Two years after losing a 3-0 lead and the biggest prize in European club soccer, AC Milan gets a chance to set things straight. The 2005 Champions League final loss in a penalty-kick shootout to Liverpool still haunts AC Milan, and now the team faces Liverpool again for the trophy.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti wants his team to concentrate on what his players have achieved this season after the club's eight-point punishment in the Italian league for match-fixing.

"The game two years ago is another story," he said Tuesday. "It has nothing to do with this. This is a new adventure."

"What we've done this season is extraordinary, considering the difficulties we've faced. Psychologically, we're extremely motivated. Milan deserved to reach to reach this final ¡ª maybe more than any other squad."

Milan led 3-0 at halftime in the 2005 final in Istanbul, Turkey, then gave up three goals in six minutes and lost 3-2 on penalty kicks.

Up to 14 players from the Istanbul final could face each other again in Athens. While the 2005 final began with a rare first-minute goal by Milan defender Paolo Maldini, this game is likely to start more cautiously.

"Our plan will be don't concede any goals and for sure don't concede in the first minute," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. "It will be tough. The last final was amazing. For me, it was the best final in the history of this competition. I don't think we will see a game like that. If you said to me, 'Do you want to see that kind of game,' I would need to see a doctor."

Milan is in its 11th final in Europe's most prestigious competition and is chasing its seventh triumph. It is in its third Champions League final in five years. Liverpool is looking for its sixth title in seven finals.

Liverpool's new American owners ¡ª Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr ¡ª are to attend the game. And it could be messy ¡ª the forecast calls for heavy showers and thunder.

Maldini, who turns 39 next month, hopes to recover from a knee injury to play in his eighth final, tying the competition record of Real Madrid winger Francisco Gento in the 1950s and '60s. If Milan wins, Maldini would collect his fifth European Cup title, one fewer than Gento, dating to 1989.

"To be the captain of a team that is still reaching these heights is really a matter of pride," Maldini said.

Benitez masterminded the Reds' comeback in Istanbul in his first season at Anfield after leading Valencia to unexpected Spanish League and UEFA Cup victories the year before.

Benitez is used to appearing in finals and winning titles ¡ª this is the fourth season in a row he has taken a team to a final. He also led Liverpool to the FA Cup title last year.

Kaka has 10 Champions League goals this season and was the star of Milan's semifinal elimination of Manchester United.

Although 41-year-old defender Alessandro Costacurta is on the brink of retirement and won't feature in the game, Milan could field two more veterans in its back line ¡ª Maldini and 36-year-old right back Cafu. If that's the case, Benitez could send out two fast forwards in Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt and Jermaine Pennant attacking from the right wing.

His other tactic could be to field 6-foot-7 Peter Crouch as the target man for high balls into the box.

Ancelotti won't be able to field Ronaldo, who is ineligible under UEFA rules because he already played for Real Madrid in the competition before his midseason move. The coach must decide whether to start Filippo Inzaghi or Alberto Gilardino in attack in front of Kaka.

A combined 35,000 fans of the two teams have tickets for the game, although there are fears that many more may show up, hoping to buy black-market tickets. Police plan to keep rival fans well apart by diverting them to different parts of the city upon arrival.

About 15,000 police will be on duty. Riot police were already on the streets downtown as early as Monday as the first fans arrived.

(China Daily via AP May 23, 2007)