In the wake of what's been an awful season for Italian soccer since the national team lifted the World Cup last July, AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said Tuesday that a win in Wednesday's Champions League semifinal against Manchester United would complete the club and the nation's comeback. Indeed, a place in the Champions League final would be remarkable achievement or a club that only nine months ago was unsure if it would even be allowed to participate in the competition. "In November, after all the problems we had last summer, people were saying that the final in Athens was a pipe dream," Ancelotti said. "Now that dream is transforming into reality."<br><br>
He added: "They were saying that Milan's winning cycle was finished. They said it after Istanbul [where Milan lost the 2005 Champions League final to Liverpool], they said it after last year's semifinal defeat against Barcelona, and again at the start of this season, but we are still here."<br><br>
Milan, along with Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina, was implicated in the infamous Calciopoli match-fixing scandal last season that resulted in the dismissal of top executives at several clubs, as well as point penalty for each of the teams involved. The deduction had dropped Milan's league standing to fourth, which is good enough for a Champions League qualifying place, although UEFA decided to review the matter in light of the extenuating circumstances. In the end, Milan was allowed to enter qualification, and here the team is now heading into a very winnable Champions League semifinal with Manchester United.