Stam braced for Milan test

By Adrian Clarke

AC Milan were the team that none of the eight seeded sides wanted to draw in the UEFA Champions League group stages. However, after being drawn against FC Barcelona, Celtic FC and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in Group F, Milan's Jaap Stam told uefa.com that his side have not had the luck of the draw either.

'Unknown quantity'
"My initial reaction to the Champions League draw is that Milan have not had much luck," said the Dutch defender. "Barcelona and Celtic are two of the biggest clubs in Europe. As for Shakhtar, they are an unknown quantity to us, but I am assuming that they will be a tricky side to beat."

Celtic factor
As a former Manchester United FC player, Stam is well aware of the passion of the Scottish champions Celtic and is particularly looking forward to his trip to Parkhead with Milan. "I am already looking forward to playing against Celtic in Glasgow," said Stam, who moved to Milan from S.S. Lazio in the summer.

Parkhead atmosphere
"I played there a few years ago in a friendly and remember it being a tremendous place to play football," he added. "The atmosphere was amazing even though it was only a friendly, so I think it will be something special when they play Milan in the Champions League. The noise levels should get pretty high!"

Premiership cohorts
With former Chelsea FC and Blackburn Rovers FC striker Chris Sutton being paired with one time Wimbledon FC and West Ham United FC forward John Hartson in the Celtic attack, Stam can also expect to face a couple of his old Premiership adversaries as Milan play Celtic.

Juninho skill
"They are both big men with a lot of ability on the ball too," remembered Stam. "I also know that Celtic have just brought the Brazilian Juninho to the club. When he was at Middlesbrough [FC] he was a genuine star and someone that gave Premiership defenders a difficult time with his skill."

Larsson absent
However, Celtic will be without the man who has spearheaded their European thrust in recent years - Henrik Larsson. "He was definitely the main player for Celtic, but unfortunately for them he's not there any more," said Stam. "They will miss him. Any team would suffer when someone of his quality leaves them."

Catalan power
Unfortunately, Stam will have to face the Swede at his new club - Barcelona. However, it is possible that the veteran striker will be the least of his worries. The Dutchman is well aware that the Catalan giants are spoiled for choice when it comes to attacking players.

Forward armoury
Stam said: "They have the likes of Ronaldinho, Deco, [Samuel] Eto'o, [Ludovic] Giuly and [Javier] Saviola at their disposal. Ronaldinho is arguably the best player in the world right now, so he alone is a massive threat."

'A massive club'
"They are a massive club - on a par with ourselves as far as size goes," he added. "Barça are one of the sides that most other clubs wanted to avoid, in my opinion. However, this is the Champions League. These are the best of the best and no draw would have been easy. And remember, we are AC Milan."

Battle royal
Now that he knows what lies ahead in his first Champions League season with Milan, the 32-year-old is eager for action. "I can't wait for it to start," he said. "I'm pretty certain that Barcelona, Celtic and Shakhtar were disappointed to be paired with AC Milan too."

Jaap Stam's personal website is at www.icons.com