 Boban played in two European Cup finals for AC Milan |
Former AC Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban believes Liverpool will not repeat the 2005 Champions League final win over the Italian side on Wednesday. "In 2005 Milan suffered six minutes of madness," Boban, who won the European Cup with Milan in 1994 when they beat Barcelona in Athens, told BBC Sport.
"Liverpool played for only six minutes in that final and Milan were the better side for the other 114 minutes.
"I can't see Liverpool winning again and I think Milan will win 1-0."
Two years ago Liverpool came back from three goals down to beat Milan on penalties in Istanbul.
Boban added: "Milan had a complete loss of concentration - something I had never seen before.
 | Maldini's reading of the game is almost faultless Former AC Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban |
"That is the beauty of football. It is impossible to explain or analyse a match like the 2005 final. You just have to accept it."
Boban has been impressed by the organisation manager Rafael Benitez has brought to Liverpool but thinks no tactical plan by the Spaniard will be able to contain Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka in Athens.
"Kaka is a very special, complete player, who can change a game on his own," stated Boban. "It is rare to see a player like this that is so fast and uses that speed to go straight towards the goal.
"He is very direct and that can be hard for the opposition to deal with."
Boban, who played under Fabio Capello when Milan won the competition in 1994, believes the Italian side benefit from the close bond between the players and current coach Carlo Ancelotti.
"Capello was very, very professional but he could be hard with his words and there wasn't so much humanity - but that is not the case with Ancelotti.
"There is a sense of humanity and friendship between him and the players, which is unusual in football."
Boban, 38, who led Croatia to third place at the 1998 World Cup in France, retired in 2002.
He then completed a history degree at the University of Zagreb and now works as a sports journalist for the Croatian daily sports newspaper Sportske Novosti, commentates for Sky Italia as well as owning a fashionable bar in the Croatian capital.
| AC MILAN'S EUROPEAN ROLL OF HONOUR 1963: AC Milan 2-1 Benfica - Wembley 1969: AC Milan 4-1 Ajax - Madrid 1989: AC Milan 4-0 Steaua Bucharest - Barcelona 1990: AC Milan 1-0 Benfica - Vienna 1994: AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona - Athens 2003: AC Milan 0-0 Juventus (Milan win on penalties) - Old Trafford |
During eight seasons with Milan, Boban won four Italian league titles in eight seasons and also played in the 1995 European Cup final when the Italian side lost 1-0 in Ajax in Vienna.
This year's venue - the Olympic Stadium in Athens - also staged the 1994 final when Boban was the creative hub as Milan turned on the style to beat Barcelona 4-0, with two goals from Italian striker Daniele Massaro.
"That was an incredible performance because Barcelona, under their coach Johan Cruyff, had been the big favourites to win.
"It was a win that has been called by some the best performance by a team in the Champions League final. I'm really proud of that moment.
"For us, Cruyff helped motivate us because before the game he had told everyone that Barca would win 3-0. That was a bad decision."
Current AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini played alongside Boban in that winning team of 1994 and the Croatian says the defender will be another key influence if Milan are to beat Liverpool.
"Maldini's experience is so important for this team," stated Boban. "People talk about his age but experience counts for everything as a player.
"Experience means you're unlikely to be surprised and his reading of the game - his judgement - is almost faultless."
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