Sports / Soccer |
No special treatment for Ronaldo says Maldini(Agencies)Updated: 2007-04-24 08:44 MANCHESTER, England - Paolo Maldini insists AC Milan ageing back-four will not make any special plans to halt Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The 38-year-old veteran defender is well aware of the threat posed by the Portuguese winger following United's 7-1 demolition of Milan's Serie A rivals AS Roma in the previous round. But while Maldini acknowledges Ronaldo is currently one of the game's outstanding players, he is adamant the Italians will not alter their game plan to cope with Ronaldo, who was named both young player and player of the year by his fellow footballers on Sunday. "I absolutely agree that Ronaldo is one of the top five players in the world," Maldini said. "But this kind of game is the true test of how good a player is and the very best players can determine the outcome of these games. "We won't man-mark Ronaldo because that is not the way we play. Whoever is near him will mark him so in a way he will decide who is marking him. But if he finds himself up against me, he will discover that I am still pretty fast!" Maldini accepts United are a much stronger team than the side that lost both legs when the clubs last met in this competition two years ago. But he also rubbished suggestions that coach Carlo Ancelotti's ageing side have been in decline since then and insisted United's victory over Roma would not faze them. "They are a better team than two years ago because the younger players have matured and developed, especially Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney," he added. "But there is no doubt we are up there with them and the fact we are in the semi-final with them shows that. We are not frightened of United. Far from it. "We have huge respect for them and their performance against Roma was obviously outstanding. But that was in the last round and this is a completely different game." While Ancelotti is able to field a familiar looking back-line packed with experience, opposite number Sir Alex Ferguson is facing a defensive crisis with three of his first choice back-four missing. Ancelotti, who will make a late decision on the fitness of Brazilian keeper Dida, admits United's problems could work in his side's favour. "They are going to be missing some very big players," he said. "But it's important for us not to focus on that because we have to impose our own game on them just like we did when we won here last time." |
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