AC Milan confident of Club World Cup victory

YOKOHAMA (Japan): Italian powerhouses AC Milan hope to end their 'hard and difficult adventure' on a winning note against Boca Juniors of Argentina in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.   

"I hadn't expected us to reach the final when we started the adventure," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.   

"But if we can win tomorrow, we can finish it full of satisfaction. It's a sort of utopia, a great honour for us."   

The Serie-A side and Argentina's most successful club have both won the Intercontinental Cup three times, more than any other team, before the traditional Europe-South America contest was merged into the world club championship in 2005.   

Sunday's winner will seize the honour of becoming the world's top club for a record-breaking fourth time. And Milan have a score to settle after losing to Boca on penalties in the 2003 Intercontinenal final.   

Ancelotti said Boca Juniors are 'more experienced', although they have more younger players, and have a 'stronger' team than their 2003 squad. "Our goal is to show an exciting game, showing all of our potential. We are confident even if it goes into extra time and penalty shootout," he said.   

"I feel strange. I was a player when AC Milan won the Intercontinental Cup in 1989. This time, it's a different competition, we have some games before the final, and we are more tense than when we won the Cup before. I feel our motivation is higher," Ancelotti said.