Vieira slams Milan glory
Thursday 3 May, 2007
Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira doesn’t believe Milan should have taken part in this season’s Champions League.
The Rossoneri reached their eleventh Final after a memorable 3-0 win over Manchester United at the San Siro overturning the first-leg 3-2 deficit.
But the Frenchman claims that they shouldn’t have been allowed to play as a consequence of their part in the Calciopoli scandal.
“I want to pay my compliments to Milan who deserved to reach the Final,” Vieira told Reuters on Thursday.
“However, I still do not understand how they were allowed to play the Champions League after what happened last year.”
The Rossoneri’s presence in the tournament was in doubt after the Calciopoli verdicts stripped them of their second place on the table.
However, UEFA’s emergency panel then decided to admit the San Siro club to the preliminaries, but underlined that they were only slipping through thanks to a legal loophole.
“In any case, they proved their value on the pitch. I don’t want to say they didn’t deserve to reach the Final, they defeated all the sides they faced and that is a fact.
“We are sorry we were not able to do the same, but that belongs to the past. Winning will be next year’s objective,” concluded Vieira.