They didn't have the belief to handle them one-on-one."

Real got away with it in the quarterfinals but their shortcomings were exposed by Juventus in the semis, as their defense was cut to shreds by Pavel Nedved in the second leg in a 4-3 aggregate win for the Italians.

As many had feared, the final between Milan and Juventus provided little in the way of excitement after the opening 45 minutes but that should not cloud the fact that the two sides served up some sparkling football over the course of the season.

Milan bamboozled Deportivo Coruna in a 4-0 victory away to the Spanish side in the opening group phase and followed that up with a 1-0 win at home to Real Madrid in one of the best games played all year.

Juventus stormed to a 5-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in the first stage, knocked Deportivo out in the second and impressed the world by beating Real in the semis.

The crucial factor was that both sides were able to play utterly assured defensive football when the occasion required.

Milan won a thriller against Ajax Amsterdam 3-2 in the quarterfinals but then shut up shop against Inter Milan to secure victory in the semis.

Juventus eked out victory over Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the quarterfinals, outpunched Real in the next round and, deprived of Nedved because of suspension, opted for a safe approach in the final and almost snatched a win.

The task for teams aspiring to Champions League glory is to balance the requirements of defense and attack just as the two top Italian sides have done this term.

Ferguson is confident that in a few years Ferdinand and Brown will be able to match the standard of great defenders.

But Real may face a bigger rebuilding job, with Fernando Hierro now struggling at the highest level and with no natural replacement.

 

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