Dreams come true on historic night

By Trevor Haylett in Manchester

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and his captain Paolo Maldini both said that winning the UEFA Champions League in a penalty shoot-out victory over their Italian rivals Juventus FC was "a dream come true."

Maldini dynasty
Man-of-the-match Maldini's fourth European Champion Clubs' Cup triumph was of huge personal and familial significance, lifting the trophy for the first time as captain and exactly 40 years after his father Cesare had done the same for Milan.

'Too beautiful'
"It is too beautiful, it is a great honour," said Maldini when asked about that family achievement. "The name Maldini is linked to Milan, there is no doubt about that. There has always been someone from my family, either my father or me, involved."

Superior nerve
Father and son: in each case it was an English venue that witnessed their crowning moment; Wembley for Cesare and now a raucous, resonant Old Trafford as Milan's nerve proved superior to Juventus when 120 goalless minutes was followed by penalties.

Shevchenko heroics
Juventus striker David Trezeguet saw his kick saved by Milan goalkeeper Dida, who then blocked further efforts from Marcelo Zalayeta and Paolo Montero. With Clarence Seedorf and Kakha Kaladze denied by Dida's opposite number Gianluigi Buffon, it left Andriy Shevchenko needing to score Milan's fifth - and the first Ukrainian to play in the final duly converted.

'So glad'
For Ancelotti, a winner of this competition as a player in 1988/89 and 1989/90, but dismissed as Juventus coach two years ago, it was a night to savour. He said: "I am so glad that we have the highest cup for our club. First we want to party and then of course we want to show our respect to the victory we have earned. We started well and we were dominant on the field."

Achievement equalled
Ancelotti thus became only the second individual to lift Europe's premier club prize as a player and as a coach with the same team after Real Madrid CF's Miguel Muñoz's on-pitch achievement in 1955/56 and 1956/57 and as team leader in 1966/67. Meanwhile, Seedorf is the first player to win it with three different clubs after his success with AFC Ajax in 1994/95 - against Milan - and Madrid in 1997/98 - versus Juventus.

More records
For Maldini, nearing his 35th birthday, there should be a special medal struck in tribute to his exertions in this season's competition. Milan, who back in August overcame FC Slovan Liberec in the third qualifying round on away goals, won at the conclusion of their 19th game - another record - but only the captain played in every match. He said his reaction at the moment of victory was "heartfelt joy. I am really happy to be the captain of a team who have won this championship. It feels like the first time."

Downcast Lippi
For Juventus coach Marcello Lippi it is a feeling he has experienced too often for comfort. A winner in 1996 with Juventus, he has now lost three Champions League finals, plus one in the UEFA Cup, with the club and was understandably downcast.

'Everything went wrong'
He said: "Everything went wrong, the whole evening went wrong," blaming fatigue along with the suspension of Pavel Nedved and the injury which forced defender Igor Tudor to depart before the interval. "We did not have sufficient fuel in our tanks to take advantage of the possibilities we were offered. This match did not happen under a good star with Nedved out and Tudor out. That made it really difficult for us."