adminrow. The match kicks-off at 9:45pm.
The Italians were forced to hold a firesale of their top players to try and balance the books at the end of last season, with striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and defender Thiago Silva among those to leave.
Alexandre Pato has also left since Milan were eliminated by the same opponents in the quarter-finals just under a year ago.
Mario Balotelli, their only marquee signing this season, is cup-tied against Barca, leaving the seven-times European champions a pale shadow of their former selves.
Milan seem to have struggled to come to terms with their new reality — a reflection of the difficulties facing Serie A where clubs can no longer compete with the financial clout of other top European leagues.
At times Milan have been happy to play the role of underdogs, with president Silvio Berlusconi and coach Massimiliano Allegri emphasising they are now a young team building for a financially sustainable future.
But there was none of that talk on their website in the build up to the match as the club preferred to hark back to their past record.
“A great European city and a fabulous stadium are ready to host the game of the year,” it said proudly, casting a veil over Milan’s current situation.
“Certain stadiums bring out a certain atmosphere especially when it comes to European fixtures. Milan-Barcelona is the match between (one of) the most successful clubs in the world and currently the best club in the world.”
Things have certainly changed since Milan outclassed Barcelona 4-0 in the 1994 final.
The Italians have won only one of 10 meetings since then, a 1-0 win at San Siro in 2004, and none of the last seven.
The teams have twice met in the knockout stages with Barcelona winning 3-1 on aggregate in last season’s quarter-finals and 1-0 on aggregate in the 2005/06 semi-final on their way to winning the title.
Without Balotelli, who has scored four goals in three games since his move from Manchester City, Milan’s hopes of reversing that sequence would appear to be minimal despite an impressive domestic run which has seem them climb to third in Serie A.
Four-times World Player of the Year Messi looks unstoppable for Barcelona.
Midfielder Xavi is back in the Barcelona squad after missing the last two games but David Villa will not make the trip as he is still recovering from kidney stones.
Striker Pedro churned out the usual platitudes when he faced the Spanish media on Monday. “Milan has always been difficult,” he said. “They have titles and a great history. It will be difficult, as it always is. They are always dangerous.”
Meanwhile, Galatasaray will be fired up by the arrival of Didier Drogba, last year’s Champions League hero, and Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder when they host struggling Schalke 04 tonight.
Drogba, who took the winning penalty for Chelsea in last season’s final, scored with a header five minutes into his Galatasaray debut on Friday, whetting the appetite of the 2000 Uefa Cup champions ahead of the last 16 first-leg match.
The Istanbul club’s confidence is running high after they won that game 2-1 against Akhisar Belediyespor, strengthening their lead at the top of the first division, which they lead by six points ahead of arch rivals Fenerbahce.
“It gave us a morale boost ahead of the Schalke game,” said Galatasaray manager Fatih Terim.
Speaking after Friday’s victory, Terim said the club’s new arrivals had integrated rapidly as Galatasaray attempt to become the first Turkish side to reach the last eight since Fenerbahce five years ago.
“When he is fit, Drogba has the ability both to keep the ball for us up front and to lead the team. When you add Sneijder to that, we will perform much better. Both have integrated with the team very quickly,” he said.
Terim added that Drogba (34) would need some time to get fully fit given that his season with the Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua ended in November, despite having helped Ivory Coast reach the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations.
Drogba scored the equalising goal for Chelsea as they drew 1-1 with Bayern in last year’s final before netting the decisive penalty. He moved to Shanghai Shenhua after that but cut short his stay in China amid reports of unpaid wages. His deal with Galatasaray includes transfer fees totalling 6 million euros and payments of 15 000 euros per match, plus signing fees of 4 million euros.
Drogba’s new team mate Sneijder signed a 3-1/2 year contract with Galatasaray last month after leaving Inter Milan.
The 28-year-old helped inspired Inter to a Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup treble in 2010 before helping the Netherlands finish World Cup runners-up. He struggled to maintain that success and was caught up in a contract dispute at Inter this season after failing to renegotiate his deal.
Sneijder and Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz are expected to support Drogba in attack on Wednesday.
Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo is also expected to return to the team after a four-game suspension. Schalke have been boosted by striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s recovery from an eye injury.
“I feel 100 percent again and am ready to play,” said the Dutch forward.
“I had no problems in training and am ready for Istanbul.” His return could not have come at a better time for the club and coach Jens Keller, with Schalke in an extended rut with just one win in 11 games in the Bundesliga despite topping their Champions League group. Keller took over from Huub Stevens before the winter break but has so far failed to turn their fortunes around.
Schalke are also missing a half dozen key players, including central defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos and forwards Ibrahim Afellay and Ciprian Marica.
New signing Michel Bastos, who struck twice in their 2-2 draw at Mainz 05 at the weekend, will bring much-needed stability and experience to the Schalke squad.
“I knew of Schalke’s quality even before my transfer,” said the Brazilian. “The team is capable of solving the current problems it faces.” — Soccernet.
Online Reporter