Former Ballon d’Or winner names Celtic strike as one of his most important goals

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Former Ballon D’Or and Champions League winner Kaka has named his extra-time strike against Celtic in 2007 as one of his most important for AC Milan.

The 40-year-old had a legendary career in Europe, which included two separate spells in the Italian capital, either side of his time at Real Madrid.

Kaka lifted many major honours during his time as a player, including domestic trophies in Spain and Italy, the UEFA Champions League and World Cup.

Alongside his team awards, the Brazilian also lifted the most prestigious individual award in world football after being named the winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2007.

In the same year that he was named the world’s best player, his efforts in helping AC Milan to the Champions League played a major part in doing so.

On their run to lifting the biggest club trophy in football, Kaka and AC Milan were tasked with taking on Gordon Strachan’s Celtic side, who advanced to the last 16 of the competition.

The Hoops held on for 180 minutes across both legs, keeping the Italian giants at bay, with each fixture finishing 0-0 after 90 minutes.

In the San Siro, the game went to extra time in order to discover a winner in the match, and it was a moment of magic from Kaka that proved to be the game-winner.

Picking up the ball in his own half, Kaka drove all the way into the Celtic box before tucking the ball under Artur Boruc in the early stages of extra time.

In a recent interview, the attacking midfielder opened up on that moment against Celtic, naming that goal as one of his most important for AC Milan, with the Italians going on to win the competition.

He said [Tutto Mercato]: “The ride was my characteristic, my trademark. We worked a lot on it at Milan. I liked to dribble progressively, with the ball at my foot towards the goal.

“I scored many goals going at speed towards the goal. The one at Celtic is a goal that I really like, very difficult for the moment of the game. The emotion of scoring in extra time is really special: 0-0, we didn’t know what could happen, there was anxiety, but… I can do that ride there.

“When I see the goalkeeper, I slipped a little, but I manage to get the ball under his legs. It was one of the most important goals scored in Milan. The fans… it’s a few seconds, but you can feel them: there was the San Siro woooo when I took the ball, and this is a bonus, a gas, a turbo”.

It is a case of what if with this fantastic strike from Kaka. Had he not scored, what might have happened for both sides?

Would AC Milan still have gone on to win the competition? Could Celtic have held on and sneaked a result at the iconic Italian arena? Ultimately we will never know.

But that moment of brilliance from the midfielder led to his first Champions League trophy and Ballon d’Or win. So, it is easy to see why this is one of his favourites he scored during his illustrious career.

Of course, it is never nice to be on the end of these sorts of goals, which are showcased by UEFA for years to come; that always seems to be the case with Celtic.

But 15 years on, we can certainly appreciate the brilliance of that strike, despite still having some frustration.

In other news, Ex-EPL winner credits Celtic for delivering much-needed competitive matchup.