| Match Pictures | Matches: 2006 – 2007 | 2006-2007 Pictures |
Trivia
- European Cup 4th round
- Second Leg (first leg was 0-0); Agg 0-1 defeat.
- Frustrating as we should have got penalty decisions, but as always in Italy they went against us.
- Winner was in extra-time by Kaka (Brazil). Could Lennon have taken one for the team (a yellow) and cut Kaka out on his run?
- Large contingent of Celtic fans at the San Siro.
- AC Milan went on to win the competition by beating Liverpool in the final.
Review
Having matched AC Milan for 180 minutes, Celtic suffered a cruel extra time loss to exit the Champions League. Cruel yes, but we went through 210mins without scoring a goal. Incredible atmosphere as we all made our way to Milan against Celtics wishes, but no victory to take back with us. Kaka scored a wonderful goal to take his team through after Extra-time.
“If he’d run that fast after Kaka in 2007 we’d have got to the quarter-finals of the Champions League!”
Gordon Strachan on Neil Lennon on his post Dundee victory celebrations as compared to the European Cup defeat to AC Milan in the European Cup last 16(March 2019)
Teams
AC Milan team:-
Dida, Oddo (Simic 116), Bonera, Maldini, Jankulovski, Gattuso (Brocchi 79), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi (Gilardino 73).
Subs Not Used:- Kalac, Favalli, Gourcuff, Oliveira.
Booked:- Ambrosini.
Goal:- Kaka 93.
Celtic team:-
Boruc, Telfer, McManus, O’Dea, Naylor, Nakamura (Miller 106), Lennon, Sno (Beattie 97), McGeady, Jarosik (Gravesen 62), Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Subs Not Used:- Brown, Wilson, Kennedy, Riordan.
Booked:- McManus, Naylor, McGeady, Lennon.
Att: 65,000
Ref: Konrad Plautz (Austria).
Articles
Pictures
KStreet
- Pre-match
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- MoTM – Boruc (Link to MOTM Winners)
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Other KStreet threads
Articles
Quotes
(Fri. March 9th) London Times.
Ancelotti [AC Milan Manager] would certainly welcome back Celtic to the Champions League on a regular basis, if only for their supporters. The sight of 10,000 Celtic fans giving their team a standing ovation at the end prompted Ancelotti to reflect that Scottish football followers could teach their Italian counterparts a lesson in loving the game. “This is what we need in Italy, this type of environment,” the Milan coach said. “This was the essence of sport. To hear the Celtic fans singing and chanting after the game was incredible.”
BBC
AC Milan 1-0 Celtic (agg 1-0)
By Colin Moffat
Kaka celebrates his extra-time goal against Celtic at the San Siro
Kaka was the outstanding match-winner for AC Milan
Having matched AC Milan for 180 minutes, Celtic suffered a cruel extra time loss to exit the Champions League.
The visitors had a strong penalty claim early on when Paolo Maldini used an arm to block a shot from Jiri Jarosik.
In the last few minutes of normal time Artur Boruc made two excellent saves to deny Maldini and Clarence Seedorf, while Kaka hit the bar with a shot.
But Kaka drilled in a great solo goal to settle the tie and end Celtic’s European dream for the season.
Interview: Celtic boss Gordon Strachan
It was fitting that a moment of brilliance from the player to shine brightest over both legs won the contest.
But it was tough luck on Celtic, who battled so hard to push their illustrious opponents all the way.
Boruc was called into action inside four minutes and was at full-stretch to push away a curling shot from Kaka after some neat footwork from Seedorf.
But Gordon Strachan’s side rallied immediately and were most unfortunate not to win a penalty kick when Maldini charged down a close range effort from Jarosik with his raised arm.
Kaka was given a glimpse of goal when Celtic failed to clear a 17th minute corner convincingly but the Brazilian star sliced his 15-yard strike wide.
Andrea Pirlo curled a free kick off target before Celtic left-back Lee Naylor made a wonderful goal-saving tackle.
Seedorf rolled a great pass across the six-yard box and, as Filippo Inzaghi looked poised to convert, the defender slid in to take the ball off the striker’s toe.
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was isolated as Celtic’s lone striker as Kaka grew in influence for the home side.
And Naylor was again the Celtic hero when he was on hand to clear a dangerous low strike from the Brazilian just a few yards from the goal-line.
Five minutes before the interval, Celtic almost got a lucky break when Daniele Bonera’s headed clearance hit team-mate Massimo Oddo and ricocheted towards goal, but Dida reacted quickly to make the save.
Celtic players salute the thousands of fans who followed them to Italy
Celtic battled gamely only to lose out at the San Siro
The pattern of play was similar after the break, with AC Milan pushing on and Celtic defending stoutly.
Inzaghi hit the side-netting with an ambitious effort before taking a tumble under a challenge from Naylor. Fortunately for Celtic, referee Konrad Plautz ruled that the offence had taken place right on the edge of the penalty box.
With six minutes remaining, Maldini powered forward to connect with a deep cross from Pirlo but Boruc made a great stop to keep out the Italian’s close range header.
Soon after, the Polish international topped that when he got fingertips to a Seedorf free kick that looked destined for the top corner.
Boruc was then powerless to stop Kaka’s strike from 18 yards but the ball came crashing back off the crossbar and the game went into extra time.
Having battled so hard to match the six-times champions of Europe, Celtic were undone by Kaka three minutes into the extra period.
The game’s outstanding player slipped away from Neil Lennon on the halfway line and drove past McManus with a wonderful change of pace before sliding a shot through the legs of the advancing Boruc.
Pirlo was then given time and space to shoot from 20 yards but Boruc produced another great save.
Celtic threw on strikers Craig Beattie and Kenny Miller but could not muster the energy to pressure Dida’s goal.
AC Milan: Dida, Oddo (Simic 116), Bonera, Maldini, Jankulovski, Gattuso (Brocchi 79), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi (Gilardino 73). Subs Not Used: Kalac, Favalli, Gourcuff, Oliveira.
Booked: Ambrosini.
Goal: Kaka 93.
Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, McManus, O’Dea, Naylor, Nakamura (Miller 106), Lennon, Sno (Beattie 97), McGeady, Jarosik (Gravesen 62), Vennegoor of Hesselink. Subs Not Used: Brown, Wilson, Kennedy, Riordan.
Booked: McManus, Naylor, McGeady, Lennon.
Att: 65,000
Ref: Konrad Plautz (Austria).
AC Milan 1-0 Celtic
Inzaghi 68
Gordon Strachan
Is it really just 14 months since Celtic kept a clean sheet away in Europe? Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA
Gregg Roughley
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/dec/04/minutebyminute.acmilan
Tuesday 4 December 2007 22.34 GMT First published on Tuesday 4 December 2007 22.34 GMT
Preamble:
Evening. Picture the scene. Sport night editor comes into GU Towers expecting a quiet night; acknowledges the security guards with an amiable but manly nod, flicks the kettle on, peruses the back pages of the tabloids for any transfer tittle-tattle and looks at the GU Sport site to see that all the news is up-to-date. Sport night editor notices there’s live coverage of Milan v Celtic in the Champions League. ‘Oh, who’s doing that,’ he wonders? Baffled sports night editor clicks into story and sees his own name staring back at him. Bollocks! Sport night editor duly spits tea onto keyboard and hopes that breaking news will take a night off while he logs into MBM article and starts hastily bashing away at a preamble in the hope that MBM public will bear with him while he cobbles together a rough guide to tonight’s match.
Right, Celtic need just a point to qualify and wee Gordon has set his team out to do just that. He’s put five across the midfield and left poor Scott McDonald up front on his own in the absence of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. This might seem like a sensible thing to do but personally I reckon this will just invite pressure onto a defence which will find European Footballer of the Year Kaka and Inzaghi’s movement especially difficult to deal with. The warning signs for Gordon Strachan were there when he attempted the same tactic against Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and on that occasion the Hoops conceded two goals inside five minutes.
Here’s tonight’s teams:
AC Milan: Kalac, Cafu, Bonera, Simic, Favalli, Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Kaka, Seedorf, Inzaghi. Subs: Fiori, Kaladze, Gilardino, Gourcuff, Brocchi, Oddo, Aubameyang.
Celtic: Boruc, Caldwell, Pressley, McManus, O’Dea, Jarosik, Donati, Scott Brown, Hartley, McGeady, McDonald. Subs: Mark Brown, Balde, Zurawski, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Sno, Killen, Caddis.
Referee: Thomas Henning (Norway)
Pre-match emails:
“So you drew the short straw and have to watch this turgid 1-1 draw and not be at the Barry Glendenning comedy extravaganza did you? I’m very sorry about that,” says Ben Jilbert. Ah, so that’s why the GU Sport desk is empty. Barry’s making a comedy comeback. If I ring his mobile maybe I can disrupt a punchline or two. Anybody know where he’s playing?
Pre-match build-up:
The Celtic fans are booming out You’ll Never Walk Alone as the teams walk out into a half empty San Siro stadium. The Milan fans must be content enough with qualification to worry about coming to support their team. There’s still a hefty noise being made by the 45,000 or so that have turned up though.
Kaka is given the Ballon D’or and gets a healthy round of applause off the fans present. Celtic’s players huddle together in anticipation of a huge performance.
1 min: We’re underway. Cafu collects the ball at right-back and knocks it up the line but McGeady cuts it out. The pitch is awful. It looks like a patchwork quilt an old spinster would make.
3 min: “I predict a mind numbing performance with little for the spectators to enthuse over, and a disappointingly embarrassing result for an entire nation,” says a jolly Ewan Benson. “Glendenning should really stick to his MBMs.” Meanwhile, Seedorf makes the first real advance forward for Milan but dribbles straight into Caldwell in the Celtic penalty box.
5 min: Benfica have gone one-nil up against Shakhtar so Celtic can lose and still go through as it stands. Caldwell makes a long rangey run forward, but Brown gets in his way and Milan gain possession and knock it around midfield with no real urgency.
8 min: McGeady clatters in to Seedorf and wins the ball.The Milan player puts his arm up immediately and signals to the bench that he’s unlikely to get up.
10 min: The Milan physio convinces the Dutchman to gingerly hobble back onto the pitch. Jarosik tries to outwit Cafu on the left wing but the wily old Brazilian sticks to his task and clears the danger. So far so good for Celtic though. Milan don’t look particularly motivated.
13 min: “Do you know tonight’s ref personally?” asks Lars in Norway. “His name is Tom Henning Ovrebo(or Øvrebø as it is in Norwegian letters), so saying that Thomas Henning is refereeing is probably how his wife and other close family will answer if you ask them what Tom Henning is doing tonight. The rest of Norway, and the world probably, uses his last name a lot more that the Guardian seem to. How about amending tonight’s referee to Tom H. Ovrebo, of Norway.” Okay, Lars, that’s me told. Milan get a free-kick on the edge of the Celtic box.
15 min: Pirlo lays it back to Seedorf who drives it straight into the Celtic wall. Pirlo scored a 35 yard free-kick in the league last week – I’d have fancied him to have a go from there. McManus makes a tremendous last-man challenge on Kaka as the Brazilian bursts through from midfield.
20 min: “Barry Glendenning does comedy!” says a shocked Jim Denvir “You should try to talk him into using some of his humour in his MBMs. It would make them far more interesting.” It’s hard enough getting him to do an MBM Jim. McGeady again beats Seedorf in the tackle but Jarosik is dispossessed on the edge of the box. Benfica are now two goals in front at Donetsk.
25 min: Apologies. The system keeps going down here, so posts may be infrequent.
28 min: Inzaghi goes close after Ambrosini whips in a low cross from the left wing, but it just scrapes his toe and goes wide. Simic has gone off injured. Kaladze is poised to replace him.
30 min: I’m sure these system issues are the reason Glendenning didn’t come in tonight. Inzaghi goes close with a volley. The match is being played out like a procession. Both teams must be aware of the result in Donetsk.
33 min: I’m still typing away even though I’m aware none of you can read this at the moment. Ambrosini whips in another ball but Caldwell leaps above Inzaghi and heads clear. Apparently the GU IT crowd have got someone on the case in Australia to try and get the site back online? I don’t know why either.
35 min: Gattuso drives a shot at goal but McGeady blocks. McDonald picks it up on the half way line and finds Caldwell on the right. Caldwell inexplicably just runs the ball out for a Milan throw like an excitable school kid.
39 min: McDonald has held the ball up well for Celtic tonight and taken some of the pressure off the midfield and defence.
41 min: There are lots of people running around the office now. I think they’re under the impression that panicking will solve the IT problem. Pirlo tries to find Seedorf but Donati clears for a Milan corner.
44 min: Milan are dominating possession but Celtic’s defence is standing up well to the pressure. Kaka and Pirlo have struggled to find the killer ball though. It’s Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Benfica at half-time.
Half-time: Huge apologies for the IT problems. The system has been down for 25 minutes. I have gamely carried on updating but I’ve also been trying to find an IT boffin to get the problem fixed. However I can tell you that Celtic are going through as it stands and the match has been played out as if both teams are aware of this.
I’ve just had the pleasure of viewing the highlights of the first-half of the Shakhtar v Benfica match and somehow Benfica are managing to outplay Shakhtar despite being dressed like eskimos. Three of their attackers are playing while wearing hats and polar fleeces under their shirts. Half-time score: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Benfica.
Half-time emails: “Enjoying the MBM so far Gregg – especially the 16th minute onwards [when the site was offline]. It’s maintaining the appropriate level of tension while not spoiling it for those that want to watch the highlights later tonight,” says Ewan Benson, with just a splash of sarcasm.
“There’s an episode of The Family Guy where Peter and Meg smash up the transmitter for the town’s TV station. The station’s newsreaders eventually just start saying any old thing that comes to mind because they know that nobody’s able to see them. I wonder if you’ll start doing the same thing during your current tech-challenged MBM. It’s ‘Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Benfica’ you said at half-time.Yep.. there we go,” says Dave. I will endeavour to get this shambolic MBM back on the road in the second half, I promise.
46 min: Scott Brown needlessly fouls Seedorf 30 yards from the Celtic goal and is booked. He’ll miss the second round if Celtic get through. Pirlo takes the free-kick and the ball moves left to right through the air before just missing the top right hand corner of the Celtic goal. Boruc didn’t even move.
48 min: The ball breaks off McManus and Inzaghi is clean through on Boruc on the left hand corner of the six-yard box, but Boruc closes down the angle expertly and the Italian hits the ball wide. Great goalkeeping by the Pole.
51 min: “Gregg, just tuned in. Could the tea spitting be the cause of the IT meltdown?” wonders Mark Grindrod. No Mark, I’m starting to think this whole debacle is part of my very own meltdown.
53 min: Ambrosini wins the ball in the centre of the pitch and Kaka and Seedorf combine well before Seedorf loses his composure and hopelessly passes the ball out of play for a Celtic throw.
56 min: McManus plays a raking 45-yard pass over the top of the Milan defence which lands perfectly at the feet of the rampant Scott Brown. It sits up for him to volley at goal from 15 yards out but he drags his shot miles wide when it was surely easier to get it on target. The best chance of the match goes begging.
59 min: Milan respond well with concerted pressure. Inzaghi misses a scissor kick and Seedorf blasts a close range volley into the chest of Gary Caldwell, who is left wincing on the floor.
60 min: The most bizarre thing happens. Gattuso finds Kaka on the left of the Celtic box and he drops a little volleyed cross perfectly onto the head of Inzaghi who nonchalantly heads the ball into Boruc’s arms as if he was aware he was offside. The flag stays down and I can only assume that Kaka’s cross was delivered with such composure that he thought the Brazilian had been flagged. Milan should be one-up.
63 min: Gary Caldwell has had a great game. Kaka has a sight of goal but Caldwell charges at him and the Brazilian fires well over the bar. Scott McDonald is replaced by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. McDonald looks knackered – he’s run his socks off in what’s been a thankless task.
66 min: Gourcuff has replaced Seedorf who looks relieved to be going off. He’s been kicked all over the park by Celtic’s midfield.
Goal!!! 68 min: Kaka drifts down the right wing and Cafu overlaps. Kaka plays in the Brazilian who pulls back a low cross to Inzaghi, who’s unmarked, and the Italian slots home with ease. A great free-flowing move from Milan but Celtic will still go through while Shakhtar are still losing in Donetsk.
71 min: That was Inzaghi’s 63rd goal in Europe. Apparently that’s a record. Celtic get a free-kick 30 yards out on the left. McGeady takes a run up and curls it with pace around the wall, but the huge frame of Kalac plucks it out of the air with ease.
74 min: Sno has come on for Celtic. I didn’t catch who went off I’m afraid. Celtic knock a couple of long balls towards Hesselink but the passes are not accurate enough for him to collect.
78 min: Zurawski replaces Jarosik. “I hope that GU’s Scott Murray isn’t standing nearby,” says George Templeton. “I wouldn’t want him to hurl himself out of GU’s fifth floor window in the event that Shakhtar Donetsk score in the fifth minute of stoppage time to knock Celtic out of the Champions League.” Thankfully he’s not George. Let’s hope he’s working in a basement somewhere away from sharp objects if that does happen. Kaka breaks down the right and tries to find Inzaghi with a low cross but Pressley clears. Celtic look happily consigned to defeat.
81 min: Kaka spreads the play to Cafu on the right who plays a first-time cross to Brocchi. He hits an instant low shot which Boruc parries. Inzaghi pounces on the rebound but Boruc saves brilliantly again. Celtic break immediately and Scott brown forces a save out of Kalac. The corner comes to nothing.
84 min: “Apparently Inzaghi’s miss before also broke the record for the number of easy misses anyone has had in the Champions League by going up to 638, just beating his record for needlessly being offside (636 times),” says Alec Cochrane, who probably wouldn’t pick give Inzaghi a lift if he was stranded and it had just started snowing. Meanwhile, it’s still Shakhtar 1-2 Benfica in Donetsk. If Shakhtar don’t score two goals Celtic are through. Faux-hard man Gattuso has just been winded. He’s looking at his torso as if he half expects a piece of it to be missing. Cafu has a long range shot but Boruc saves.
87 min: Cafu races down the right for Milan but his cross his cut out. Celtic break and the ball is worked out to Caldwell on the right. He picks out Hesselink in the six-yard box but his header is weak and dribbles wide. They’re in stoppage time in Donetsk and it’s still 2-1.
89 min: Kaka shows why he’s the best player in the world. He skins Paul Hartley on the left and dribbles across the Celtic box leaving Boruc outstretched. He tries to be too clever though and instead of blasting it home he attempts to outwit Sno who blocks his shot – the best piece of skill yet.
92 min: The Celtic fans go crazy as news of Donetsk’s defeat spreads around the ground. Celtic are through to the second round.
Full-time: Celtic are beaten in Milan, but they won’t care. Their performances at home have ensured they make it into the second round for the second year in a row.
Post-match musings: Well at least that’s all over with. Sorry for the technical problems. At least Celtic stumbled over the finish line – a bit like your MBM host tonight. Thanks for all your emails, I hope things run a little more smoothly next time.