AC Milan are the best club in the world - and have been the best since Alessandro Nesta and Rivaldo joined their ranks.

And the new glory days were sparked after Carlo Ancelotti took over with Mauro Tassotti as his wingman, and steered the sinking red-and-black warship towards the light after several years of mediocrity.

These things just aren't supposed to happen. Getting Nesta would only have been possible under certain circumstances. It seemed like the planets were all lining up and the pieces falling into place. The former Lazio player was poised to begin his adventure, but things didn't stop there. A certain Clarence Seedorf and Dario Simic also made the cross-town switch - and Andrea Pirlo, too.

Our fiercest rivals had somehow provided the key components for what would eventually be considered arguably the best midfield of all time. Think about it, folks, let it sink in. And Rivaldo? I won't even mention that signing. Rossoneri fans must have been more than delighted with what happened during that summer of 2002.

At that time, the Galacticos reigned supreme. Little did they know that their spell of European dominance was going to be cut short. There were already whispers about the awakening of a sleeping giant. On paper, it seemed like this embarrassment of riches would bring instant success. Carlo must have lost sleep wondering how to find the right equilibrium within the team and catapult the Rossoneri into the spotlight.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Ancelotti decided that instead of fitting all the players into a preferred formation he had in his mind, he would find a formation to accommodate the ridiculous amount of talent he had at his disposal.  Unlike Inter, he ascertained that Pirlo's vision was indispensable and brought back the role of deep-lying playmaker. There was, however, only room for one striker on the Christmas tree, and many would have been forgiven for believing that this was just another catenaccio formation from a Serie A side. But in practice, it was just pure magic.

All of a sudden, Rossoneri fans began to feel nostalgic and Milan started dominating games against supposedly strong opposition. The likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter were all made to kneel down before the new kings of European football.

Milan recaptured the Champions League after beating their fiercest Serie A rivals. Juventus fans claimed the penalty shoot-out was a lottery and anything could have happened, but in truth they were lucky to have even survived 90 minutes against a rampant Milan who wanted to show there was something fishy going on with the standings in the domestic league.

Juve fans will still go on about the absence of Pavel Nedved, but there is nothing convincing in their arguments and one is left with the feeling that there was only ever going to be a Milan victory in Manchester.

After acquiring Kaka the following season, Milan massacred everyone in the domestic league. Juventus had somehow managed to strangely stick around the top but they were exposed as pretenders as the going got tough. Milan crashed out of the Champions League in bizarre fashion against Deportivo and it seemed like a winning cycle had been nipped in the bud before it had even started.

Nevertheless, the Rossoneri continued to refine their "intelligent man's game" and ensured that they would remain at the pinnacle of European football. Much has occurred since then - the fluke of the century versus Liverpool in Istanbul, which was made more painful to Milan fans by the gracious sportsmanlike conduct of their cugini, who never seem able to resist an opportunity to show the world how well behaved and likeable they are.

The Rossoneri now find themselves flying the flag for Italy, who once again had to endure the embarrassment caused by Inter when they were eliminated in Europe by an average Valencia team and their recent Coppa Italia drubbing by Roma, who themselves were humiliated by Manchester United, who, ahem, Milan pulverised.

The saga continues; many don't like the way the Rossoneri play, some consider the squad too old, others label them as 'cheats'. But they are a football institution whose former players make excellent contributions to football way after their playing careers have ended.

Milan are truly in a league of their own, regardless of whether they gain revenge over a Liverpool side playing the most disgusting, cowardly football in all of Europe or not. Nothing must blind pundits all over the world to the facts that we are witnessing one of the last truly classic teams plying their trade in Europe's elite tournament.

You cannot call yourself a football fan if you dislike Milan, a team that play football the way God meant it to be played. They should have won the competition for the last four years straight, but due to strange incidents have found themselves starting each season with unfinished business and justly so. Odds are, we will not see a team of its kind for a very long time after Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Maldini and Cafu retire. We had better just take it all in right now, these are the men who we will tell stories to our kids about.

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