Sacchi and Rijkaard on the Euroderby: “If Milan have Leao and run… Inter, it’s not over yet”

An evening of unforgettable memories. All in red and black colors. The second day of Milan Football Week was closed by a meeting on “The perfect team” or Milan in the era of Arrigo Sacchi and Frank Rijkaard. The coach from Fusignano and the Dutch midfielder, with our GB Olivero in the role of moderator, exalted the Milan fans present by making them experience an unforgettable (abundant) hour.

Frank tells

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The former Ajax “all-rounder”, who had the… habit of deciding matches with heavy goals, answered questions in English, but was much applauded: “I knew that to leave the Sporting stadium Braida had to hide my contract of transfer, just signed, in my underwear. He was afraid of the fans who didn’t want me to be sold… When Ariedo told me about it, I laughed a lot. The decisive penalty against Red Star, in the match repeated for fog in Belgrade? It was a particular emotion to score him. The seventeen-year-old Cappellini had to shoot him and that boy from the Primavera was obviously very worried. I imagined what would happen, so I told Sacchi that I would kick him. It went well.” Then came the semi-final against Real Madrid and the 5-0 success in the second leg: “It was a great moment, an almost perfect evening. Almost because if I think of the perfect match, well that was Milan-Steaua: we were very strong and we felt it clearly. At the Camp Nou in Barcelona it was a domain. The secret of my goals in the important matches? I played for a great team. The goal against Benfica, in the second Champions League final (1989-90, ed), we had tried several times in training: it was a perfectly successful scheme. It was an honor to play in a formation coached by Sacchi and with great players like my team-mates. I returned to Ajax because I no longer believed I was from Milan. I met as an opponent: I was sad because I didn’t want to challenge them, but when you play a game, you want to win. And I did so. That match was special, a mix of feelings”. Rijkaard said goodbye to his coaching career a few years ago: “I quit early because I didn’t enjoy myself anymore, I no longer had motivation. Playing was easier than coaching… I’m grateful to have been part of the world of football: I admire this sport that I still love and I observe with pleasure because it is constantly evolving. The players are better prepared on a tactical and athletic level. Some matches are very beautiful”. Final on the Euro-derby and on the other semi-final of the Champions League: “Inter made an excellent impression on me as a team on Wednesday: they were more confident and their singles made the difference. If Milan have Leao on Tuesday, that will be all different because the Portuguese will transmit more conviction to his teammates. The mental aspect will have its importance and if the Nerazzurri think they have qualification in the pocket, who knows… The other semi-final? For me, City are the slight favorites, but I’m rooting for Ancelotti”.

Arrigo’s lesson

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Sacchi’s, on the other hand, was an authentic lesson on football, from his arrival at Milan to today, with an excursus also on Roman and political history. “To win you need a good storyline – said the former coach – , with players who are functional to the project. I convinced Berlusconi not to sign Borghi by saying he was a good player, but not functional to the team. He didn’t have the characteristics I asked for from the my men to stay at Milan. If we won everything, I owe it to the boys, but also to the club. Before arriving at Milan, I was curious to know how competitive I would be and at the beginning, not everything was easy because after the defeat against “Espanyol’s criticism was not tender. Berlusconi then gathered the team and spoke for 5 seconds. He said: ‘I have great faith in Arrigo. Whoever follows him will stay at Milan, the others will leave.’ From that moment we won practically all of them, apart from a match that we were given to lose by a firecracker, against Roma. Our imperative was: ‘Convince, entertain and win'”. For Rijkaard, Sacchi had only compliments: “Frank was a good person and a good player. I made him play defense because I wanted to start building the game from behind and I wanted a dominating kick. I think I won not a championship, but two. Cleverness is not a value (referring to the coin that hit Alemao on the head in Bergamo, with the three points at the table for the Azzurri and the 1989-90 Italian flag that went to Napoli, ed.). A victory without merit is not a victory “. Then on the Euroderby: ““At an economic level, Milan shouldn’t even have won the Scudetto last year… They made a masterpiece! To be competitive, the Rossoneri must be a team and cannot play in 50 metres, with someone who he stands still. Everyone has to run. If they don’t, they have no future. None of his players must think they are at the top, otherwise it alternates between positive and negative moments”.