KAKA the outstanding player in this season's Champions League

AC Milan squad penpix for Champions League final
ROME, May 18 (Reuters) - Brief portraits of AC Milan players ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool in Athens on May 23:
Goalkeepers:
1-DIDA, 33. No player divides Milan's fans like Dida. The Brazilian international was the hero of Milan's victory in the 2003 Champions League final, when he saved three penalties in their shoot-out win over Juventus. Since then, however, his increasingly erratic performances have damaged his popularity and many of the club's supporters now consider him a liability.
16-KELJKO KALAC, 34. Like Dida, Milan's reserve keeper has a tendency to spill easy balls. He has made two Champions League appearances for the club: first, in the scoreless away draw against Celtic, then in the 2-0 defeat to Lille at the San Siro in December - Milan's only home defeat in the competition this season.
Defenders:
44-MASSIMO ODDO, 30. One of six Milan players - along with Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Filippo Inzaghi and Alberto Gilardino -- who took part in Italy's World Cup-winning campaign last year, Oddo joined the club from Lazio in January to fill the right-back role vacated by Brazil veteran Cafu. He is an erratic crosser but a good tackler, as he proved by helping to shut down Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo in the semifinals.
13-ALESSANDRO NESTA, 31. Plagued by a groin injury during the first half of the season, Nesta is now back to his imperious best. Clinical in the tackle, strong in the air, and possessed of a deceptive turn of speed, the Rome-born defender is a quietly authoritative presence at the centre of Milan's back four.
3-PAOLO MALDINI, 38. If he recovers from a recurrent knee injury to take part in the final, the Milan captain will have appeared in eight European Cup and Champions League finals - a mark only reached by Real Madrid midfielder Francisco Gento. Maldini lacks the pace he once had, but remains effective due to his remarkable sense of positioning.
18-MAREK JANKULOVSKI, 30. The Czech international played in midfield for former club Udinese, but was transformed into a marauding wing-back when Milan bought him at the start of last season. His aggressive partnership with Oddo allowed Milan to dominate the flanks in the return leg of their semifinal against Manchester United.
4-KAKHA KALADZE, 29. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti used to field Kaladze at left-back, but has recently moved him back into his preferred position in the centre of the defence as a substitute for Paolo Maldini. Like Jankulovski, the Georgian international has plenty of top-level experience and could start in Athens if Maldini's knee injury prevent him from taking part.
2-CAFU, 36. The former Brazil captain has lost his automatic starting place to Oddo, but remains one of Milan's hardest-working players. His huge international experience often prompts team coach Carlo Ancelotti to bring him on as a late substitue when Milan need to protect a lead.
Midfielders:
8-GENNARO GATTUSO, 29. Milan's midfield mastiff is often portrayed as a purely destructive force - a player whose tireless running and tackling breaks down opponents' attacks and frees up space for his more skillful teammates. In the past few years, however, Gattuso has looked increasingly comfortable on the ball and he is now as capable of starting moves as ending them.
20-JOANN GOURCUFF, 20. Billed as Zinedine Zidane's heir apparent when he joined Milan last summer, the Frenchman has spent most of his first season in the shadow of his more illustrious midfield companions. Only used as a substitute for Clarence Seedorf.
21-ANDREA PIRLO, 28. When Milan last won the Champions League in 2003, Pirlo was the pivot around which their team turned. In Athens Liverpool are more likely to worry about Kaka, but if Liverpool give the Italian international time on the ball he will punish them with his combination of great vision and pinpoint passing. Pirlo is also Milan's most dangerous free-kick taker.
23-MASSIMO AMBROSINI, 29. Ambrosini used to spend most of his time on Milan's bench, but Ancelotti's decision to switch from a three to a four-man midfield with Kaka pushed up into attack has led to him getting more starts. Ambrosini is strong in the air, and has headed several match-winning goals from corners and free-kicks this season.
10-CLARENCE SEEDORF, 31. Previous Champions League titles with Ajax (1995), Real Madrid (1998) and Milan (2003) make Seedorf the only player to win the competition with three different clubs. The Dutchman is approaching the match against Liverpool in his best form of the season, having scored in the quarter-final againt Bayern Munich and in the last four against Manchester United.
22-KAKA, 25. The Brazilian international has been the outstanding player in this season's Champions League and is the competition's top scorer with ten goals. In Serie A, he plays in the hole behind the strikers. In Europe, Ancelotti pushes him forward into a role similar to the one Shevchenko used to fulfil - to use his devastating acceleration and speed to tear through opposition defences.
Forwards
9-FILIPPO INZAGHI, 33. Age and a succession of knee injuries have taken their toll on Inzaghi, who has been pushed down the pecking-order by Gilardino. Often mocked for his apparent lack of skill, and accused of being a diver, Inzaghi's phenomenal positional sense remains unimpaired as he showed when he broke Bayern Munich's offside trap to score in the second leg of their quarter-final.
11-ALBERTO GILARDINO, 24. Milan's top scorer in Serie A is the opposite of Inzaghi - a big, muscular centreforward who likes to take on defenders, can score off either foot and is strong in the air. Gilardino has yet to reproduce his domestic form in Europe this season and could feel he has something to prove in Athens.
7-RICARDO OLIVEIRA, 27. The Brazilian who was brought in to replace Andriy Shevchenko at the start of the season has been a disappointment so far, scoring just three times in 25 Serie A matches, and failing to find the net in six Champions League appearances. He is unlikely to feature in the match unless Gilardino or Inzaghi get injured.


Clipped from : http://football.guardian.co.uk