ITALY: SOCCER - Champions League top scorer Kaka previews this season's final between Milan and Liverpool on May 23 in Athens

Kaka says Liverpool's European success belongs to history and adds he would love to play alongside their captain Steven Gerrard as AC Milan prepares to face the same opponents who beat them two years ago in the Champions League final. The writing is on the wall as Kaka prepares to face Liverpool in their second Champions League final in three years against AC Milan, on Wednesday (May 23), in Athens. In 2005, the same two teams battled for Europe's most coveted football prize and Liverpool won that extraordinary encounter 3-2 on penalties, having produced one of greatest ever comebacks after being three-nil down at half time. Brazilian midfielder Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, better known as Kaka, has been Milan's inspiration this season and says that meeting Liverpool again give the Italians a chance to rewrite history. "For me, the motivation is to get once again to a final and have the possibility of winning the Champion's League. This is my motivation. Everyone is talking about a revenge for what happened in 2004 and 2005. I think what happened in 2004 and 2005 is a thing of the past. It happened. We lost that final, Liverpool were the champions and it will always be remembered that way. So we have the opportunity to once again, make our mark on history," he said. This season has brought mixed fortunes to Silvio Berlusconi's club. Milan was one of five Italian clubs to have been deducted Serie A points after allegations of match fixing. They are now fourth in the standings and have have just secured a Champions League place next season. Milan's European form has been much better than at home and Kaka takes this confidence to the final against Liverpool after eliminating Manchester United. "Everyone expects Milan to play at the same level they did against Manchester -- and so do the players. And if we were able to play like that once, I believe we can play like that many other times. So I believe in my team, I believe in my team mates and hope we can play (against Liverpool) as well as we played against Manchester," he said. Milan beat Manchester United 5-3 on aggregate to claim their place in the final. The 25 year-old Brazilian scored three goals over the two semifinals and is Europe's top scorer in the competition so far with an impressive tally of ten. "Three goals against Manchester United is really special. To be able to score three against such a team -- two at Old Trafford and one at the San Siro was a privilege for me. But as I always say, it is the pleasure of helping my team and to be able to be counted by my teammates," Kaka said. Kaka has moved to Milan in 2003 after a brief appearance as a substitute for Brazil in the 2002 World Cup they won in Japan. After four years in Europe, Kaka has been to analyse the differences between Liverpool and Manchester United, who they beat to reach the Champions League final. "I think Liverpool, differently from Manchester, play a game that is very typical of the English soccer. They are a very well coached team by (manager Rafael) Benitez and they are a very tactical team, they play tactically. They are a team that marks tight. It has all the characteristics of an English team. Manchester is a team that like to play more, the quality of their passing is better and keep the ball longer. Liverpool no -- they are different and they have the typical characteristics of English football," he said. But Milan is not Kaka only. The Brazilian was full of praise for one of his team-mates, Gennaro Gattuso, the midfield enforcer who holds the team together and has shown his importante when Milan fell apart after he was replaced in the first leg semifinal, allowing Manchester United to come from 2-0 down to win 3-2. "Gattuso is a fundamental player for Milan for all his runs and the motivation he instils on us. I cannot stop seeing Gattuso running and do nothing. So, he is a big motivation for me on the pitch," he said. A declared admirer of Manchester United's portuguese wizard Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka was also praising Liverpool's captain and main weapon Steven Gerrard. "An excellent player, in my opinion, he is a modern player because he is a player who runs, marks, knows how to pass, cross, score goals and he is a leader on the field for Liverpool. So he is a player that I would like to have in my team," he said. A deep religious person, Kaka is convinced Milan's finest hour will arrive if they lift their sevent European Cup at the end of the final against Liverpool in Greece. "The advantage of Milan is the phase we are going through because we have been through difficult moments this season. We have oscillated between good and bad moments but we grew a lot in the most important moment of the season, which is at the end," he said. With the season lasting so long, Kaka has requested not to play for Brazil at the Copa America in July and July in Venezuela so he can enjoy holidays he did not have for the last three years.

ITN Source | May 15, 2007

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