Allegri has Barcelona in his sights

19 February 2013 15:55

Massimiliano Allegri has called on his AC Milan outfit to be courageous as they take on Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The two European powerhouses come face-to-face on Wednesday at San Siro, and coach Allegri wants his side to play to the best of their abilities and believe they can knock the La Liga leaders out of the competition.

"It will be a wonderful night tomorrow (Wednesday), where the most successful club will face the best team in the world. We will give our all and face Barca with courage, strength and spirit," he told reporters.

"It doesn't matter if we're facing Barca, Juve (Juventus) or Real Madrid. We need to be focused, run a lot and be good technically. We must try to limit Barca's ball possession, and be good when we have the ball as they could give away space.

"We have to step onto the pitch tomorrow with the knowledge and awareness that we can knock them out of the Champions League."

The 45-year-old said he had spoken to the club's president Silvio Berlusconi regarding the match, and vowed to use the former Italian prime minister's advice to attempt to record a positive result.

He added: "I have spoken with Berlusconi about tomorrow's match. The president always expresses his thoughts and ideas.

"They're often genius and I listen to them, and then I try to field the best possible formation in order to win."

The former Cagliari trainer chose the press conference to reveal part of his side to face the Catalan giants, with Allegri confirming that Cristian Zapata and Philippe Mexes will be paired at the heart of defence, while Riccardo Montolivo will start in midfield.

Montolivo is aware Barcelona will have the majority of possession and said containing Lionel Messi would be crucial to his team's chances.

"We know it's going to be tough. As the boss said, they're going to keep the ball forever," Montolivo said.

"We'll need to be 100 percent focused for 90 minutes, get to the pitch ready to sacrifice everything, work as a group, put aside our personal wishes so that the team can make it.

"Their midfield is phenomenal, just like Spain's. We'll need to cover the pitch perfectly but definitely stop Messi.

"He's the player that, aside from scoring, creates the most going forward and the most problems for the other team. We'll need to be extra careful."