Milan face off against the Copa Libertadores holders aiming to win the title for the first time since it replaced the Intercontinental Cup in 2005.

But just as important for Ancelotti and his team will be a successful culmination to a trying 18-month period.

While Italy won the World Cup in the summer of 2006, Milan were embroiled in the match-fixing scandal that rocked the national game and ended with rivals Juventus being stripped of the Serie A crown and relegated to Serie B.

A points deduction saw Ancelotti's team drop from second to third in the 2005/06 standings and forced the club to compete in the Champions League's qualifying rounds.

Despite those obstacles, Milan managed to secure their survival in Serie A while also reaching the final of the Champions League, where they defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the final.

That win saw them qualify for the Club World Cup and a 1-0 win over Asian champions Urawa Reds in Yokohama on Thursday took them into Sunday's final against their South American counterparts.

"It's true that it has been tough to get here because we have had a lot of difficulties," said Ancelotti, who also steered the club to the Champions League title in 2003.

"This is an adventure for us. It started in the summer of 2006 and it was very, very difficult.

"We wanted to get here and we want to win tomorrow so that the difficult road ends in success.

"After the Club World Cup we will have other goals and challenges but tomorrow's final is going to prove we did things right and hopefully our difficult road will finish with a victory.

"In the summer of 2006 we didn't imagine we would be in Tokyo at this time of the year. It's a utopia to be here and I'm very proud of that."

The meeting with Boca is a re-run of the 2003 Intercontinental Cup final when the Argentinians took the trophy with a penalty shootout win after the game finished in a 1-1 draw following extra-time.

But while the Milan team remains largely unchanged four years on, only Sebastian Battaglia remains on the books at Boca from the team that claimed the title.

Despite the wholesale changes, Ancelotti believes the current Boca side are better than the one which defeated his side in the clubs' previous meeting.

"I don't think of this as a revenge match for us," said Ancelotti. "It's the final and it's an important trophy for us. We hope that we can win.

"I'm sure Boca have changed quite a lot since 2003 because they now have quite a lot of young players and have reached a high level.

"If I was to compare Boca now and four years ago, I would say they have more experience and I think they are even better than they were in 2003."

Boca go into the game as marginal underdogs but coach Miguel Angel Russo believes the Argentinians can go one better than in the last meeting between the teams and win in normal time.

"We don't see ourselves as the challengers," said Russo, whose side defeated African champions Etoile du Sahel to reach the final.

"We're confident. We will bring everything we have to the table. We hope to win this game in 90 minutes and take back the title."