Coaches call for calm

By Marcus Christenson

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti knows just how important this week's UEFA Champions League semi-final against Internazionale FC is to the football-loving people of Milan.

'Try to stay calm' 
The city rivals meet for the first time in European competition in Wednesday's first leg at the San Siro, and Ancelotti admitted the attendant hype had not helped his preparations. He told an eve-of-match press conference: "Any Champions League semi-final is important but playing against Inter makes it even more special. There will be a lot of pressure on both sides and we have to try to stay calm. It won't be easy but we have to try. It is a very important game for the people of the city, but also for me, for the players, and for the club."

Common ground 
Both legs will be played at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium the two clubs call home. As the host team on Wednesday, Milan will be able to count on the bulk of the support, although Ancelotti insisted this would count for nothing on the night. "When you get this far in a competition, it doesn't matter where you play," he said. "We realise we are the home team and we will have to be careful not to concede an away goal as this could prove decisive in the end."

'Honour the occasion' 
As well as being a good advertisement for Milanese football, the tie could also showcase the best of the Italian game at a time when Serie A clubs have been criticised for their negative style of play. Ancelotti said: "We want to play well and we want to honour the occasion with a good performance. However, our priority has always been to win games and avoid conceding goals."

Derby defeats 
The coach has a full squad to choose from save for the suspended Massimo Ambrosini and is likely to start with Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi up front - and Rivaldo on the bench. Inzaghi was Milan's match-winner when the Rossoneri completed a league double over the Nerazzurri last month. Both games were tense affairs and finished 1-0 to Milan, but Inter coach Héctor Cúper was adamant they would have no bearing on the next week's action.

Cúper keeps faith 
"We may have lost both games in the league but I don't believe that is a disadvantage," Cúper said. "If you say to me that Milan are in a better state mentally than us, or that they are playing better football than us, then I will tell you that I disagree." Indeed, Inter lead their neighbours by two points in the race to finish second behind Juventus in Serie A. "Even if we were tired, we would get our energy from another source - be it from our heads, our hearts or our legs. I have total faith in my team," the Argentinian added.

'We are ready'
Goalkeeper Francesco Toldo echoed that confidence when he said that Inter would cope without Christian Vieri and Cristiano Zanetti, who miss out through injury and suspension respectively. "We have the players to match Milan," he said. "We are ready for these games even though there is more pressure on us than for a normal game." Toldo then confessed to a series of sleepless nights in the build-up to what the Italian papers have termed 'the derby matches of the century'. Chances are he will not be the only insomniac in Milan these next seven days.