The former Milan player speaks without half measures: “Nothing will change, the problem is not the federal president, it is the players, the way of training them”
Dejan Savicevic fortunately is not a good negotiator. He says he doesn’t want to talk about football, because everything has already been said in this world, and above all that he doesn’t want to talk about Milan, because times are what they are. However, the Genius has been in love with the ball since he was a child and therefore, if you ask him about Messi, he will answer. If you talk to him about the crisis in Italian football, even… and he does it without the half measures of professional politicians. As for the team of his life, we can see that he is a wounded AC Milan fan, perhaps a little disillusioned. This is his view of the world from Miami, where Savicevic meets people as president of the Montenegrin Football Federation and watches football like a genius who never truly retired.
Milan out of the Champions League is sad…
“I didn’t expect it. At a certain point in the season, I considered entering the Champions League a given, then I suddenly found myself 5th.”
It must be said to a great attacking midfielder that, in recent months, Milan have not been the most entertaining team in the world. Did you like the games?
“Well, for me it was more the players’ fault than the coach’s. I’m sorry for Allegri that it ended like this: he’s good, he didn’t deserve all this.”
Dejan Savicevic
Montenegro, 15 September 1966
With Red Star he won a Champions Cup and an Intercontinental. At Milan he won a European Cup and a European Super Cup
As a manager used to thinking about football, what was the main mistake?
“Don’t sell Leao”.
Not that dozens of offers have arrived: Chelsea a few years ago, then an interest from Bayern and Barcelona. No indecent proposals.
“Yes, but I don’t understand that boy. They say he is more interested in music than football and I don’t know if it’s true. For sure, I would let him go. It seems to me that it would be better for everyone.”
Nothing will change in Italy, the problem is not the federal president, it is the players, the way of training them
First we need to understand if Milan will have a new sporting director. There has been talk of Krösche, for which however it may be necessary to pay compensation to Eintracht.
“Paying for Krösche? Come on… he’s not Ancelotti.”
Got it, got it. Are we talking about the World Cup?
“Yes, even if I want to wait to give an opinion on this formula with so many teams. I was also skeptical about the new Champions League with the big group but in these two years it has been good. In the end, in this world the profits count and you have to get over it. You can’t please everyone.”
So let’s disappoint the other national teams and let’s say one that will certainly reach the semi-finals.
“France”.
Messi is super but two of the three goals are errors from Zidane’s son
A player that the Genius always likes to see?
“Mbappé. In the end, he always seems to be the strongest.”
And Argentina? And Messi?
“I have to say that I didn’t think Messi could still play like this in a World Cup. He was right, even if two of his three goals came from Zidane’s son, the Algeria goalkeeper. These days I’m seeing too many errors from goalkeepers, I don’t know if it’s due to the balls or something else.”
Of course, this World Cup is strange: Messi still dominant, Ronaldo in difficulty with a strong national team like Portugal.
“Come on, if you don’t understand this, you don’t understand football. Messi has always been 70% talent and 30% application, Cristiano the opposite. As you age, your physique declines and only talent can keep you upright. Already in Qatar 4 years ago, Cristiano hadn’t done well…”.
There are those who say he should stop.
“I say he should stop with the national team and concentrate on the club. He could score a thousand goals and not ruin his relationship with people. It’s a law of life: people always remember the last thing you did, not all the others.”
Real. Other emotions from the World Cup?
“I feel sorry for Montella who left with Turkey, he has always been kind to me. When he was coaching Milan, I brought 40 coaches to see his training sessions and he accepted without problems. He is one of the few Italian coaches with an offensive mentality.”
The question is sad but obligatory. What about Italy thinking about the federal elections and not the World Cup?
“That nothing will change.”
Ronaldo? Stop with the national team and aim for 1000 goals with the clubs
Nothing?
“Nothing, what can one person change? The problem is not the federal president, it is the players, the way of training them.”
In what sense?
“The boys don’t dribble anymore. They make two touches and then play the ball out wide. So you never improve. And then everything has changed in Italian football. You’ve always had great goalkeepers and great defenders, but now where have they gone?”.
And in Montenegro, how is it going with young people?
“Adzic was there but he played too little for Juventus. After the goal against Inter, I expected him to become a starter or have a lot of space, but nothing…”.
Isn’t that a little slow?
“Calm down. Let’s let him play first, then we’ll see. It’s too easy to say now that he’s slow.”
But, as a boy, did Savicevic dribble or pass the ball out wide?
“I have always dribbled, much more in the street than on the pitch. I only really started playing when I was 15, before I only played five-a-side football and street football. I’ll tell you this: once, when I was 12, I trained for two months with a team, then they changed the coach and took me out of the team. I never understood why…”.
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