A defense that has Cafu, Maldini, and Nesta being protected by Gattuso in a midfield that also includes Pirlo, Kaka, and Seedorf + Inzaghi up top? That's arguably 8 of the best players of their generation in their prime in 1 team. 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
Facts dude. That 2006-07 AC Milan team is easily one of the best sides of the last 25 years. They were phenomenal because not only were they were rock solid defensively, but they could pick you apart w possession football or on the counter w Pirlo diagonal ball or Kaká or Seedorf running at you. It was beautiful to watch.
@@TMZahida226 As an AC Milan fan (based in Milan) I beg to differ. 2003-2004 Milan for me was the strongest team of Ancelotti's era. 2006-2007 was already a declining team. Many players had injuries. Sheva had just left, and Oliveira had one nightmare of a season hitting posts almost every sunday (beside the kidnapping of one of his relatives). Borriello was rubbish, Gilardino was already in an identity crisis, and Ronaldo (who couldn't play in CL) was the shadow of his former self. Nesta missed half of a season, and Bonera - Simic - Favalli couldn't step into his shoes I remember how we struggled in the qualifiers against Red Star Belgrade, and later on against Celtic. It was the swansong of a great team.
Filippo Inzaghi. The guy that save all of his energy to celebrate. (Seems like there are many angry kids here that way to serious and doesn't understand humour. This joke is actually very common on Milan fanbase which include me)
@@DpKris nah he doesn't need energy for that. Because it's the ball that run into him. The guy can't play football. But he sure know how to score goals -Johan Cruyff on Inzaghi
Inzaghi would celebrate a tap in, a fortunate deflection, even a clearance from a defender that bounces of his face into the goal in the same manner other players would only reserve for a screamer/solo run goal.
rockzs74r To score a goal in elite level football is very difficult... not many people do it and billions would like to. Inzaghi has scored lots of goals - and he deserves to celebrate. (I help football fans learn English on my channel... please take a look ✌️⚽️)
I've been a Milan fan for over 20 years. Let me make something clear: the 2006/07 Milan was a team in decline that after 4 excellent seasons in Serie A and Europe was approaching its limit. Many players had turned 30, and the loss of Shevchenko that summer to Chelsea was a huge blow. In the league they finished 4th, a massive 36 points behind title winners Inter. The only reason they won the Champions League was due to Ancoletti being a genius tactician, the class and experience of some of the players, and especially due to Kaka' being the best player in the world at that time. Kaka' made the difference. Without him they would have never made it. After 2007, Milan would finish 5th in the league and would not challenge for the Scudetto until 2011 after they signed Ibrahimovic. And even that was short-lived.
Finally someone who actually knows what happened back then. I see only stupid kids commenting here. In 2007 Inter and as roma where way stronger teams. Without kaka they would be in bottom half of serie a
@@jesselioce 2004 and 2005, yes. They were the strongest in the world by far. Too bad those blackouts against Deportivo and Liverpool didn't let them win the CL.
In my opinion 2005/06 ACM played the best football, with all players in their prime. After they scored they could save the ball until the end of match, especially when destructive Ambrosini replaced one of the strikers.
This team made me love AC Milan. Remember playing Winning Eleven and FIFA always with AC Milan. This squad gave you goosebumps just thinking about how good they were. Not to mention the Italian manager Ancelotti on the sidelines with the dead pan mafia boss expression , who wouldn't celebrate at all when goals went in.
@I Got That PMA that's for sure. The teams we call the best in the world today can't hold chalk to the kind of legendary teams we've witnessed in the past.
@@nakata18 Lol yeah true but that team of Dida , maldini, Nesta , simic , cafu , ambrosini , Pirlo, Gattuso , seedorf , Kaka , Inzaghi , Gilardino is irreplaceable. That team was like the Jackson 5 to me..it just seemed like they were tailor made by heaven. Even though they added other stars like Beckham , ronaldinho ,Ronaldo and others to their rosterit just wasn't the same. That team in my eyes could never be replaced or replicated. it was sheer brilliance. I think they are just as great as the Milan team with Ruud Guillet , Van Bastien , Rijkaard ,costacurta etc even though I wasn't alive to witness that team.
I remember this team so well from when I was in my teens. Kaka was phenomenal back then. Also, it's nice for this video to give credit for Gattuso, who has for too long been labelled as a brute but was an amazing footballer.
@array s and they are aspects of the defensive part of the Game that are very technical. He read the Game well but the amount of courage he has is always shielding it
Also KAKA' was doing sort of double duty for the void created due to the departure of Shevachenko, adding to that he did closed down the spaces while team was defending too. That man is a gem of a player.
Inzaghi could be caught ten times in your offside trap, but on the eleventh attempt he'd make you pay for it. A "high risk, high reward" player, he'd constantly probe the discipline of the defensive line and capitalise on eventual mistakes. And of course an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time to get that tap in goal.
Alex Ferguson: "Inzaghi was born in offside". He could give the trust on him as much as a world class goalkeeper can give to the team. You just deliver the ball to the box, and the rest was a history.
Imagine how annoying it was for defences that guy constantly making runs behind their backs. Really underappreciated part of his game. Not only opening huge spaces for Kaka but just the headache to deal with that and restrict ball playing defenders since he was always lurking around them.
@@yuliangeorgiev Absolutely. He made space like Lewandowski makes space for Gnabry or whoever. He cuts from the middle to the left, and takes one or two defenders with him and opens "the door" to the box in the middle. That's so much of job of great no. 9's .
Miguel Silva yes. You don’t have to list the players cause they’re all good. As of recent, the only club outside of the top 5 league to reach the champions league final.
Jingyi Tay has a good midfield and back four. This team carried their way into the Dutch national team minus litmanen, George, and Kanu. Example of shaping a club side and the national team together
The Christmas tree didn't start when we got Kaka. Kaka joined in 2003 and we switched to the Christmas tree in 2006 after we sold Shevchenko. Gilardino and Ricardo Oliveira couldn't fill his shoes, so we decided to switch to 1 striker formation and stack the midfield.
They could easily have won 4 Champions in 5 years, the elimination against Depor and what happen in Istambul makes no sense, Milan was the TEAM os the 2000's.
A tiny mistake there, Simic probably played two or three matches in the whole season, it was Kaladze that was used almost interchangeably with Paolo Maldini.
Yeah me too, he's a beast.. Side note: United could use a striker as lethal as Inzaghi, getting Haaland should be prioritized, that kid is the equivalent of goals..🔥🔥
I grew up with the AC Milan of the 2000s, and I loved this team especially. There was something romantic about the way these players came together, and made sure to deliver everything for teh big European games. Sure, they should'be won a couple more Serie A titles, but there is no doubt that Champions League is the pinnacle of football, and these big players knew that. They had a master coach, who had the same mind. They wanted to be remembered, and there are!
You forgot to mention kaka being absolutely lethal on the counterattack, seriously you’d be better off kicking the ball out of play than losing possession and letting that speed demon dribble into open space
Filippo Inzaghi. The man whose skill is only slightly better than a goalie, but always scored no matter what. And excel at defeating zone marking defense.
I wish there was greater detail on how this team defended. Great video otherwise. When I was young and first getting into football this Milan team was the best team in Europe and Kaka was my favourite player. A real nostalgic moment.
From what I remmember the attacking three would press the opposing back line and put themselves in between the passing lanes of a back four in order. This is very common on formations like a 433 (which in truth a 4321 its just a variation of a 433) Normally, the typical number 10s are somewhat useless defending especially if the are in the hole in front of the opposing centerbacks (the typical CAM role), but in a 4321 formation having two number 10s play as false wingers can at least give you a layout in which you can press effectively and unnerve the opponent. In Ancelotti's credit he found a defensive use for his creative players. The three in the middle would cover their zones in the center and Genaro and Ambro would aid the fullbacks pressing whenever the opponent played in the wider areas. The idea was mainly to have a very compressed formation that didnt allow spaces in the middle areas. Carletto's idea was that if the opponent wanted to score goals, they would want to be in front of the goal. So he sort of allowed them to have the wider areas (which you cant really score goals from there) in order to protect the middle. The opponent would have to make crosses into the box or try to dribble past defenders, but in Ancellotti's luck, not only did he had numerical superiority but he had centerbacks like Nesta and Maldini that could take care of that with ease. So scoring against this team was very hard.
in defense, they just being italian. that day.., not much people pay too much credit on possession ball. they focus on chance creation. So, if they want to talk about statistic, they talk about the number of key pass, shot on goal, shot on target. Why I start with that argument, is because that's how the mindset of Milan as a whole that time. they didn't press aggressively, and the defensive line is not that high. all players would take part in defense in their respective zone, not one on one, but in a zonally positioning system, except for gattuso and abrosini, and should I say Inzaghi. not much people realize that inzaghi often press enemy like a mad man, even if his attempt is not to winning the ball. since his pos in so high, it doesn't matter his positioning is terrible, he just run toward enemy like a mad man. Kaka would just roam filling hole and giving less pressure, while seedorf would close opponent zonally in his territory. Pirlo sit in the hole between the aggressive gattuso and ambrosini. Sometime he gives some aids only to disrupt opponent but let gattuso of ambrosini do the dirty work. But as a whole, they stay compact in the middle area, and let the opponent to play in the peripheral area, mostly in the flanks. Even if they only have one flank player in each sides, both ambrosini and gattuso can filled more area. They key was to make sure they can cut any fast counter attack, and when the enemy attack becomes slower, they begins defending tactically in front of penalty zone. Almost all player who played in Italy (except for trequartista) that time have a better tactical awareness in defending no matter what their role, including striker. All in all, they just did the stand off defense system and move accordingly based on their tactical awareness in positioning and keep the opponent play in the flank. Even the two ball winning midfielder (gattuso and abrosini) have a great tactical awareness even if they always rush opponent aggressively. This way, they just give up the possession. But in most game, they always control and dictate the game since they have 3 great playmaker. So, they are not that bad in keeping the possession. Compare to Barcelona's hassle defense strategy, they were actually better in defending. Barcelona's system just rush the ball wherever the ball is, something like turning all player into gattuso mode. But tactically, in a deeper area, they often makes stupid mistake. They just happens to have the ball almost the time, so the risk for their defender making that ugly mistake are small. But when they do, they just turn into stupid player in defending, several stupid blunder, bad positioning and terrible decision. But it was different with Milan. They defense elegantly in tactical, positioning, and tackling, and in aerial battle. and I forget one small important detail. They don't shy to play a little dirty yet robust just to destroy the rhythm of the opponent's game. they did so many tactical fouls without provoking too much attention from referee just to break the rhythm.
I say this as a longtime Milan supporter who is grateful to have seen Shevchenko, Pirlo, and Kaka in their absolute prime: I think Ancelotti's Milan are one of the greatest underperfomers in football history. That was a squad that could've ruled Serie A for years, but managed one measly league title in eight seasons. I think Seedorf himself basically admitted that they prioritized the Champions League above all and conditioned their performances with that in mind. Hell, even in that magic 06/07 CL season where Kaka was on top of the world destroying European rivals, he wasn't looking all that special in Italy. Shame. I say this mostly because today it's easy to romanticize the Milan of the early days of the century, but watching them back then also had its share of frustration.
Three more things because I can't help it: 1-I'm pretty sure that when Cafu arrived Milan were still heavily using the midfield diamond instead of the tree. Tifo even made a tactical video on the 05 CL final against Liverpool detailing that. 2-Totally agreed on Jankulovski. He is so underappreciated. He was easily Serie A's best left back for a few years. 3-Kaladze was used more than Bonera and Simic if I recall correctly.
@@magentalane27 you know who's more underappreciated than jankulovski? serginho wasnt even mentioned in the video. the milan i remember used to play with one attacking fullback and one defensive but the squad was so old that the players rotated a lot, sometimes was cafu/kaladze, sometimes was a central back on the right side and serginho on the left
Also they were competing with Fabio Capello's Juventus, a team that was cr@p in Europe and instead obsessed with dominating Serie A. I say that as a frustrated Juventus supporter! The Serie A titles of 2005 and 2006 were won by very small margins before being stripped away by Calciopoli.
@@magentalane27 Ancelotti first experimented the tree against Roma in January 2004, with Shevchenko scoring a double supported by Rui Costa and Kakà if I remember well, but indeed at that time he still mainly played Crespo alongside Shevchenko. The tree was the solution adopted after selling Shevchenko, Inzaghi and Gilardino being too similar to play together, but in Serie A he mostly used a 4321 with Ronaldo in front.
The 1st leg semi final against Manchester United was one of the greatest champions league games. Kaka's incredible performance overshadowed Rooney's brace. Rooney doesn't get enough praise for his last minute winner
Ancelotti is the mastermind and the experimentalist. His tactics is always creative and really balances the defense and attack. Although his motto is to keep possession, he has magnificent and quick counter-attack. The most important about Ancelotti is him discovering and developing the players’ strengths which is Pirlo’s situation.
for those who watch this AC Milan play, looking at pirlo majestic pass, kaka outburst and creativity, how seedorf and gattuso chasing the ball back like a possessed madman, it was truly a sight that will always be carved into memories
dan kid lol it was down to Berlusconi, he used AC as a political tool and a personal hobby, but when he got tired of losing money...he stopped funding the club and then sold it to dodgy owners...it has nothing to do with Gazidis. AC Milan rose and fell at the hands of Silvio.
Hey Tifo, can you please give analysis on Dortmund way of recruiting. Recently they have been successfully on recruiting you future stars developing them then selling them for double or even triple the price. Its really interesting..
How I know them , they are always together with German school in major cities, full size football field, with very good premises and equipment and back office. They have their Evokin football school for kids and the future Dortmund coaches are scouting the talents that way locally. That's how they found Lewandowski from Poland. They scout locally the lower leagues, and that's how they get to know Dembele in 3rd league in France.
AC Milan's 2007 Champions League Winning Team explained : Carlo Ancelotti Dida cafu maldini nesta Jankulovski seedorf pirlo gattuso ambrosini kaka inzaghi END of the Video
Nowadays, when you say ''Milan is one of the best clubs of Europe, historically bigger than likes of Barcelona or Manchester United'', people laugh. But If memory serves, they're still the most successful club in CL, second only to Real Madrid and they're still the club that has most league titles in Serie A, after Juventus. Considering Juve has just smothered the league for almost a decade, that means so much.
They were well behind Juve even before Juve’s current dominance. They’re a huge club and I’m a big fan but got to concede that Juve, Madrid and United are historically slightly above them.
Way better. Funny how they were so much better than Liverpool and lost the first time while in 2007 they were washed and Pool played better football but lady luck was once again present.
Kaka was a much, much, much better Thomas Müller, Ramdeuter-esque player before such a thing existed. He just ran at defenses with devastating pace and they collapsed.
You mean 2005 right? Yeah, they are the real monster. I think they celebrated the trophy in the dressing room before the second half began. I can't blame them. They were very superior vs Liverpool in the first half.
I really appreciated your praise for Gattuso and Ambrosini's technical capabilities. People dont realise how good both these were technically, they werent just ball winners. Perhaps neither Gattuso nor Ambrosini were as "complete" as some of today's best midfielders but it was a different era back then and Gattuso/Ambro in their youth trained to be better at their strengths
Unfortunately Milan was already in decline at that point. The starting line-up in the final had an average age of over 30 and the only relatively young key players were Kaká and Gilardino.
Without taking anything from great Pirlo, this team's main focus was Kaka.. Despite having an wonderful squad as explained in this video, Kaka's individual charactaristics helped Milan mostly in winning important UCL matches in 2006/07. In that season Kaka was at his prime and even SAF's ManU couldn’t handle that despite having players lile CR, Rooney, Gigs, Scholes in the team...
@@Fitricson Kaká contributed 2 goals, one goal at san siro and an assist away at the Allianz arena. In the final, Kaká was heavily man marked my mascherano and risse but still 2 goals came from him. One he getting fouled and for other he himself provided an assist. So it seems you just watched the highlight, not the full match. Without Kaká this aging Milan wouldnt even have made past the group stage. Milan lost the group game against lille when kaká was not in squad. An extra time winner against celtic, and a goals galore against united made him the undisputed king of Milan. So know facts before you speak
Another key components I think was also the way Milan keep their players 'young' in fitness and mind. Most of the team are hitting the wrong side of 30s, Kaka the exception.
My second favourite league after Premier League is Serie A, I miss Italian teams like that Milan doing well in Europe. Loads of thought put into every play!
My favourite formation of all times. Triangles everywhere! I'm a Liverpool fan and Athens hurt but we maxed out our luck in 2005. Oddly we probably played the better game in 2007 but you can't have everything (unless you're Madrid). Milan will always be my favourite Italian team and I hope they can win #8 this season. I think Napoli may find you play the club badge in Europe as much as the players. Milan are heritage 😉
Video Suggestion: How clubs like Ajax, Porto, Benfica, Feyenoord, Atletico, Bilbao etc keep on unearthing new and amazing footballers despite selling there top players every other year.
I'm a Juventus fan, to me this Milan 2007 team are the template of how Italian teams should try to play in Europe. Perfect balance between attack and defence; never in panic mode even when things did not go their way; perfect mastery of the ebb and flow pattern of matches. Many other teams would have panicked after drawing 2-2 at home to Bayern or losing 3-2 at Old Trafford, but they had supreme confidence in their ability to overturn those results, and so they did. You could almost sense their serenity throughout the competition, even in the final when Liverpool had a go at them but they always stayed in control. Juventus 2017 had a perhaps similar approach but vastly inferior in player quality, especially in the middle of the park where Pjanic and Khedira left the defence exposed, and upfront where Milan's second striker (Gilardino) was a more effective CL presence than Juve's starter (Higuain).
Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka/Rui Costa flanked by Ambrosini and Gattuso was one of the best midfields ever assembled. It's up there with Socrates, Zico, Cerezo and Falcao in 1982, or Platini, Giresse, Tigana and Fernandez in 1984.
feels very similar to the current liverpool team. the attacking fullbacks with the three holding midfielders covering for them, as well as the lethal front three.
Many times I've wished Ancelotti moved him into midfield against defensive teams because since Serginho left until the arrival of Ronaldinho, that left flank was underproductive except whenever Kaka roamed in that area.
I would love to see the comparison regarding formations between Livepool and AC Milan during their 2004/2005 Champions League finals and the 2006/2007 Champions League finals. Because for me, it looks like AC Milan got their revenge in 2007.
Jankulovski was originally left attacking midfielder back in Banik Ostrava. I belive it was Karel Brukner, Czech national coach from the bronze 2004 who put him behind nedved in 4-4-2 to boost his all out attack team.
Man the thing that prevented this team from going one step further is the age disparity amongst the players. When kaka was at his peak, maldini was almost retired, and so are a few others, and it goes vice versa to when some of the veterans are at their peak, the young talents haven't arrived yet. I legit believe that if this milan squad had everyone playing together at their primes, they would literally dominate the entire 2000s easily
If the 2005 team had one that CL - with Rui, Sheva and Crespo - this AC Milan squad would be considered among the best ever in history, right there with 2008-12 Barca, 1988-92 Milan and 2016-18 Real.
I was too young to have watched this team, so throughout the video I was wondering how on earth they had a very creative, if deep lying, midfield, attacking fullbacks, and 2 CBs. If they hadn’t had two of the best CBs in the world this tactic just wouldn’t have made sense
People are aware of Gattuso's importance, but don't give credit to Ambrossini. He worked hard and did much of the dirty work. He also was useful in offense and wasn't afraid of getting hurt. The Christmas tree formation worked because Milan had the players for it.
You guys forgot to mention how brilliant was Kaká in that season, the fact the he outscored Ronaldo and Messi in tha Champions League, as well scoring crucial gols (3 against Anderlecht in a 4-1 Victory, 1 against AEK Athens in a 1-0 victory, the winning and only goal in the tie against Celtic in the round of 16 and the 3 goals against UTD in the semi finals) and providing the assist to Inzaghi's second goal against Liverpool in the final.
Thank you for finally acknowledging that Gattuso was just a "bruiser" but actually quite capable of playing in a creative midfield. He served a specific purpose and he's often underappreciated.
Hahaha, that's cool. There are a lot of Italians in Scotland, my great grandfather was. Gattuso got booked a lot in Scotland, he got stuck right in but obviously had ability too, which is what made him so popular. I know he is considered an adopted Scot by rangers fans, even though he only played one season. There used to be things in the newspaper like "heart of a Scot, head of an Italian"
Reminding an AC Milan fan of how glorious times used to be.
That is just cruel!
I know 😢
Yeah, this definitely hurts, hopefully we'll restore some glory against Napoli today
We will be back
Milan is done.
@@druggedbatman really??
A defense that has Cafu, Maldini, and Nesta being protected by Gattuso in a midfield that also includes Pirlo, Kaka, and Seedorf + Inzaghi up top? That's arguably 8 of the best players of their generation in their prime in 1 team. 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
Facts dude. That 2006-07 AC Milan team is easily one of the best sides of the last 25 years. They were phenomenal because not only were they were rock solid defensively, but they could pick you apart w possession football or on the counter w Pirlo diagonal ball or Kaká or Seedorf running at you. It was beautiful to watch.
@@TMZahida226 As an AC Milan fan (based in Milan) I beg to differ.
2003-2004 Milan for me was the strongest team of Ancelotti's era.
2006-2007 was already a declining team. Many players had injuries. Sheva had just left, and Oliveira had one nightmare of a season hitting posts almost every sunday (beside the kidnapping of one of his relatives). Borriello was rubbish, Gilardino was already in an identity crisis, and Ronaldo (who couldn't play in CL) was the shadow of his former self.
Nesta missed half of a season, and Bonera - Simic - Favalli couldn't step into his shoes
I remember how we struggled in the qualifiers against Red Star Belgrade, and later on against Celtic.
It was the swansong of a great team.
They were at their peak in 2005. That was the best 11: dida; cafu stam nesta maldini; seedorf pirlo gattuso; kaka rui costa/sheva; crespo/inzaghi
Shevchenko 😭🔥🔥🔥
@@jesselioce Milan deserved to win in 2005 and Chelsea in 2007. Liverpool were lucky.
Filippo Inzaghi. The guy that save all of his energy to celebrate.
(Seems like there are many angry kids here that way to serious and doesn't understand humour. This joke is actually very common on Milan fanbase which include me)
And to tap in
@@DpKris nah he doesn't need energy for that. Because it's the ball that run into him.
The guy can't play football. But he sure know how to score goals
-Johan Cruyff on Inzaghi
Inzaghi would celebrate a tap in, a fortunate deflection, even a clearance from a defender that bounces of his face into the goal in the same manner other players would only reserve for a screamer/solo run goal.
rockzs74r To score a goal in elite level football is very difficult... not many people do it and billions would like to. Inzaghi has scored lots of goals - and he deserves to celebrate. (I help football fans learn English on my channel... please take a look ✌️⚽️)
When Pirlo's free kick deflected off his face in the CL final, he celebrated like he scored a worldie.
I've been a Milan fan for over 20 years. Let me make something clear: the 2006/07 Milan was a team in decline that after 4 excellent seasons in Serie A and Europe was approaching its limit. Many players had turned 30, and the loss of Shevchenko that summer to Chelsea was a huge blow. In the league they finished 4th, a massive 36 points behind title winners Inter. The only reason they won the Champions League was due to Ancoletti being a genius tactician, the class and experience of some of the players, and especially due to Kaka' being the best player in the world at that time. Kaka' made the difference. Without him they would have never made it. After 2007, Milan would finish 5th in the league and would not challenge for the Scudetto until 2011 after they signed Ibrahimovic. And even that was short-lived.
Finally someone who actually knows what happened back then. I see only stupid kids commenting here. In 2007 Inter and as roma where way stronger teams. Without kaka they would be in bottom half of serie a
2005 was the year they were at their best
@@jesselioce 2004 and 2005, yes. They were the strongest in the world by far. Too bad those blackouts against Deportivo and Liverpool didn't let them win the CL.
In my opinion 2005/06 ACM played the best football, with all players in their prime. After they scored they could save the ball until the end of match, especially when destructive Ambrosini replaced one of the strikers.
@@Thrillseeker8922 What about now? Any hope for that club now that poli is manager who is garbage and the owners
This team made me love AC Milan. Remember playing Winning Eleven and FIFA always with AC Milan. This squad gave you goosebumps just thinking about how good they were. Not to mention the Italian manager Ancelotti on the sidelines with the dead pan mafia boss expression , who wouldn't celebrate at all when goals went in.
In Serie A Ancelotti often seen only celebrate goal after Milan went up 3 Goals.
The year before this with Shevchenko was my favourite though. Hoping Milan can rise again one day
@I Got That PMA that's for sure. The teams we call the best in the world today can't hold chalk to the kind of legendary teams we've witnessed in the past.
@Johan Ralle lol yeah bro haha.
@@nakata18 Lol yeah true but that team of Dida , maldini, Nesta , simic , cafu , ambrosini , Pirlo, Gattuso , seedorf , Kaka , Inzaghi , Gilardino is irreplaceable. That team was like the Jackson 5 to me..it just seemed like they were tailor made by heaven. Even though they added other stars like Beckham , ronaldinho ,Ronaldo and others to their rosterit just wasn't the same. That team in my eyes could never be replaced or replicated. it was sheer brilliance. I think they are just as great as the Milan team with Ruud Guillet , Van Bastien , Rijkaard ,costacurta etc even though I wasn't alive to witness that team.
I remember this team so well from when I was in my teens. Kaka was phenomenal back then. Also, it's nice for this video to give credit for Gattuso, who has for too long been labelled as a brute but was an amazing footballer.
@array s and they are aspects of the defensive part of the Game that are very technical. He read the Game well but the amount of courage he has is always shielding it
Ugh... suddenly memories of gattuso conceding that penalty against Liverpool in Istanbul
@C M yeahhhh Gattuso wasn't on the same technical level as Pirlo, Kaka or Seedorf, but not many players were. So what's your point?
@Harris Zaindi You're a sensitive type, eh?
@C M get a life kid
Finally, an analysis of this an incredible legendary team
Also KAKA' was doing sort of double duty for the void created due to the departure of Shevachenko, adding to that he did closed down the spaces while team was defending too. That man is a gem of a player.
Watching Pirlo orchestrate the midfield is an absolute privilege.
Inzaghi could be caught ten times in your offside trap, but on the eleventh attempt he'd make you pay for it. A "high risk, high reward" player, he'd constantly probe the discipline of the defensive line and capitalise on eventual mistakes. And of course an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time to get that tap in goal.
Alex Ferguson: "Inzaghi was born in offside". He could give the trust on him as much as a world class goalkeeper can give to the team. You just deliver the ball to the box, and the rest was a history.
Imagine how annoying it was for defences that guy constantly making runs behind their backs. Really underappreciated part of his game. Not only opening huge spaces for Kaka but just the headache to deal with that and restrict ball playing defenders since he was always lurking around them.
@@yuliangeorgiev Absolutely. He made space like Lewandowski makes space for Gnabry or whoever. He cuts from the middle to the left, and takes one or two defenders with him and opens "the door" to the box in the middle. That's so much of job of great no. 9's .
Recommendation on the Ajax team of the 1994-1996, that went unbeaten and won the champions league in 1995.
That was a fantastic squad.
Miguel Silva yes. You don’t have to list the players cause they’re all good. As of recent, the only club outside of the top 5 league to reach the champions league final.
Enagah yes. But i meant to say is reaching the final consecutively. My bad on error
That squad was loaded w great players, seedorf kluivert davids
Jingyi Tay has a good midfield and back four. This team carried their way into the Dutch national team minus litmanen, George, and Kanu. Example of shaping a club side and the national team together
The Christmas tree didn't start when we got Kaka. Kaka joined in 2003 and we switched to the Christmas tree in 2006 after we sold Shevchenko. Gilardino and Ricardo Oliveira couldn't fill his shoes, so we decided to switch to 1 striker formation and stack the midfield.
They could easily have won 4 Champions in 5 years, the elimination against Depor and what happen in Istambul makes no sense, Milan was the TEAM os the 2000's.
They were the real of the 2000s
Extraordinary in the champions league, awful in the serie a
Plus that goal that shouldnt have been ruled a foul, from Shevchenko against Barcelona in the semis in 2006
Gerrard dived in 2005, that was a phantom penalty
@@b.x.2845 One of the greatest comebacks of all time. Dont be silly.
@Roshan Sengupta your comment has 0 likes and invalid so....
A tiny mistake there, Simic probably played two or three matches in the whole season, it was Kaladze that was used almost interchangeably with Paolo Maldini.
I'm a life long United fan, but when I saw Kaka in his pomp put Heinze and Evra on their ass at Old Trafford I stood up an applauded.
Yeah me too, he's a beast..
Side note: United could use a striker as lethal as Inzaghi, getting Haaland should be prioritized, that kid is the equivalent of goals..🔥🔥
I grew up with the AC Milan of the 2000s, and I loved this team especially. There was something romantic about the way these players came together, and made sure to deliver everything for teh big European games. Sure, they should'be won a couple more Serie A titles, but there is no doubt that Champions League is the pinnacle of football, and these big players knew that. They had a master coach, who had the same mind. They wanted to be remembered, and there are!
You forgot to mention kaka being absolutely lethal on the counterattack, seriously you’d be better off kicking the ball out of play than losing possession and letting that speed demon dribble into open space
Filippo Inzaghi.
The man whose skill is only slightly better than a goalie, but always scored no matter what.
And excel at defeating zone marking defense.
I wish there was greater detail on how this team defended. Great video otherwise. When I was young and first getting into football this Milan team was the best team in Europe and Kaka was my favourite player. A real nostalgic moment.
From what I remmember the attacking three would press the opposing back line and put themselves in between the passing lanes of a back four in order. This is very common on formations like a 433 (which in truth a 4321 its just a variation of a 433) Normally, the typical number 10s are somewhat useless defending especially if the are in the hole in front of the opposing centerbacks (the typical CAM role), but in a 4321 formation having two number 10s play as false wingers can at least give you a layout in which you can press effectively and unnerve the opponent. In Ancelotti's credit he found a defensive use for his creative players. The three in the middle would cover their zones in the center and Genaro and Ambro would aid the fullbacks pressing whenever the opponent played in the wider areas. The idea was mainly to have a very compressed formation that didnt allow spaces in the middle areas. Carletto's idea was that if the opponent wanted to score goals, they would want to be in front of the goal. So he sort of allowed them to have the wider areas (which you cant really score goals from there) in order to protect the middle. The opponent would have to make crosses into the box or try to dribble past defenders, but in Ancellotti's luck, not only did he had numerical superiority but he had centerbacks like Nesta and Maldini that could take care of that with ease. So scoring against this team was very hard.
in defense, they just being italian.
that day.., not much people pay too much credit on possession ball. they focus on chance creation. So, if they want to talk about statistic, they talk about the number of key pass, shot on goal, shot on target.
Why I start with that argument, is because that's how the mindset of Milan as a whole that time. they didn't press aggressively, and the defensive line is not that high. all players would take part in defense in their respective zone, not one on one, but in a zonally positioning system, except for gattuso and abrosini, and should I say Inzaghi. not much people realize that inzaghi often press enemy like a mad man, even if his attempt is not to winning the ball. since his pos in so high, it doesn't matter his positioning is terrible, he just run toward enemy like a mad man. Kaka would just roam filling hole and giving less pressure, while seedorf would close opponent zonally in his territory. Pirlo sit in the hole between the aggressive gattuso and ambrosini. Sometime he gives some aids only to disrupt opponent but let gattuso of ambrosini do the dirty work. But as a whole, they stay compact in the middle area, and let the opponent to play in the peripheral area, mostly in the flanks. Even if they only have one flank player in each sides, both ambrosini and gattuso can filled more area. They key was to make sure they can cut any fast counter attack, and when the enemy attack becomes slower, they begins defending tactically in front of penalty zone.
Almost all player who played in Italy (except for trequartista) that time have a better tactical awareness in defending no matter what their role, including striker.
All in all, they just did the stand off defense system and move accordingly based on their tactical awareness in positioning and keep the opponent play in the flank. Even the two ball winning midfielder (gattuso and abrosini) have a great tactical awareness even if they always rush opponent aggressively. This way, they just give up the possession. But in most game, they always control and dictate the game since they have 3 great playmaker. So, they are not that bad in keeping the possession.
Compare to Barcelona's hassle defense strategy, they were actually better in defending. Barcelona's system just rush the ball wherever the ball is, something like turning all player into gattuso mode. But tactically, in a deeper area, they often makes stupid mistake. They just happens to have the ball almost the time, so the risk for their defender making that ugly mistake are small. But when they do, they just turn into stupid player in defending, several stupid blunder, bad positioning and terrible decision. But it was different with Milan. They defense elegantly in tactical, positioning, and tackling, and in aerial battle.
and I forget one small important detail. They don't shy to play a little dirty yet robust just to destroy the rhythm of the opponent's game. they did so many tactical fouls without provoking too much attention from referee just to break the rhythm.
I say this as a longtime Milan supporter who is grateful to have seen Shevchenko, Pirlo, and Kaka in their absolute prime: I think Ancelotti's Milan are one of the greatest underperfomers in football history. That was a squad that could've ruled Serie A for years, but managed one measly league title in eight seasons. I think Seedorf himself basically admitted that they prioritized the Champions League above all and conditioned their performances with that in mind. Hell, even in that magic 06/07 CL season where Kaka was on top of the world destroying European rivals, he wasn't looking all that special in Italy. Shame. I say this mostly because today it's easy to romanticize the Milan of the early days of the century, but watching them back then also had its share of frustration.
Three more things because I can't help it:
1-I'm pretty sure that when Cafu arrived Milan were still heavily using the midfield diamond instead of the tree. Tifo even made a tactical video on the 05 CL final against Liverpool detailing that.
2-Totally agreed on Jankulovski. He is so underappreciated. He was easily Serie A's best left back for a few years.
3-Kaladze was used more than Bonera and Simic if I recall correctly.
@@magentalane27 you know who's more underappreciated than jankulovski? serginho wasnt even mentioned in the video. the milan i remember used to play with one attacking fullback and one defensive but the squad was so old that the players rotated a lot, sometimes was cafu/kaladze, sometimes was a central back on the right side and serginho on the left
Also they were competing with Fabio Capello's Juventus, a team that was cr@p in Europe and instead obsessed with dominating Serie A. I say that as a frustrated Juventus supporter! The Serie A titles of 2005 and 2006 were won by very small margins before being stripped away by Calciopoli.
@@magentalane27 Ancelotti first experimented the tree against Roma in January 2004, with Shevchenko scoring a double supported by Rui Costa and Kakà if I remember well, but indeed at that time he still mainly played Crespo alongside Shevchenko. The tree was the solution adopted after selling Shevchenko, Inzaghi and Gilardino being too similar to play together, but in Serie A he mostly used a 4321 with Ronaldo in front.
I know that feeling. Haha. We have supported this club way very long😂
Do Franz Beckenbauer tactics explained when he was a sweeper in the 74 World Cup
Siddharth Kaushik OMG yes
And also when he became Germany manager and used that same system!
The 1st leg semi final against Manchester United was one of the greatest champions league games. Kaka's incredible performance overshadowed Rooney's brace. Rooney doesn't get enough praise for his last minute winner
"Tallest footballer to ever play for Australia" how desperate was he to say that 😂
I love how excited Joe gets when he says Australia
Ancelotti is the mastermind and the experimentalist. His tactics is always creative and really balances the defense and attack. Although his motto is to keep possession, he has magnificent and quick counter-attack. The most important about Ancelotti is him discovering and developing the players’ strengths which is Pirlo’s situation.
for those who watch this AC Milan play, looking at pirlo majestic pass, kaka outburst and creativity, how seedorf and gattuso chasing the ball back like a possessed madman, it was truly a sight that will always be carved into memories
It was. That two legs vs Man-U ucl Semi final is a Masterclass.
AC Milan arguably had the greatest squad of all time back then. Sad not to see them reach those heights again yet. I really hope they do
My favorite back then, Milan.
Listen to the legendary Christmas tactics again.
It feels new
This is one of the best football analysis videos I've ever seen. Love this and loved this Milan squad.
Make a video on MAKE MILAN GREAT AGAIN.
That's exactly what you would want US owners to say.
Its a shame how quickly this club has fell from grace
Did u know the same man who is responsible for arsenals downfall is also responsible for ac Milan downfall?
Who is it
The debt from previous president era and departure of silva and ibra is the start of downfall
dan kid lol it was down to Berlusconi, he used AC as a political tool and a personal hobby, but when he got tired of losing money...he stopped funding the club and then sold it to dodgy owners...it has nothing to do with Gazidis.
AC Milan rose and fell at the hands of Silvio.
dan kid please educate yourself. Gazidis has only been at Milan for a year and a half and the clubs actually improved under him.
excellent you named Carlo Mazzone who reinvented Pirlo playmaker behind Baggio... ohh that was a beautiful Brescia!
Brescia with Pep, Pirlo, Baggio, Hubner, and Toni
@@kidpagronprimsank05 although they didn't play all together
And the award for most enthusiastic random fact goes to: 6:08
The Center Backs Nesta and Maldini formed a great partnership and we're very good at covering for the overlapping fullbacks
First covering the Iraqi national team's glory, and Now Milan's champions league glory
This channel feels like it was made just for me ❤
Hard to imagine that you didn't mentioned kakha kaladze instead of bonera and dario simic
And Shevchenko
@@dmytropravda8335 Nope . Shevchenko left Milan for Chelsea that season
Hey Tifo, can you please give analysis on Dortmund way of recruiting. Recently they have been successfully on recruiting you future stars developing them then selling them for double or even triple the price. Its really interesting..
How I know them , they are always together with German school in major cities, full size football field, with very good premises and equipment and back office. They have their Evokin football school for kids and the future Dortmund coaches are scouting the talents that way locally. That's how they found Lewandowski from Poland. They scout locally the lower leagues, and that's how they get to know Dembele in 3rd league in France.
AC Milan's 2007 Champions League Winning Team explained :
Carlo Ancelotti
Dida
cafu maldini nesta Jankulovski
seedorf pirlo gattuso ambrosini
kaka inzaghi
END of the Video
Alberto Gilardino
Nowadays, when you say ''Milan is one of the best clubs of Europe, historically bigger than likes of Barcelona or Manchester United'', people laugh. But If memory serves, they're still the most successful club in CL, second only to Real Madrid and they're still the club that has most league titles in Serie A, after Juventus. Considering Juve has just smothered the league for almost a decade, that means so much.
They were well behind Juve even before Juve’s current dominance. They’re a huge club and I’m a big fan but got to concede that Juve, Madrid and United are historically slightly above them.
@@nakata18 ac milan historically is a bigger club than man utd and juventus
@@nakata18 No
nakata18 Juve has a legacy of European failure.
@@nakata18 united definetly not. Juve is arguable hence they suck at european competitions.
that 2005 side that somehow lost the 2005 CL final was unreal. probably better than the 2007 team.
Way better. Funny how they were so much better than Liverpool and lost the first time while in 2007 they were washed and Pool played better football but lady luck was once again present.
One of the best team of all times
Way way better than the 2007 team
Kaka was the master of counter attack.
Kaka was a much, much, much better Thomas Müller, Ramdeuter-esque player before such a thing existed. He just ran at defenses with devastating pace and they collapsed.
Thank you for covering one of my favourite club sides of all time
AC Milan's team from 2004 session was at least 30% better than one from 2007 but we all know what a lack of concentration can do in 45 minutes.
You mean 2005 right? Yeah, they are the real monster. I think they celebrated the trophy in the dressing room before the second half began. I can't blame them. They were very superior vs Liverpool in the first half.
@@guzt3680 Yes my mistake.
@@guzt3680 no they didn’t celebrated in the half time. Look at crespo’s interview and you will know
I really appreciated your praise for Gattuso and Ambrosini's technical capabilities. People dont realise how good both these were technically, they werent just ball winners. Perhaps neither Gattuso nor Ambrosini were as "complete" as some of today's best midfielders but it was a different era back then and Gattuso/Ambro in their youth trained to be better at their strengths
Thank you for this. Regarding Kaka, he often moved to the left side of the pitch and used his pace to take players on. Seedorf moved centrally.
Have always been absolutely fascinated by this team! Thanks for the video
Inzaghi, Ambrosini and Jankulovski are the forgotten heroes from the last Milan glory days
Unfortunately Milan was already in decline at that point. The starting line-up in the final had an average age of over 30 and the only relatively young key players were Kaká and Gilardino.
More of these videos please. I’m a new fan to football and it’s awesome to see the breakdown of these
Great content! You forgot Khakabar Kaladze who was an important player at that season.
What an amazing team this was!! Absolute 🔥
As milan fans I always remember this iconic formation and line up. Nice video 👍🏼
We need more tactical video like this 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾🔥
Without taking anything from great Pirlo, this team's main focus was Kaka.. Despite having an wonderful squad as explained in this video, Kaka's individual charactaristics helped Milan mostly in winning important UCL matches in 2006/07. In that season Kaka was at his prime and even SAF's ManU couldn’t handle that despite having players lile CR, Rooney, Gigs, Scholes in the team...
Also he did double duty by filling the void created by the departure of Shevachenko
Watching the quarter final against Bayern Munich. Seedorf was the crucial player. Watch the final against Liverpool, it was inzaghi.
@@Fitricson Kaká contributed 2 goals, one goal at san siro and an assist away at the Allianz arena. In the final, Kaká was heavily man marked my mascherano and risse but still 2 goals came from him. One he getting fouled and for other he himself provided an assist. So it seems you just watched the highlight, not the full match. Without Kaká this aging Milan wouldnt even have made past the group stage. Milan lost the group game against lille when kaká was not in squad. An extra time winner against celtic, and a goals galore against united made him the undisputed king of Milan. So know facts before you speak
Loved this Milan team.
Another key components I think was also the way Milan keep their players 'young' in fitness and mind. Most of the team are hitting the wrong side of 30s, Kaka the exception.
Pirlo was only 27 back then. He just always looked like he was 46.
What a team.
It was time to have more Milan in this channel. And a Pirlo image that it's not him at Juventus.
Hopefully Rangnick will revive Milan
Barca could end up like this.
Could??barca was going to end up like this
Barca wouldn't be fallen like AC Milan. They might struggle a few years, at worse they still challenge for European spot
MUHD AMSYAR is*
I feel the same. Even Madrid is weakening.
Nope...u will see that after Messi and co go...and font and xavi come
Nice tactical effort from Ancolleti and from you to explain it .. thank you!
My second favourite league after Premier League is Serie A, I miss Italian teams like that Milan doing well in Europe. Loads of thought put into every play!
Make one for Ancelotti's Chelsea please, no one really speaks of that season's tactics
My favourite formation of all times. Triangles everywhere! I'm a Liverpool fan and Athens hurt but we maxed out our luck in 2005. Oddly we probably played the better game in 2007 but you can't have everything (unless you're Madrid). Milan will always be my favourite Italian team and I hope they can win #8 this season. I think Napoli may find you play the club badge in Europe as much as the players. Milan are heritage 😉
Jankulovski was a left winger earlier in his carrier and was transformed to attacking wing back under Karel Brukner for the Czech National team.
Amazing video. All the details are clearly explained
i hope to see them near the top of serie a again sometime soon
This AC Milan team is my favorite pick on that year FIFA games
Great video. Thank you for this one. I wish it was longer.
That pronunciation for Zeljko Kalac is one I've never heard before, but i fucking love it Joe.
Video Suggestion: How clubs like Ajax, Porto, Benfica, Feyenoord, Atletico, Bilbao etc keep on unearthing new and amazing footballers despite selling there top players every other year.
How has such a great manager (possibly the best since Paisley) ended up at a club like Everton. Such a shame
"Jankulovski..."
Me: under-rated player
"...is generally underappreciated."
:|
he is the last great leftback milan had until Theo come
One of the greatest team ever
Team of my life, I love it
I'm a Juventus fan, to me this Milan 2007 team are the template of how Italian teams should try to play in Europe. Perfect balance between attack and defence; never in panic mode even when things did not go their way; perfect mastery of the ebb and flow pattern of matches. Many other teams would have panicked after drawing 2-2 at home to Bayern or losing 3-2 at Old Trafford, but they had supreme confidence in their ability to overturn those results, and so they did. You could almost sense their serenity throughout the competition, even in the final when Liverpool had a go at them but they always stayed in control.
Juventus 2017 had a perhaps similar approach but vastly inferior in player quality, especially in the middle of the park where Pjanic and Khedira left the defence exposed, and upfront where Milan's second striker (Gilardino) was a more effective CL presence than Juve's starter (Higuain).
Great video... i miss this milan.
Rui Costa is stil my favourite Player ever. Classic number 10
Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka/Rui Costa flanked by Ambrosini and Gattuso was one of the best midfields ever assembled. It's up there with Socrates, Zico, Cerezo and Falcao in 1982, or Platini, Giresse, Tigana and Fernandez in 1984.
Not much mention of the Kaka's role here. Best player in the world at that time
A C Milan have fallen a loooong way since then. They had some team tho back in the day.
those were the days. I miss them.
feels very similar to the current liverpool team. the attacking fullbacks with the three holding midfielders covering for them, as well as the lethal front three.
Jankulovski, what a left foot
Highly underappreciated
Many times I've wished Ancelotti moved him into midfield against defensive teams because since Serginho left until the arrival of Ronaldinho, that left flank was underproductive except whenever Kaka roamed in that area.
I would love to see the comparison regarding formations between Livepool and AC Milan during their 2004/2005 Champions League finals and the 2006/2007 Champions League finals. Because for me, it looks like AC Milan got their revenge in 2007.
Very informative. Thank you
Jankulovski was originally left attacking midfielder back in Banik Ostrava. I belive it was Karel Brukner, Czech national coach from the bronze 2004 who put him behind nedved in 4-4-2 to boost his all out attack team.
What a team we had..
What a team!
When you have Kaka, Pirlo and Cafu at the same team in their primes all you need do is to sit back and enjoy the show.
Man the thing that prevented this team from going one step further is the age disparity amongst the players. When kaka was at his peak, maldini was almost retired, and so are a few others, and it goes vice versa to when some of the veterans are at their peak, the young talents haven't arrived yet. I legit believe that if this milan squad had everyone playing together at their primes, they would literally dominate the entire 2000s easily
also they did not find a spearhead like Shevachenko to create devastating effects in penalty box
carlo is a player's manager. he was one himself so he could put players in the most logical place and as efficient running to build
If the 2005 team had one that CL - with Rui, Sheva and Crespo - this AC Milan squad would be considered among the best ever in history, right there with 2008-12 Barca, 1988-92 Milan and 2016-18 Real.
They should have won if VAR was there
Really good video !
I was too young to have watched this team, so throughout the video I was wondering how on earth they had a very creative, if deep lying, midfield, attacking fullbacks, and 2 CBs. If they hadn’t had two of the best CBs in the world this tactic just wouldn’t have made sense
People are aware of Gattuso's importance, but don't give credit to Ambrossini. He worked hard and did much of the dirty work. He also was useful in offense and wasn't afraid of getting hurt. The Christmas tree formation worked because Milan had the players for it.
Milan’s goalkeeper in 2007 was the tallest Australian player
Spain's 2010 world cup and 2012 Euro team next please 🙏🙏🙏
You guys forgot to mention how brilliant was Kaká in that season, the fact the he outscored Ronaldo and Messi in tha Champions League, as well scoring crucial gols (3 against Anderlecht in a 4-1 Victory, 1 against AEK Athens in a 1-0 victory, the winning and only goal in the tie against Celtic in the round of 16 and the 3 goals against UTD in the semi finals) and providing the assist to Inzaghi's second goal against Liverpool in the final.
Lol cr7 and messi were still coming up and not even in their prime.
This was a very special team
I know, i know, but maybe we talk about milan circa 90 ? Wasn t the best?
Thank you for finally acknowledging that Gattuso was just a "bruiser" but actually quite capable of playing in a creative midfield. He served a specific purpose and he's often underappreciated.
Loved in(half) of Scotland for being tough but able to play.
@@jockmackay9582 this makes me even happier. Always loved Scotland and Scottish people.
Hahaha, that's cool. There are a lot of Italians in Scotland, my great grandfather was.
Gattuso got booked a lot in Scotland, he got stuck right in but obviously had ability too, which is what made him so popular. I know he is considered an adopted Scot by rangers fans, even though he only played one season. There used to be things in the newspaper like "heart of a Scot, head of an Italian"