Carlo Ancelotti has his eyes set on international duty

The coach is unlikely to take charge at another club side as he has his eyes firmly set on international football.

“One day I would like to coach Italy,” Ancelotti told Calcio 2000 magazine.

“Maybe it’s because my career has taken a specific route; I coached Juve then Milan, so now it would be difficult to go and coach another team.

“At this point for me it would be the Italian national team.”

The Italian national side could be an option, but the coach has a ‘Plan B’ lined-up if he fails to land the Azzurri job.

“A national team experience would be good and I have also spoken about coaching an African team,” added the coach.

“There are plenty of great talents in Africa and it would be good to assemble many players in a squad in which the tactics are well defined.

“At the moment I would prefer to coach the Ivory Coast.”

The Dutchman has shown an unlikely and sour attitude towards Beckham

“He is the typical player who creates plenty of problems and he doesn’t understand what we say to him.

“He doesn’t care on the team and he only thinks about himself. I won’t help him, he will destroy this club.”
For those who fear a split dressing room, do not despair, Seedorf, like on the pitch, was only pulling legs.

“Obviously I am joking. Beckham is a player who can integrate well here,” added the Dutchman.

The players are working hard in Dubai and they will play Hamburg in a friendly match on Tuesday.

Milan ace Inzaghi celebrates after scoring against Portsmouth

AC Milan’s veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi netted a last-minute equaliser to deny Tony Adams a first home win as Portsmouth manager in a 2-2 draw in the UEFA Cup.

A truly wonderful evening’s entertainment as Portsmouth were within a hair’s breadth of defeating the mighty AC Milan at a sodden Fratton Park. Filippo Inzaghi scored a late equaliser after Ronaldinho halved the defecit given to the English side by Younes Kaboul and Nwankwo Kanu…

Inzaghi did what comes naturally to him at Fratton Park, he netted the vital goal as AC Milan recovered from two goals down to level at Portsmouth in the Uefa Cup.

The sordid coastal weather could do little to dampen an open and entertaining game, with both sides going close to drawing first blood on more than one occasion in the first half, with Tony Adams’ side creating most of the openings.

Younes Kaboul and Nwankwo Kanu gave the Premier League side the lead before Ronaldinho fired a magic free-kick to give the Italians hope seven minutes from time.

All the goal action came in a breathtaking second half, which outstripped even the fine 45 minutes that preceded it.

The hosts were on top for most of the evening, that was when Carlo Ancelotti brought out his heavy hitters, as Ronaldinho and Clarence Seedorf seized control after their introductions from the sidelines.

Peter Crouch was the menace in the first half, but his counterpart at the other, Milan’s irrepressible number 9 had the final say.

Inzaghi, who had earlier hit the woodwork three times, pounced on a loose ball with less than a minute on the clock to earn a point and ensure Milan’s safe passage into the knockout stages of the tournament.

It was Inzaghi’s 65th career goal in European competition.

Portsmouth had a two-goal margin until the final eight minutes after Younes Kaboul and Kanu netted which woke Milan from a slumber as Ronaldinho’s fabulous free-kick provided a platform for poacher Inzaghi to break English hearts.

“I’m delighted with my team’s performance. I thought they were excellent tonight and it was a really really positive performance,” said Adams. “We are struggling to put teams to bed but they have some excellent players and if you switch off, they punish you.”

Adams said: “They are just a little deflated and disappointed because they feel they should have and could have won the game.”

Adams would have cast an envious eye towards Carlo Ancelotti as Milan’s coach was afforded the luxury of making nine changes from the weekend game against Torino with Alexandre Pato, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldinho all named as substitutes.

“We had almost lost hope but the reaction was really good and to come back from 2-0 down like that was great,” said Ancelotti. “Ronaldinho definitely made a difference because he reopened the game with an excellent free-kick. The game really changed pace with that.”

Goals:

Portsmouth: Kaboul 61′, Kanu 73′

AC Milan: Ronaldinho 84′, Inzaghi 90+

Cards:

Portsmouth: Hughes 8′

AC Milan: Antonini 60′

Line Ups:

Portsmouth (4-4-2): James – Johnson, Belhadj, Distin, Kaboul – Hughes, Diop, Traore, Little (Mvuemba 65′) – Kanu (Davis 80′), Crouch

AC Milan: (4-4-2): Dida – Zambrotta, Antonini, Favalli, Senderos – Emerson, Gattuso (Seedorf 64′), Flamini, Kaka (Ronaldinho 73′) – Shevchenko (Pato 73′), Inzaghi

Watch goals & highlights of this match

1-0 (Kaboul)

2-0 (Kanou)

2-1 (Ronaldinho)

2-2 (Inzaghi)