IMPORTANT RESULT

"It was important to qualify for the eighth finals. The draw was right, we knew we didn't need to risk anything, the important thing was to bring home the qualification and we did." - THE WORDS OF SEEDORF –

LISBON - Here are the declarations made by Clarence Seedorf at the Lisbon airport, the day after Benfica-Milan (1-1):

"It was important to qualify for the eighth finals. Benfica did well to put us in difficulty, they created some good chances, but for us the most important thing was the result. We started well, in the first twenty minutes there was only Milan on the pitch, we managed to create a lot of chances, then we conceded the goal and misplaced a few passes. Milan showed compactness, risking very little in the second half. The draw was the right result, we knew we didn't need to risk anything, the important thing was to bring home the qualification and we did.

Concerning my own performance, I did well in the first 15 minutes, then I turned my ankle around and from a psychological point of view I did not have the same positive sensations I had until that point. Anyway, I managed to play 75 minutes and nowI have three days ahead to train and get ready for Saturday's match. I'd rather not miss any matches, if it had been up to me I would have played at Cagliari too, but I hurt myself on Friday so I didn't have time to recover. Some of my team mates, iike Gourcuff and Brocchi, have shown in certain games that they can be ready. The whole team always participates and gives its contribution. If I don’t feel fit enough to play I’ll be the first person to ask the coach to leave me out of the game, we have to be mature and maturity is at the basis of this team.

Now we have the home game against Juventus who are a team doing well physically, they’re in the upper half of the table, it’s a direct encounter and I expect it to be a great game. Also Milan are doing well and now we need a great Milan to beat Juventus and get the first home victory. Compared to other games played at San Siro it will be different because smaller teams are always closed up while against Juve I think we’ll have more space because they are a team with many champions and several individualities.”