Javi Moreno, interview: “The first day at Milan and the underwear with elephants…”

Javi Moreno was a “Night Handsome”. When the light fell midweek, he opened the abacus. In 2001 he came close to winning the UEFA Cup as top scorer with Alaves, beating Liverpool twice in the final, but without lifting the trophy. Three years later he managed to get the satisfaction out of Zaragoza, winning the Spanish Super Cup against Valencia, achieving the decisive 3-1. Same script at Milan: first two goals on Thursday in the UEFA Cup, another four in the Italian Cup between Lazio and Juve. And it matters little if on the first day at Milanello he showed up in a tracksuit and underwear printed with elephants and giraffes: “Costacurta was in a tuxedo, all the others had designer clothes”. Javi Moreno has no regrets: he started in goal and became a centre-forward, growing up alongside Guardiola and Jordi Cruijff, one of his closest friends.

Open the album of memories, starting from Barcelona.

“What a time. I arrived at La Masia at 15: I lived with Guardiola, De la Peña and many others who would later become champions. Off the pitch we spent the days laughing, joking, feeling like kids before being footballers. We had few hobbies: at Barcelona you only thought about playing. Especially in the youth team, where everyone dreamed of emerging.”

She wasn’t one of those, though.

“I have little to regret. I knew it would be difficult to receive a call to the first team and establish myself there. The level was too higher: Hagi, Nadal, Romario, Stoichkov, Koeman. I formed a good bond with Jordi Cruijff, his father Johan coached the first team in those years. I did the whole process, up to Barcelona B. I also played with Jordi at Alaves, he was an attacking midfielder, I was a striker.”

What kind of attacker was he?

“Actually, I was born a goalkeeper. When I played for Silla, my hometown team, I was 8 years old and I liked saving. The problem was that there were too many of us playing the same role: so one day the coach tried me as a striker and I scored loads of goals in training and friendlies. From there he told me, I still remember it: ‘You delantero, no portero’. You as a striker, no goalkeeper. In general I was a number nine who liked to attack the near post and score with a header, I had great distance and coordination. I was inspired by Hugo Sanchez.”

If I tell you Alaves, UEFA Cup 2000-2001?

“Javi Moreno top scorer. In that tournament I made myself known to the world: I scored 6 goals, one against Inter and two in the final against Liverpool, which we then bitterly lost 5-4 in the 117th minute due to an own goal by Geli. My friend Jordi took the match to extra time thanks to the 4-4 score in the 89th minute. It was a great disappointment, we could have won: the process had been clear, in the semi-final we scored nine goals against Kaiserslautern between each leg and I scored the 3-3 against the Reds with a beautiful low free-kick, I always tried them in training. Overall, my season at Alaves was incredible, beyond the defeat in the final: we finished tenth in La Liga, but I was the third top scorer with 22 goals, behind Raul and Rivaldo.

Milan arrived in the summer of 2001, how did the negotiation come about?

“Lazio and Roma were also interested in me. I chose Milan thanks to the intermediation of Ernesto Bronzetti (who passed away in 2016, ed.), one of the best in the Italy-Spain negotiations. He brought my name to the table of Galliani and Braida, from that moment Milan came to see me for three-four championship matches without my knowledge. I did well and they took me for 30 billion lire, not a little.”

Did you feel the weight of your card?

“No, I just wanted to demonstrate that I was worthy of a prestigious club like Milan. I had already followed them since the days of Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten, for me it was an honor to wear those colours.”

Tell us about your first day in the locker room.

He laughs. “A disaster. I arrived at Milanello in tracksuit and sneakers. I was also wearing children’s underwear, the ones with elephants and giraffes. My other companions, however, all showed up with designer clothes, from Armani to Dolce & Gabbana, Costacurta was in a tuxedo. At first I didn’t understand. In Spain I was used to dressing sportily, also to be comfortable on the bus. To change I tried to take off everything together, so as to show all my clothes as little as possible. Once when I returned home, I convinced my wife to accompany me to the shopping center the next day to redo the wardrobe. How much beautiful stuff you have in Italy.”

In short, there are better presentations…

“Gattuso, Rui Costa, Maldini, Albertini, these were some members of that Milan. It was enough for me to see them the first time to understand the size of the club. The second day I showed up at Milanello with jeans and a shirt: I was 27 years old, I wasn’t fully mature yet.”

Who did you bond with the most?

“I made great friends with everyone, especially with Gattuso, Sebastiano Rossi and Marco Simone. I lived with Pirlo near Gallarate, even though I often went to Milanello by car with Rui Costa.”

Terim had kind words for her initially.

“Great coach and person. He was sacked after ten days, but he put his heart into training. He gave me various pieces of advice to improve, encouraging me even in moments when I found little space.”

“He spoke to me a lot. At the group management level he is a master: he knows when and how to talk to you based on the moment of the individual and the team.”

Twenty-seven appearances, nine goals and two assists: how do you rate your Rossoneri balance sheet?

“Not too positive, but not so negative. In the summer in which I arrived Bierhoff had left, someone thought I was his natural replacement. He was a phenomenon. I scored immediately on my debut in the UEFA Cup against Bate Borisov, both in the first leg and in the second leg. The relationship I had with that tournament was special, I don’t know why: a good half ball was enough to excite me. I played in a pair with Josè Mari, sometimes Sheva, or as a sole striker with Rui Costa behind him. I scored a double against Venezia in the championship, as well as against Lazio in the Italian Cup, in the second leg at the Olimpico. Then we went out in the semi-final against Juventus, and I scored in the first leg there too.”

Atletico, Bolton, Zaragoza, Cordoba, Ibiza, Lucerne: any flashes?

“In 2002 I went to Madrid, but I didn’t do well. The first season I wasn’t a starter, but I still scored seven goals. The second year was even more complicated: six games, only clips, and the feeling of never really being able to impose myself. In January 2004 I went to play at Bolton, in England. I didn’t adapt and I returned to Spain, to Zaragoza, where I won the Spanish Super Cup against Valencia, scoring in the final. We were a team strong, there were David Villa, Gabriel Milito and Savio. At 31 I was already in the waning phase of my career, I scored my last goals at Cordoba, in the Segunda Division, before finishing between Eivissa-Ibiza and Lucerne”.

“Five appearances, one goal, scored against Bosnia in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. It was a strong national team, I played in attack with Raul, there were Guardiola and Luis Enrique in midfield, Hierro in defence, Canizares in goal. It wasn’t a regret.”

“I live in Alicante and I coach Intercity, the Spanish fourth division. I always wanted to be a coach once my career was over: it’s a job that I’m passionate about.”