BATE Borisov coach Viktor Goncharenko believes his players have a better understanding of how to beat AC Milan than he did 10 years ago.
Goncharenko was a BATE player in 2001/02 when Milan strolled to a 6-0 aggregate victory in the first round of the now defunct UEFA Cup.
The 34-year-old, who has since progressed to being the club's manager and recently led them to their sixth successive Belarusian Premier League title, saw his first chance at payback end in a 2-0 Champions League defeat at the San Siro a fortnight ago but Goncharenko is confident of a better showing in the return meeting on Tuesday night.
Recalling how his encounter with Milan a decade ago was a journey into the unknown, Goncharenko told reporters at a press conference: "We didn't have any idea what Milan were about.
"Of course, we knew they were a top club, but our coaches sent us onto the pitch with the simplest of messages: 'go and play'.
"I remember our home game very well. We had drive and played brave football. We lost 2-0 but were still satisfied with our performance and the fans left the stadium not feeling cheated.
"As for the second leg, we had a joke in the team that we paid more attention to the changing billboards around the pitch and that they affected our game badly.
"Now we know Milan, we know their level of play, and we know how to play against them."
Milan would qualify from Group H with a draw at the Dinamo Stadion if Barcelona overcome Viktoria Plzen in the other pool game.
But the visitors' attention has been deflected away from playing matters in the past couple of days by a health scare for forward Antonio Cassano.
The former Real Madrid man was admitted to hospital on Saturday night after complaining of feeling unwell on the team's flight back from Rome, just hours after playing the final 16 minutes of the Rossoneri's 3-2 win at Roma.
He has remained under observation at the Policlinico clinic ever since but Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri today painted an optimistic picture for the 29-year-old.
He told reporters: "Antonio's doing really well, even on Saturday I got to talk to him for 20 minutes.
"At the moment the important thing is that he recovers and steers clear of danger. We hope to have him back as soon as possible, maybe after the winter break.
"From what I heard yesterday he seemed calm and relaxed. The whole squad is in shock and really sorry about what has happened to him."
Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said: "I spoke to Antonio five minutes ago on the phone, but we've already exchanged plenty of text messages.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, he's already feeling much better. All the squad are with him.
"We hope everything goes well, he's in good spirits and seems calm."
Allegri will also be without veteran midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, who is sidelined indefinitely with an eye problem, and French central defender Philippe Mexes.
