The coach who wants Milan told by those who have seen him grow on and off the pitch. And he guarantees: “He knows when carrots and sticks are needed, he knows how to win and give an identity to his team. But if he loses even just one friendly match, for two days…”
Oliver Glasner has had the same approach for thirty years. He had it as a footballer, he has it now as a coach. Methodical, practical, attentive to detail to the point of becoming obsessive. Yet, he hasn’t reaped much fruit in his career, also due to an injury that forced him to say enough. “He risked dying from a subdural hematoma on the brain. Then everything resolved and Oliver started training.” Arrigo Sacchi would tell him that the jockey has never been a horse and that you can become a great trainer even without having been a top ten or having won trophies. Oli – that’s what everyone calls him in Ried, his home in upper Austria – was a good defender, however tormented by injuries. And he was already a lover of schemes, tactics and the psychology of footballers. Those who know him say that he spent entire evenings reading essays on the behavior and psychology of the members of a locker room. Then he also moved on to lead it on the front line. “He’s a man of ice, pressure doesn’t scare him. The players love him because he’s someone who always tells the truth.”