04/04/2002

INZAGHI SPARKS MILAN REVIVAL

It has been a long winter for AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, but since the arrival of spring - and particularly the return to action of striker Filippo Inzaghi - life at the San Siro is finally beginning to look up.

Victory over Chievo this weekend would go a long way to ensuring the Rossoneri a place in the Champions' League next season, and Milan can still dream of silverware as they prepare for Thursday's Uefa Cup semi-final with Borussia Dortmund.

The club still have a long way to go to achieve both aims, but for Ancelotti the turnaround has proved a job-saver.

At the beginning of last month, his side's 2-0 defeat at Champions' League rivals Bologna was hailed as the worst Milan performance of a terrible season. Four days later, Hapoel Tel Aviv beat Milan in the first leg of their Uefa Cup quarter-final.

Thankfully for Ancelotti, Inzaghi was on the mend. A tearful SuperPippo had been carried off with knee ligament damage after scoring in Milan's 3-2 win over Chievo in early December, and with him went Milan's spark.

Loss of form then injury then deprived Ancelotti of Andriy Schevchenko, but with the return of Inzaghi, the pendulum has swung back in the coach's favour.

Ancelotti was accused of risking Inzaghi too soon, but the coach's judgement is not now being called into question.

"Inzaghi has made AC Milan a new team," vice-president Adriano Galliani said. "All his team-mates play better with him on the pitch.

"He feels loved at AC Milan and he gives all he can for this shirt as he has shown since his return. He is exhausted at the end of every game."

Inzaghi came back off the bench following the Tel Aviv debacle to help his side to a 2-1 win over Torino at a nervy San Siro, then started for the first time as Milan overturned their first leg Uefa Cup deficit to knock out the Israeli side.

Another narrow win, this time away to Piacenza, followed before Inzaghi marked his return with two goals as Parma were overwhelmed at the weekend.

Inzaghi has lost just once while playing for Milan, a 1-0 defeat against Torino on 4 November, and with the striker back in the side, Milan have won three Serie matches in a row for the the first time since September.

With Pippo on the pitch, even Milan enigma Manuel Rui Costa has been coaxed into finally reproducing the form he showed during seven glorious years at Fiorentina.

Shevchenko is unlikely to return for another two weeks, increasing the burden on Inzaghi who has thrived as the focal point of the Milan attack. Always teetering on the brink of offside, Inzaghi's lightning darts in the box give the midfield a willing target and a potent finisher.

Eight goals in 15 Serie A appearances since his summer move from Juventus tells a story of what might have been had both he and Shevchenko been fit to spearhead the Milan attack together.

With Andrea Pirlo, who scored his first of the season against Parma, also in excellent form and now giving Rui Costa cause for concern over his place in the side, Inzaghi is convinced that both he and Milan are peaking at the right time.

"The improvement has come about thanks to all of us, it is not just down to me," he said. "Pirlo is unbelievably talented and is the perfect midfielder to play behind me.

"He hasn't played much this season, but he has made an impact when he has. He is still young and I feel sure he will become one of the best playmakers in the world. Massimo Ambrosini has also recently returned and Paolo Maldini is finally back.

"Everyone, particularly those who have played most matches this season, is in much better shape now. I'm just looking forward to playing alongside Sheva."

With Milan returning to form, the omens do not bode well for Borussia Dortmund, particularly with an-all Milan final still on the agenda. "We'll go to Dortmund knowing how difficult this match will be, but we hope to get a good result that will allow us to qualify at home," Inzaghi added.

"The form we are in gives us every reason to feel optimistic. I am dreaming of playing in the Uefa Cup final - especially against Inter."

[Onefootball.com]