Frank Rijkaard said he was relishing the prospect of a Champions League final clash with Arsenal after watching his Barcelona side outclass AC Milan to book their date in Paris.
A goalless draw at the Nou Camp on Wednesday was enough to send Barca into the final 1-0 on aggregate and their Dutch coach paid tribute to his players.
"I'm very happy with the team because they did a great job over the two legs. We would have like to score in front of our own supporters but we were not able to do it against a very strong opponent," Rijkaard said.
"Milan are great team with a very strong mentality, so I am very happy that my team kept battling right to the end and never allowed them any chances to get back into the tie," he said.
The fact that the two most entertaining clubs in European football will contend the continent's biggest prize will delight football purists around the world.
Rijkaard's diplomatic nature prevented him from casting the May 17 final in that light, but he made clear his admiration for Arsene Wenger's young Arsenal side and the way they have defied the odds to make it to Paris.
"I think they did a great job this season. They are a very good team with a lot of youngsters and they deserved to reach the final. It means there will be a serious, really strong opponent for us. People can say we are favorites, but I don't agree. A final is always a unique, one-off game and there is no such thing as favorites," Rijkaard said.
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was frustrated not to get the chance to make up for last year's traumatic final appearance, when his side blew a 3-0 half-time lead before losing on penalties to Liverpool in Istanbul.
"It is the little details that decide matches like these and tonight they went in Barcelona's favor and against us," Ancelotti said in reference to a second half header by Andriy Shevchenko, which found the net but was ruled off by German referee Markus Merck, who apparently felt the Ukrainian striker had fouled Carlos Puyol.
Although Barcelona failed to add to the 1-0 advantage they had established in the first leg at the San Siro, Rijkaard's side would have won the return match at a canter with better finishing.
Milan's chances were not helped by the loss of Alessandro Nesta to a groin strain, which resulted in Alessandro Costacurta being pressed into action in the center of defense, two days after his 40th birthday.
It was nevertheless the Italians who were first to bare their teeth in an encounter that had none of the caginess that disfigured the first leg.
Inside a minute, Jaap Stam's simple pass through the inside right channel caught the Barca back four allowed Brazilian midfielder Kaka to get clear and fire a shot across Victor Valdes that went beyond the far post.
That was to prove Milan's best chance of the night and Barca's response was swift, Ludovic Giuly and Andres Iniesta combining to send Samuel Eto'o into the area, where Dida had to be quick off his line to make a good block.
Striker Djibril Cisse scored twice and Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1 to keep the pressure on second-place Manchester United in the English Premier League on Wednesday.
Liverpool attacking midfielder Luis Garcia and West Ham defender Hayden Mullins are likely to miss the FA Cup final on May 13 after both were shown straight red cards in the 81st minute.
Garcia had only been on the field for two minutes as a substitute when he clashed with Mullins, who pushed the Spaniard over. Referee Howard Webb sent them off and both can expect three-game bans.
Liverpool stays third with 76 points, three behind Man United, which has played a game less but is at leader Chelsea tomorrow. West Ham retains 10th spot with 49 points.
Luiz Felipe Scolari is to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson as England manager, a series of reports said yesterday, sparking surprise -- and some protests -- that the job should go to a foreign coach for a second time.
The Brazilian popularly known as "Big Phil," who won the 2002 World Cup with his home nation, was offered the post by Football Association executives on Wednesday, newspapers and broadcasters reported.
FA chief executive Brian Barwick and lawyer Simon Johnson made a formal approach to Scolari, 57, at a meeting in Lisbon, where he is preparing the Portuguese team for the World Cup finals, beginning on June 9.
They met him with full permission from Portuguese football authorities, FA officials were quoted as saying anonymously.
Returning yesterday, Barwick confirmed that he had met Scolari, but refused to confirm the Brazilian was now the FA's first choice to replace Eriksson.
Scolari's contract with Portugal, whom he led to the Euro 2004 finals, expires on July 31 and he is thought to have agreed not to commit himself to another post before this date.
The FA board is due to meet next Thursday and had hoped to be in a position to finalize their selection by then.
News of the FA's reported move for Scolari over a homegrown candidate was met with unease in some quarters.
"I think it would be a popular decision, but I don't think in the long term it's a good decision for what's best for England and English football," said Howard Wilkinson, twice England's caretaker boss and now chairman of the League Managers' Association.
Mark Hughes, the Blackburn Rovers boss who formerly managed the Welsh team, called the new "another blow to British coaching," as well as to the coaching courses run by the FA itself.
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the final in his past six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
Taiwan’s national basketball team on Wednesday suffered a heartbreaking loss, ending their FIBA Asia Cup run after Iran staged a dramatic comeback to secure a 78-75 victory in the quarter-finals at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia. Taiwan were in front for 38 minutes, 30 seconds of the 40-minute game. Iran only took the lead in the final minute, but it was enough to knock Taiwan out of the tournament. With the win, Iran advanced to tomorrow’s semi-finals, when they face Australia. The loss ended a promising campaign for Taiwan, who had been aiming for their first semi-final appearance since the 2013 FIBA
STUMBLE: World No. 2 Coco Gauff confidently won her first set against seventh-seed Italian Jasmine Paolini before being overcome in the second and third sets World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Coco Gauff were sent crashing out of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday, while Carlos Alcaraz fought off a fierce challenge from Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals. Top seed and defending champion Sabalenka had no answer for Elena Rybakina, falling to the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-1, 6-4. Reigning French Open champion Gauff had 16 double faults in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 exit at the hands of seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini. Spain’s second-ranked Alcaraz had his difficulties, but he broke Rublev in the final game of a tense duel to emerge a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 winner
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