The AC Milan striker Stephan El Shaarawy has said that he is confident that the team can qualify for the Champions League next season. It was not long ago that AC Milan found themselves in the bottom positions of the Italian Serie A, as they struggled to cope with the loss of many senior players in the summer.

The youngster Stephan El Shaarawy has been the only one bright aspect of the AC Milan season so far. The 19-year-old striker has been able to keep out the star striker Robinho out of the first team action. After claiming the 1-0 surprise win over league leaders Juventus, the striker has maintained that he remains confident of achieving Champions League next season.

This seems an extremely difficult prospect given that only three teams from the Italian Serie A will be able to play in this European competition. This along with the fact that AC Milan trail the third placed team in the division – Fiorentina – by 10 points mean that it is highly unlikely that they will be capable of doing so. AC Milan recently qualified for the last 16 stage of the Champions League despite all difficulties on and off the pitch. The AC Milan President Berlusconi recently promised that the club will once again compete for the best players.

"We all believe that we have the quality to qualify for the Champions League again. The season is still long and we have enough time to catch our rivals. The win against Juventus was very important. We put in a lot of effort and remained focused. It was arguably our best match so far this term. That's why Friday's game against Catania is crucial for our position in the league table and to get a sense of consistency. We cannot afford to slack off now," said El Shaarawy.