Finnan eager to play his part after missing out on Istanbul heroics

May 21 2007 by Simon Stone, Liverpool Daily Post

“I knew the goals were going in – with all the noise it was impossible not to know what was going on.

“I wanted to get out after the first one but because everything happened so quickly, I did not get a chance. The noise was just incredible.

“I obviously remember Jerzy Dudek making those couple of saves, then the penalties.

“But I felt a little lost in the end despite the tremendous feeling of excitement that we had won.”

This time around Finnan hopes to experience it all first-hand, and with the same outcome. But the modest Irishman claims he is not even sure he will be playing, with Alvaro Arbeloa challenging for a starting spot.

Finnan said: “I do not even know if I am going to be playing – a few of the lads know they are going to be left out and it is up to the manager.

“The main thing is for us to win again. If I could play a part again that would be nice.”

Finnan has been away with his colleagues to La Manga last week preparing for the final, with tough training supplementing technical discussions about Milan’s weaknesses.

He continued: “We have talked about their performance against Manchester United in the semi-final and they did play well – but hopefully we won’t give them as much time as they did.

“I think that game was a combination of Milan playing very well and United not doing what they can. Hopefully we can make it difficult for them.

“We know they are a quality team and what they are capable of. But if we focus on what we can do and prepare right, we should be okay.”

Finnan added: “Everyone knows a lot about Kaka. He can play in midfield or attack, so we will have to be wary of him. He is certainly a player that the defence will have to look out for.

“It is not just about him, though. They have got lots of quality players, capable of taking their chances.

“We have improved as a squad and have done very well defensively over the last couple of years – overall, I would say the squad is stronger than it was two years ago.

“But it would be wrong to say that they are weaker. But I just think we are a stronger squad and maybe we will have that bit of an edge.”