KAKA The elegant genius

AC Milan are aiming to win their seventh European Cup when they take on Liverpool in Athens on Wednesday.

The Olympic Stadium will be the scene for a reunion between the sides that featured in the extraordinary 2005 final, when Liverpool battled back from 3-0 down before beating Milan on penalties.

BBC Sport checks on the AC Milan squad charged with facing Rafael Benitez's side.

THE MANAGER

Carlo Ancelotti
CARLO ANCELOTTI Astute, clever tactician who always seems to have the right player in the correct position. The way he employs Gattuso, Ambrosini and Pirlo allows Kaka to be such a threat.

THE GOALKEEPERS

Dida
DIDA His reputation took a knock two years ago when he seemed nervous in the face of the 2005 showdown and he has been criticised by the Milan fans this season. An excellent shot-stopper and an imposing figure when he chooses to command his box.

Zeljko Kalac
ZELJKO KALAC The big Aussie is nicknamed Spider. A well-travelled, experienced keeper who has found opportunities limited because of Dida's consistency, but a more than able back-up.

THE DEFENDERS

Cafu
CAFU Once dubbed "A man with two hearts" by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson for his seemingly boundless energy. At 36, he is still a world-class defender and, while he might have lost a yard or two in pace, he can still rampage up and down the flank.

Paolo Maldini
PAOLO MALDINI Imperious, regal, peerless. His pace and his very future were questioned in the aftermath of the 2005 final defeat. His ability to read the game and his speed of thought mean he is rarely exposed for pace.

Kakha Kaladze
KAKHA KALADZE Will come into the side if Maldini is not fit and the 29-year-old Georgian is a more than able deputy. Signed by AC Milan from Dynamo Kiev to play at left-back, his natural position is in the centre of defence.

Alessandro Nesta
ALESSANDRO NESTA Some say Nesta is not the player he was when he was ranked the best central defender in the world. Like Maldini, the edge might have gone off his pace but he is another player who has turned defending into an art form.

Marek Jankulovski
MAREK JANKULOVSKI Perhaps the best testament to Jankulowski is that Milan admire him so much as a left-back that they moved Maldini inside. The 27-year-old is a swashbuckling defender who loves to raid down the flank.

Massimo Oddo
MASSIMO ODDO Only arrived at the San Siro in January from Lazio but is good enough to keep Cafu on the sidelines. A rock-solid defender but also gets forward as Milan's narrow midfield necessitates the full-backs supplying the width.

Dario Simic
DARIO SIMIC Typically uncompromising Croatian defender, who is perhaps best known for being booked three times by referee Graham Poll in the 2006 World Cup. Yet another central defender over the age of 30 but strong in the challenge and good in the air.

Daniele Bonera

DANIELE BONERA Highly rated by Milan but relatively unknown as he tends to be squeezed out for Champions League games. Only Jankulowski has played more Serie A minutes in the Milan defence this season than the pacy 25-year-old.

THE MIDFIELDERS

Gennaro Gattuso
GENNARO GATTUSO Everyone raves about Kaka and purrs over Andrea Pirlo but this is the man you would want in your team. A snarling, snapping bulldog who does the dirty jobs, which allows the others to play. His duel with Steven Gerrard will be a key battle.

Clarence Seedorf
CLARENCE SEEDORF The Dutchman seems to be blossoming with age. Supremely fit and superb with the ball at his feet. His ability to hold the ball under pressure and then time a pass to a runner off him makes him dangerous. Still has a shot on him.

Yoann Gourcuff
YOANN GOURCUFF Is he Zinedine Zidane's heir-in-waiting or the next Youri Djorkaeff? Whatever, Milan saw enough in the 20-year-old Frenchman to offer him a contract up to 2001. Skilful, elegant, pacy and with an eye for goal.

Andrea Pirlo
ANDREA PIRLO Superb passer of the ball, sits just in front of the back four as a playmaker. As a result, he's difficult to pick up and has an uncanny knack of spotting Kaka's runs. Dead-ball specialist.

Kaka
KAKA The elegant genius dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo's pretensions to the crown of best player in the world in the semi-final against Manchester United. Ancelotti has cleverly placed players around Kaka to allow him to hurt the opposition.

Massimo Ambrosini
MASSIMO AMBROSINI Milan's narrow midfield allows them to effectively have two defensive midfielders and, while Ambrosini may not be a bulldog like Gattuso, he is no puppy. Strong in the challenge and an intelligent user of the ball.

Christian Brocchi
CHRISTIAN BROCCHI Perhaps it's unfair to call him 'Gattuso Lite' but Brocchi is very similar to him. Small of stature but big of heart, Brocchi is a bustling player who has seen plenty of action this season in Serie A. Normally operates on the right.

THE STRIKERS

Filippo Inzaghi
FILIPPO INZAGHI One of the great goalscorers in Italian football. At 33, he is a canny and wily penalty-box predator. He will always play on the last defender and his kick of speed over three yards can get him goal-side and into a scoring position.

Alberto Gilardino
ALBERTO GILARDINO A big, strong front man who cost Milan £18m from Parma in July 2005. Initially failed to live up to the price tag but provides a focal point for Milan's attacks and plays a key role in holding the ball until the midfield cavalry arrives.

Ricardo Oliveira

RICARDO OLIVEIRA Milan paid a hefty price to prise the Brazilian from Real Betis, paying £15m plus Johan Vogel. Skilful, instinctive and quick, Oliveira is another player who gets his fair share of Serie A action but steps aside in the Champions League.

Clipped from : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6658701.stm

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite is a breathtaking footballer.

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite is a breathtaking footballer. Never heard of him?

You may know him better as Kaka. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and his players certainly do.

Benitez has been drilling it into his team that the boy from Brazil must be stopped in the Olympic stadium tomorrow night.

Otherwise in the land of ancient Greece, Liverpool's Champions League dream will be in ruins.

Kaka has been the player of the tournament, scoring 10 goals, four of which came against Celtic and Manchester United.

In that semi-final success over the Red Devils, he showed why he and not Cristiano Ronaldo is more deserving of the best player on the planet title, even though the 25-year-old would blush at the suggestion.

Kaka is one of the most humble figures in a football world, bursting with arrogance.

But then he has come through a lot to reach this stage. When he was 18, he suffered a spine fracture, as a result of a swimming pool accident. Deeply religious, he attributes his remarkable recovery to God.

"There are many things I still have to learn," he says, when asked about his stunning level of ability.

He adds: "I want to work hard and become a better player."

When Kaka married his wife Caroline 18 months ago, Milan president Silvio Berlusconi declared he was "the husband every parent would like their daughter to have."

He is certainly the player every manager would like to have. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea would all break the bank to sign him.

Indeed Chelsea had the chance when he was leaving Sao Paulo in 2003.

Listening to his loyalty to Milan, you imagine that he won't be going anywhere for a while yet.

"I didn't pick Milan, Milan picked me. I could have joined Chelsea but they wanted to send me on loan to Russia while Milan had faith in me immediately.

"Looking back, I'm very happy with what destiny had in store for me. This club is like a family. I feel at home here which is very important to me. I have a contract with Milan until 2011 and will move only if they want to sell me."

Little chance of that if the Milan fans have anything to do with it.

They have started to arrive in Athens for tomorrow's showdown and are looking to Kaka to inspire their team to victory and a seventh European Cup.

He was well on his way to doing that in 2005 when his dancing feet and precision passing helped Milan to a 3-0 lead, before the miracle of Istanbul saw Liverpool eventually win on penalties.

Kaka scored in the shoot-out and says he would be prepared to take one again, although he hopes it doesn't come to that.

"In a final anything can happen, we know it better than anybody after that game in Istanbul," says Kaka, who was part of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning squad, although he only played 19 minutes in that tournament.

He adds: "Liverpool will probably be more difficult to face than Manchester United.

"They are very organised and have a great coach in Rafael Benitez and a great captain in Steven Gerrard. He is an excellent player. He runs, knows how to pass, cross, score goals and he is a leader on the field for Liverpool. He is a player I would like to have in my team."

Gerrard would say the same and will be well aware that he won't get his hands on the European Cup if Kaka takes control tomorrow night.

Instead the golden boy from Brazil will be running around the Olympic stadium with the most prized silver in club football.

Clipped from : http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Kaka, presently the best footballer in the world

Kaka, presently the best footballer in the world along with Ronaldo, can win the game for the white shirts of Milan if given carte blanche. Athens boasts a Gene Kelly School of Dance and Kaka could enrol with the ball as his partner and pass out top of the class.

United went all cavalier in San Siro and the elegant Brazilian ripped them apart with his passing and dribbling. Steven Gerrard reckons he has never seen a midfielder run so fast with the ball as Kaka, who gave Liverpool such a high-speed, high-class chasing for 45 minutes in Istanbul in 2005. Only when Didi Hamann arrived at the break was Kaka, the man from the fashion centre of Milan, fitted for a strait-jacket.

Liverpool are forewarned. Gerrard's midfield colleague, Xabi Alonso, has already talked this week about the importance of stifling Kaka. "We will work on closing him down and trying to be compact," the Spaniard said. Sounds like a typical Benitez training session.

Publicly, Benitez insists he will not man-mark Kaka. Jamie Carragher, the sharpest mind in the Liverpool party who landed here yesterday, gives a wry view on preparations, observing: "We won't decide until nearer the game whether picking Kaka up is a job for the defence or the midfield. I'm hoping it's the midfield!"

And this is the problem presented by the zephyr blowing in from Milan's midfield. Kaka moves around off the front-runner, dropping deep, drifting wide and always capable of finding top gear in a split-second. He must be midfield's responsibility.

Benitez is considering unleashing the revitalised Harry Kewell on the left, but the best way to tame Kaka is to deploy intelligent, selfless workers like John Arne Riise on the left of a midfield including similar souls in Javier Mascherano, Alonso and Gerrard. Communication and concentration are the ways to combat Kaka. If Liverpool, and Mascherano in particular, manage that, they should prove the omens right.


Clipped from : http://www.telegraph.co.uk

"Kaka is a very good player" Benitez said.

Athens (dpa) - Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said Tuesday that he will not change his defensive system to counter the threat of AC Milan dangerman Kaka in Wednesday's Champions League final.

"We know that Kaka is a very good player but it is our system to mark in a zone," said the Spaniard at a press conference ahead of the match at the Athens Olympic stadium.

Brazil star Kaka has netted 10 times for Milan in the Italian club's run to this year's final, including three in the Devils' 5-3 aggregate win over Manchester United in the semi-finals.

"We will try and control the ball and the space rather than man- mark," said Benitez, who also revealed that injury worry Bolo Zenden was fit enough to train and that Harry Kewell was "an option." Australian international Kewell is recovering from surgery on his groin and has played just 46 minutes of football this season but Benitez said he still believed the player could put in a full 90 minutes if necessary.

"We will have two or three options, we will see what happens in training," said Benitez.

The Liverpool boss said he didn't believe fans would see a repeat of the amazing Champions League final between the sides two years ago in Istanbul when the Reds came back from 3-0 down at half-time to eventually prevail in a penalty shootout.

"The final two years ago was amazing and for me was the best final in the history of this competition," said Benitez. "I don't think we will see a game like this."

Benitez said instead this time around the game was more likely to be a tight affair with chances at a premium.

"I think it will be a tough game, difficult for both teams. I don't think we will see a lot of goals," he said.

"The team that scores the first goal will have a great advantage."


Clipped from : http://www.bangkokpost.com

KAKA is Liverpool's biggest headache

Up against Kaká, you always have the same dilemma. Do you man-mark him or treat him like any other player and not change your tactics? Do the former and you lose a creative edge in midfield, risk the latter and the stakes are high as you strive to silence one of the world's best players.

Risk aversion
Liverpool FC boss Rafael Benítez looks set to choose the second option as his side attempt to defeat AC Milan and win the UEFA Champions League for the second time in three seasons in Athens on Wednesday. "We know Kaká is a very good player, but our system is not to mark him individually," Benítez said. "We mark zonally and try to control the play, the ball and the space." Time will tell if the Spaniard is right, but statistics, for what they are worth, might suggest a different approach. Kaká is largely marked man-to-man in Serie A and as a result, has scored just eight goals in 31 appearances this term. In the UEFA Champions League, where he invariably encounters a zonal defence, the 25-year-old Brazilian international has registered ten times in 14 matches. "In Europe no team marks me man-to-man," Kaká said. "I'm sure it will be the same against Liverpool."

Lethal
Kaká has been particularly lethal against British teams this season, hitting the only goal of the tie against Celtic FC in the Round of 16 before adding three more in the 5-3 aggregate win over Manchester United FC in the semi-finals. "I don't know if there are particular reasons for this but I have always played well against British opponents and I hope to do it again," the forward said. According to Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, however, Liverpool are not a classic British side. "I think the only really British team we faced on the way to the final was Celtic," he said. "United play a more flamboyant style of football while Liverpool rely mostly on a solid defence and counterattack. Against Liverpool we will not have the same space we had against United."

Threat
Space is exactly what you don't want to give to a player with the pace and technique of Kaká. Benítez knows it better than most. The Brazilian ran the show in the first half against Liverpool in 2005 when Milan jumped into a 3-0 lead; it was only after the interval when Benítez introduced Dietmar Hamann to bolster his midfield that the English club gained a foothold in the game. On the other hand, with the likes of Clarence Seedorf thriving in the room opened up by Kaká, paying the Brazilian too much attention can create problems of its own. Man-to-man or zonal defence, holding midfielder Javier Mascherano will have his hands full on Wednesday – not to mention centre-backs Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger every time the Milan No22 gets the ball.


Clipped from : http://www.uefa.com

Kaka has dedicated his participation to the cause of hungry children

Rome, 22 May (AKI) - Brazilan football superstar Kaka has dedicated his participation in Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Final to the cause of hungry children. Kaka who is a goodwill Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will play Italian club AC Milan against England's Liverpool in the final in Athens. "Obviously, Wednesday night is all about winning the Champions League trophy for AC Milan," he said. "But personally, I also want to dedicate my appearance in the Athens final to the cause of hungry children."

“As professional footballers, we are very privileged,” said Kakà as he
prepared for the final in Athens. “From time to time we have a chance to
help others because of who we are and what we do. I want to use my
position as a WFP Ambassador Against Hunger to make more people aware of
the challenges of feeding hundreds of millions of hungry children in some
of the poorest, least developed parts of the world.”

“It’s an incredible asset to have the world’s best player in the world’s
favourite game on our team,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

“Kakà has shown that he can combine the skills and dedication needed to be
at the very top of the game with a commitment to a worthy humanitarian
cause.”

Kakà’s dedication of the Champions League final follows the decision
earlier this year, by Paul Tergat, the world marathon record holder - and
another WFP Ambassador Against Hunger - to dedicate his participation in
the 2007 Flora London Marathon to the cause of hungry children.

Clipped from : http://www.adnki.com

"KAKA is a phenomenon" Cristiano Said

anchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo has told the media that he feels flattered to be compared to Milan ace, Kaka. "It feels great to be compared to someone along the ranks of Kaka. It motivates me more, he is a phenomenon, one of the splendid players that Europe has produced."

He added that despite his disappointment to losing out to Milan in reaching the finals of the Champions League, it is not goodbye. "We cannot expect to win everything in a year. We did well in the Champions League, but at San Siro, we simply couldn't match up to the Great Milan."

Clipped from : http://kakafans.net