Boca claim cup in penalty shootout
 |
Jon Dahl Tomasson gave Milan a 24th minute lead
Story Tools
|
YOKOHAMA, Japan, (Reuters) -- Boca Juniors beat AC Milan 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw to win the World Club Cup in Yokohama.
Midfielder Raul Cascini blasted in the decisive penalty after Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Alessandro Costacurta all missed for Milan in front of a boisterous section of blue and yellow-clad Boca fans among a crowd of 66,000.
It was a disappointing end for Milan, who had dominated long periods of the match in their bid to become the first team to win the World Club Cup four times.
The Italians previously won the title -- contested by the champions of Europe and South America -- in 1969, 1989 and 1990 and lost in 1963, 1993 and 1994.
Striker Jon Dahl Tomasson put Milan ahead in the 24th minute, calmly sliding the ball under goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri from eight meters following a superb through ball by Andrea Pirlo.
But Boca were back on level terms five minutes later when midfielder Matias Donnet hooked in the loose ball after AC Milan goalkeeper Dida had blocked a flicked attempt from the dangerous Iarley.
Moments later, Brazilian Kaka hit the post with a curling right-foot shot from the edge of the box as Milan quickly sought to reassert themselves.
Milan captain Paolo Maldini almost capped a record fifth appearance in this fixture with a goal in the 61st minute, when he latched on to an Andriy Shevchenko knock-down, only for Abbondanzieri to produce a brilliant point-blank save.
Kaka then volleyed into the side-netting in the 67th minute as Milan began to seize control of the match.
Boca substitute Carlos Tevez almost snatched a dramatic winner in injury time when his left-foot shot dipped just over the bar after a neat layoff from Iarley.
Shevchenko was denied by another fantastic close-range save from Abbondanzieri in the 16th minute of extra time and 10 minutes later substitute Filippo Inzaghi headed in a Pirlo free kick only to be ruled offside.
Milan, who beat Juventus 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out to win last season's Champions League final, converted just one spot kick this time, handing Boca their third World Club Cup title.
The Argentine champions first won in 1977 when they beat German club Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Boca, who were beaten by Bayern Munich in 2001, won their third Libertadores Cup in four years with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Santos of Brazil 5-1 in July.
Boca coach Carlos Bianchi became the first coach to win the World Club Cup three times.
The 54-year-old led Boca to a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in 2000 and guided Velez Sarsfield to the 1994 title
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
