Milan revived by Far East break

(CNN) -- Great clubs have a habit of winning when it matters, and AC Milan proved once again why they are the masters of knockout competition with a 4-2 win over Argentina's Boca Juniors in the final of FIFA's Club World Cup in Japan.

The Italians' stylish success -- secured by two goals from the indefatigable Filippo Inzaghi and one each from Kaka and Alessandro Nesta -- earned them not only the "world champions" title but the distinction of becoming the first European side to win the competition since its revamp in 2005.

The victory also avenged Milan's defeat by Boca in the 2003 edition of the tournament's predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup.

With Kaka also being crowned FIFA's world footballer of the year in Japan, adding to his European Ballon d'Or award, Milan are returning from their Far Eastern break laden with silverware.

"I'm obviously very happy. This win is the best possible way to bring a long, tough journey to a close. We always believed in ourselves," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said afterwards.

"We'll remember this victory for a long time to come. It will hopefully also give us some extra impetus for the rest of the Serie A campaign."

Impetus could not come at a better time for Ancelotti and his side, which is currently struggling in mid-table with just four wins from 13 matches and faces a daunting derby clash with runaway leaders and local rivals Inter Milan in their final league match before the winter break on Sunday.

In recent seasons, Milan's impressive form in Europe has served to disguise their inconsistency at home. But with the club urgently hunting a first league title since 2004, even a world title and progress to the knockout stages in defense of their Champions League title may not be enough to keep Ancelotti in a job for long.

Media reports suggest Jose Mourinho -- out of work since his departure from Chelsea earlier this season -- has already been lined up to replace him at a convenient moment over the coming months.

Having won two European Cups and one Italian title since taking charge at the San Siro in 2001 -- a spell that makes him the longest serving current coach in Serie A -- the popular Ancelotti ought to have enough credits in the Milan boardroom to see out the current campaign.

Yet he may have his work cut out hanging onto his post beyond the summer. Even if they beat Inter on Sunday, Milan would still trail the league leaders by a near insurmountable 19 points.

That leaves the Rossoneri playing for honors once again in Europe. Having advanced as winners from a group containing Celtic, Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk, Milan go into Friday's draw for the knockout stages in good shape.

Yet, as Ancelotti well knows, no team has retained the European Cup since Milan itself achieved that feat almost 20 years ago in 1990.

For now however, he insists he is just getting on with the job: "If Mourinho does want the job it just gives me extra motivation. External talk like that doesn't give me any added pressure. I'm simply concentrating on my job. I hope to carry on tomorrow as I did today.

"Reaching the Champions League final in Moscow is a dream. It's surely a difficult target, but not an impossible one. The win in Yokohama proved that the structure of this team is still very solid." E-mail to a friend