Zizzo, Hannover Drop Friendly To AC Milan

American Sal Zizzo made a rare appearance for Hannover 96 in last night's friendly against visiting AC Milan. The Bundesliga side put in a surprisingly strong performance against the star-studded Milan team, especially on defense, but was unable to hold off the Rossoneri for good.

With his team down 2-1 in the second half, Zizzo came on in the 66th minute, replacing Jan Rosenthal at right midfield where he immediately got into the mix. In the 74th minute, Zizzo's sent in a cross to Mike Hanke, who bicycled the ball in to tie the score at 2-2.

But this could not last as three minutes later, a Kaka combination with Fillipo Inzhagi found Luca Antonini - who then sent in a good cross which "Pippo" converted to make it 3-2. All in all, the former UCLA man made a solid showing but only time will tell if the young American (who was recently linked in a loan deal to Hansa Rostock) will see more playing time this spring.

American defender and Hannover stalwart Steve Cherundolo did not play in the match.