Ancelotti awaits meeting of minds

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is looking forward to pitting his wits against another manager who knows all about winning the UEFA Champions League, FC Bayern München's Ottmar Hitzfeld, after the clubs were paired in the quarter-finals of this season's edition.

Recent meeting
The Rossoneri eliminated the Bavarians in the first knockout round last year, a 4-1 second-leg victory completing a 5-2 aggregate success, only to fall in the semi-finals to eventual winners FC Barcelona. That defeat signalled the end of a proud Milan record as on each previous occasion they had knocked out Bayern they had gone on to lift a trophy. It happened in this competition in 1989/90 and 2002/03 and also in the 1967/68 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Coaching success
Ancelotti was in the Milan team that beat SL Benfica in Vienna in the first of those European Champion Clubs' Cup finals, and 13 years later - having swapped his boots for a blazer - he coached the side to a sixth European crown by overcoming Juventus on penalties in Manchester. Hitzfeld also enjoyed a final triumph against the Turin club, as boss of BV Borussia Dortmund in 1997, and in 2001 became only the second man, after Ernst Happel, to coach two teams to Champions' Cup glory when Bayern ousted Valencia CF on penalties.

'Balanced tie'
"Hitzfeld has great experience and is a great coach who's won the trophy in the past," Ancelotti said. "He was very good tactically against Real Madrid [CF in the first knockout round] and is half the strength of the team at the moment. Bayern are a club with great tradition and strength. They had a difficult spell in the winter but have improved a lot since changing coach and I'm sure it will be a very balanced tie."

Roma hope
Ancelotti admitted to being pleased to avoid AS Roma and Manchester United FC - "probably the best team in Europe at the moment" - but knows his charges will meet one of those clubs in the semi-finals should they get past Bayern over two legs scheduled for 3 and 11 April. "It would be very good to play an all-Italian semi-final against Roma. I hope we both qualify," concluded the 47-year-old.

Home advantage
Bayern midfielder Mark van Bommel, an integral member of the PSV Eindhoven side beaten in the last four by Milan in 2005, spoke for everyone with Bayern connections when saying, "it's helpful to have the second leg at home". The Dutchman added: "They weren't our favourite opponents but no teams are easy at this stage. Maybe it's good that we lost to them last year as now we can show we can beat them."

'Top team'
Hitzfeld was also looking forward to the tie concluding at the Fußball Arena München. "Milan are a top team and this will be a big challenge," he said. "We've learned from Madrid and it's up to us to make a good start there in order to go through at home with the help of our crowd." If history is any indicator, Bayern will need all the assistance they can get - in 15 home games against German visitors Milan have won 12 times and lost just twice.