in 14 finals between them. Prior to the game, Milan were assured of entering the Champions League the following season after finishing second in Serie A. Liverpool meanwhile had failed to finish in the top four in the Premier League, and had to win the final to enter the competition the following season. Even if they did win the match, they were not assured of a place after UEFA failed to confirm whether they would allow Liverpool to defend the championship. The Football Association supported Liverpool, stating, "We have already submitted a written request to have an additional place, should they win the Champions League". Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti said "I think a team that wins should have the right to defend it but we may just do the English federation a favour and solve this." Each team was allocated 20,000 tickets for the final, out of a total of 69,000. 14,400 tickets were made available to the general public, with half of those allocated through a ballot on UEFA's website, and the other half reserved for Turkish fans by the Turkish Football Federation. The final 14,600 tickets were distributed to UEFA's "football family", consisting of UEFA officials, national football associations, commercial partners and broadcasters. Hotel rooms in the city were scarce, with the 100,000 available quickly booked by travel agents and fans. At least 30,000 Liverpool fans made the trip to Istanbul, but only 20,000 were expected to have tickets. The BBC reported early arrivals were lively but there was no violence and the mood between the two fans was friendly. Milan were regarded as favourites and their team included many players who had experienced success in the competition. The most notable was captain Paolo Maldini, who had won the competition four times previously, all with Milan, and Clarence Seedorf who had won the competition three times with three clubs. Liverpool had been considered underdogs throughout the competition, but had beaten more favoured opposition, including Juventus and Chelsea, to reach the final. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez acknowledged this: "Maybe Milan are favourites, but we have confidence, and we can win". Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger felt Liverpool would win the match: "I fancy Liverpool as Milan look jaded physically and certainly mentally, by losing the [Serie A] title, I think they have never had a better chance than now to beat Milan." Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was not so optimistic,