New Delhi: Between them Liverpool and AC Milan have been European champions 11 times but the two sides are under no illusion when they meet early on Thursday morning in the Champions League final at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
Having lost in a dramatic fashion to Liverpool in the 2005 final, the Italian club will be looking to extract their revenge this time.
The 2005 loss to Liverpool still rankles AC Milan and having been traumatised by the Italian match-fixing scandal last year, the Rossoneri will be looking to redeem themselves much in the way the Italian national team did, by winning the World Cup.
"The game we played two years ago is history and it has got nothing to do with tomorrow's game. This is going to be a totally different game, and of course we have strong motivation, because any time you get to play a final you are highly motivated," AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
With a powerful strike-force that will be spearheaded by the brilliant Kaka, Ancelotti knows the Liverpool back-line will be in for big trouble.
Though Liverpool have no plans to man-mark Kaka, Ancelotti is confident that his defence wall led by the ageless Paolo Maldini will stand up to the challenge.
Not much separates the two powerhouses though.
In the Champions Cup/Champions League, they have played in 10 previous finals, winning six and losing four.
In the Champions Cup/Champions League, the Merseysiders have only lost once in six finals. The only time the two teams met was in the 2005 final that the Reds won on penalties.
"We know it is not easy to play a final, and to have the possibility of playing the second one in three years is a massive achievement from us," Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said.
A lot however depends on how much Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is able to be in control of the game. Even AC Milan know that if he is up to it, it won't exactly be even-stevens for them.
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