Dejan Savicevic interview: “My strokes of genius”

Finding yourself in front of Dejan Savicevic, even now that he is a distinguished white-haired gentleman capable of covering the distance from Montenegro to Italy in a single day by car to act as guest of honor at the presentation of his biography, means recognizing the essence of footballing greatness. As long as, of course, we free ourselves from every archetype and prejudice imposed by cheering. Those who had the good fortune to admire him live will remember that on his best days – there were many, and there could have been more, if the inconstancy of geniuses (and he was the Genius by definition), a certain idiosyncrasy towards too rigid tactical deliveries and the multiple muscular injuries had not limited his use – Savicevic expressed pure football. With a staggering, not to say disjointed, gait, he aimed at the defender with the ball glued to his left foot; a feint and, hop, the opponent was unbalanced until he fell, while he swerved to the opposite side. Very tight dribbling, controls with the sole, the very Slavic taste of going back to torment the opponent again, after having already jumped him, with a new feint, another tunnel, yet another magic trick. In football that was already changing – more and more strength and running, less and less technique and aesthetics – Savicevic was among the last to give up. She scattered rose petals across the field as long as her crystal thighs allowed. With a leader’s personality and wild eyes, at Milan he argued with Fabio Capello in order to impose his vision of football in the only way he knew how: proving himself to be the strongest of all. Strong and successful, as evidenced, to limit ourselves only to his Italian career, by the 3 championships, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the 3 Italian Super Cups. Thirty years later, surrounded by the euphoria of the fans of the Milan Club of Sesto San Giovanni which bears his name, Dejan Savicevic tells his story.

In the introduction to the biography, Zvonimir Boban, her partner at Milan, has wonderful words about her: “Savicevic was divinely animalistic… he embodied football as sublime as poetry”. In which moments has his football expressed the highest form of poetry?

“If we talk about Milan, certainly in the match against Barcelona in ’94. A Champions League final seen in 110 countries, their coach Cruijff who on the eve of the match was repeating that he had already won, opponents like Romario and Stoichkov… It ended 4-0 for us. I scored the third goal: a lob from outside the area that went over Zubizarreta and went under the crossbar. In my mind I had ‘seen’ the exact point where the ball would fall at the very moment I hit her. The night in Athens was my night.”

Boban again: “Dejan exuded charm, charisma, the attraction to greatness.”

“Baresi and Maldini were of this mould. They made the history of Milan and represented, let’s say, the wall of the team. I was a different, creative and emotional player. For example, my first Champions League final, with Red Star against Marseille, I played badly. And even on my professional debut, at 16 and a half years old with Buducnost against Red Star, in a full stadium, I was stunned, I almost didn’t realize where I was. A feeling that lasted until the first touch of the ball, you know, the first time of anything is always the most difficult. So, before Barcelona I said to myself: ‘I’m playing well tonight, I don’t care who’s in front of me’.

Who makes your eyes shine in today’s football?

“In the last 20 years there have been Messi, Ronaldo. I also liked Ronaldinho. And Neymar too, but he wasn’t a real professional. It’s a shame, because he could reach the levels of those three. Now there’s Yamal, who has something different from all the others. He looks a bit like me: he starts from the right, he focuses, he’s left-footed, he has imagination, dribbling, he hits with the outside of his foot like not even Messi or Maradona.”

Outside of football, where does Savicevic look for beauty and art?

“Well. I’m a very practical guy.”

Why didn’t he become as great as Maradona?

“Diego was Diego, when I was young I had groin surgery and after that operation I always had muscle problems”.

Is it true that they were infiltrating Red Star to get it back on its feet as quickly as possible?

“No, that’s bullshit. I only got a puncture once. But after that surgery the muscle problems started. I didn’t have a good rehabilitation. They told me: ‘Run, and everything will be fine’, but I felt different.”

What would you steal from today’s football to put it in the football of your time and vice versa?

“I’ll answer in another way. In my time, defenders were allowed to hit. Today Maradona and Savicevic would be much more protected. On the other hand, now many more games are played. Before, Serie A had 18 teams, to win the Champions League you only had to play 9 games. But now the players earn much more. It’s difficult to make comparisons.”

Boban: “When Savicevic aimed, the opponent had no form. His football fluctuated.” What was dribbling for you?

“It was the legacy left to me by soccer; by futsal, which I played very well. For this reason, when I aimed at the defender, I always faked him. If he fell for it and went to the left, I went to the right, and vice versa. I faked one way and moved the ball to the other. I didn’t have just one type of dribbling and I didn’t always go the same way.”

Did the Savicevic child have an idol?

“Maradona, even though there was only a 6 year difference between us. Even before that I liked those who played in the then Yugoslavia, and Platini. We saw a lot on Rai 1 and Rai 2. We waited until 6.10pm to see 90° Minute. Well, I still remember the lineup from that Juve: Zoff Gentile Cabrini Bonini Brio Scirea Causio Tardelli Rossi Platini Boniek” (he repeats it in a rush like a nursery rhyme).

Don’t say he was a Juventus fan…

“No, but in the 80s it was the most watched team in Montenegro.”

How is Savicevic placed in the ranking of the great number 10s in history?

“I can talk about the “10” that I’ve seen. I’ve watched very little about Pelé, but he’s someone who won three World Cups. I’ve heard of Di Stefano, but what do I know about him. It’s very difficult to make rankings. Ok, I know that in my time I was among the three, four strongest players in the world, but there wasn’t Messi. Maybe there wasn’t such strong competition in that period.”

What does it mean to carry the number 10 on your shoulders?

“It’s the most prestigious number. It belonged to Pelé, Maradona, Platini, Matthaus… I wore it at Red Star, at Milan… You have to deserve it.”

He arrived at Milan in ’92 and at the beginning there were problems. Language question?

“But what language! George Weah, he had language problems! After two and a half years with us he still didn’t speak a word of Italian. The fact is that there were 6 foreigners and only 3 could be fielded. Capello, rightly, didn’t want to give up on the Dutch who had won everything. At a certain point I told him: ‘Let me play five games in a row and, if I don’t do well, I’ll be the first to step aside, removing the inconvenience. But if you field me every now and then, how can I get in? in shape?’. The first year I played ten matches: at Red Star I played 30. After the Intercontinental lost in ’94, which he didn’t let me play, everything changed for the better. Today I’m on good terms with Capello, we meet at some events.”

The three strongest teammates in Milan.

“At least five: Van Basten, Gullit, Weah, Maldini, Baresi”.

Sometimes he sat next to…?

“Baresi, Maldini, Boban, Tassotti”.

“Sebastiano Rossi, because we lived in the same condominium in Castellanza. Marco Simone and Panucci were with us. Massaro was also a friend. But I got along with everyone.”

What game would you like to replay to get your revenge?

“My biggest regret is getting hurt before the ’95 Champions League final against Ajax.”

He was President Berlusconi’s favorite: did your relationship ever create problems for you?

“Never. He helped me a lot. And I’m sorry that, when he entered politics, he distanced himself from the club a bit. Just as I’m sorry that he wasn’t able to pass on his love for Milan to his children. He was a man who invested to win, not to have the budget in order as happens now.”

Who do you like from this Milan?

“Honestly, we don’t have a very classy player. That’s what Milan is missing. I expected much more from Leao, for example. Modric is special, but he’s 40 years old. I’m sorry that Theo Hernandez is gone, even if Bartesaghi is good.”

“Yes. The problem is that he doesn’t have a team up to par.”

What is the problem with Italian football?

“I see Napoli-Milan and I realize that only three of the players on the pitch could play for the national team. In my period in Italy the only foreign goalkeeper was Taffaril at Parma. The defenders, the midfielders, were almost all Italian, and they were the best in the world; abroad you bought the playmakers, the centre-forwards, but the rest was all your stuff. Italy produced talent. Not anymore. You no longer have players like Totti, Baggio, Vialli, Mancini. So it can happen that our Under 17s beat yours 2-1. Except that we are a country of 625,000 inhabitants, while in Italy there are more than 60 million. As president of the Montenegrin Football Federation I feel sorry for Gravina, but the only thing he could have done to take the responsibility for the failure to qualify for the World Cup off his shoulders would have been to put one of Ancelotti, Allegri or Conte on the national team bench, and then say: what do you want, there is no one better than these three. He could have avoided sending Spalletti away for Gattuso, yes Spalletti has much more experience and is a winner.”