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Former AC Milan defender Alessandro Costacurta believes Vincenzo Montella can guide the Rossoneri into the Champions League this season. Costacurta won the European Cup five times with Milan and he has drawn parallels with teams he played in -- coached by Arrigo Sacchi and Alberto Zaccheroni -- and the one Montella is currently in charge of. Milan have failed to qualify for Europe for three successive seasons, but Costacurta believes the lack of continental football for the club is drawing to an end, even if he does not believe they have the best players in their squad. "It's really the spirit they have which could take them into the Champions League," Costacurta told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Let's be clear about it: this squad is not good enough for the Champions League because there are other clubs better structured, and I'm talking about Juventus, Roma and Napoli, who I feel are better technically, physically and in terms of their character. "If you were to analyse them on paper, then it would be utopian to think of Milan in the Champions League, but I remember back to my personal experience and say that under Zaccheroni in 1998-99 we were good enough for fourth or fifth, yet we won the scudetto, even though we were not made to win. "It happened because he built a squad, and by that I mean a group. In my day, you qualified for the Champions League because you had this professional quality." Montella, who arrived at the San Siro in the summer, is seen by Costacurta as key to enhancing the Milan squad and making up for any technical deficiencies that the players may have. "He's the added value," Costacurta said. "Thanks to his culture of holding possession, he has increased the personality of the squad. Before, I could see too much rushing but now you can see greater patience. It seems to be a perfect way of doing things since he doesn't have a squad with great quality." Costacurta admits Montella has had some luck along the way, but says that is another important characteristic to have. "It's true, he is lucky, but you have got to seek out your luck," Costacurta said. "I had lucky coaches like Sacchi and Zaccheroni, but they were people who took gambles and they were rewarded for it. The paradox is that [Milan president Silvio] Berlusconi has just gone and found himself a coach who can give him great satisfaction right at the time when he is heading for the exit." Montella's Milan side currently sit third in the Serie A table after 12 matches.
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