ARIEL PRODUCT SECRET OF SUCCESS SERIES: AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini talks to Jamie Carragher about THAT night in Istanbul and reveals a Rare Secret of Success
Paolo
Maldini is one of football’s all-time greats. During a glittering
career with AC Milan, his only club, he made 902 appearances and won 26
major honors, including five European Cups. He was also capped 126
times by Italy.
Recently he Maldini invited Sportsmail’s Jamie
Carragher to his Milan home for a rare interview. He does not have
trophies on show anywhere in his house and the only pictures are of his
family.
His
passion for football, however, is absolutely clear and the conversation
between Maldini and Carragher, old foes from Liverpool’s Istanbul
Champions League triumph, was illuminating. Dominic King listened in and
made notes (and got his picture taken to show his mum).*STORY COURTESY MAIL , LONDON
CARRAGHER:
Here we are 10 years after we first played against each other in the
Champions League final. Now things are very different to 2005 and both
of our teams have struggled this season. It hurts me when Liverpool lose
- are you the same with Milan?
MALDINI: Of
course! I started there when I was 10 and finished when I was 41. My
father, Cesare, was captain, my kids are in the academy now. Milan is
not just a team for me. It is part of my life. My family loves those
colours. But you know what?
When
I see it (like it is now), I feel sad. We built with other great
players something unique and they didn’t realise the importance of the
men and the people. You know what?
Only
Franco Baresi works there now. No other former players. That is sad.
Milan have a great tradition and they completely let it go. So the new
generation, they do not understand. There is all that history of the
club but now it is different.
CARRAGHER: Do you think, when you are watching, that you would like to help?
MALDINI:
I would love to! I received a lot of things from my club. I gave them
my passion and my body because I cannot walk now (laughs)! But I’d just
love to give back something, to give them my experience. The kids are
not so bad but they need someone who can give them the right way to
follow... but I don’t think it is going to happen.
CARRAGHER:
When I was growing up, Milan were the team. I used to watch the teams
of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello on TV all the time. Last week, when I
was in Madrid, I saw Sacchi and he was speaking about you and that
team. What influence did he have on you?
MALDINI: He
was very tough. Training used to be a little bit crazy. He’d work you
hard, then work your mind. He would make you repeat the same things over
and over, especially defenders.
Every
day we’d do the same thing. But if me, Baresi, (Alessandro) Costacurta
and (Mauro) Tassotti meet each other now, we can still play as we did in
the 1990s. It is stuck in your mind. That was one of the secrets of our
success.
It
helped the Milan legend to continue. That team played at that level
(raises hand in air) for so long. I won my first Champions League in
1989 and I won my last one 18 years later. But now? It’s a pity.
*Maldini was happy to talk about that famous night despite being on the wrong end of the shootout defeat
CARRAGHER: Do you think, when you are watching, that you would like to help?
MALDINI:
I would love to! I received a lot of things from my club. I gave them
my passion and my body because I cannot walk now (laughs)! But I’d just
love to give back something, to give them my experience. The kids are
not so bad but they need someone who can give them the right way to
follow... but I don’t think it is going to happen.
CARRAGHER:
When I was growing up, Milan were the team. I used to watch the teams
of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello on TV all the time. Last week, when I
was in Madrid, I saw Sacchi and he was speaking about you and that
team. What influence did he have on you?
MALDINI: He
was very tough. Training used to be a little bit crazy. He’d work you
hard, then work your mind. He would make you repeat the same things over
and over, especially defenders.
Every
day we’d do the same thing. But if me, Baresi, (Alessandro) Costacurta
and (Mauro) Tassotti meet each other now, we can still play as we did in
the 1990s. It is stuck in your mind. That was one of the secrets of our
success.
It
helped the Milan legend to continue. That team played at that level
(raises hand in air) for so long. I won my first Champions League in
1989 and I won my last one 18 years later. But now? It’s a pity.
CARRAGHER:
I watched the European Cup final when you beat Steaua Bucharest 4-0 in
Barcelona in 1989. Your performance was possibly better in Istanbul?
MALDINI: We
couldn’t have done anything better. The crazy thing is we arrived in
Milan and the supporters were waiting for us. They were screaming: ‘What
have you done?!’ We put everything into it.
We
played maybe our best final, with the exception of 1994 (a 4-0 win over
Barcelona). I thought it was my last chance to win it and it had gone.
And the game was crazy. I scored — I scored! It was the quickest goal in
a final!
CARRAGHER: At half-time, you were leading 3-0. Could you believe how easy it had been?
MALDINI: I
know a story came out that we celebrated at half-time. You know that it
was impossible. When we got into the locker room it was crazy.
People
were screaming at each other, like they were fighting. So Ancelotti
turns to everyone and says: ‘Shut up! For five minutes, I don’t want to
hear any of you! I don’t want to hear one word!’
So
we completely shut up, we calmed down and then we started to talk about
what we had done good, what was not so good and we started thinking
about the second half. That was it. Inside, I thought to myself, ‘We
have a big chance’, but I didn’t say anything. Nobody did.
CARRAGHER:
If you are losing 3-0 to a team you know you are better than, you
always have a chance. But this was AC Milan! I was thinking: ‘4-0
Barcelona; 4-0 Steaua Bucharest; this could be five or six.’ What do you
think changed?
MALDINI: You
know, something happened in the second half - your fans. They started
to sing and sing. Don’t forget usually the stadium is 50-50 but it was
75 per cent Liverpool, 25 per cent Milan.
Our
fans had sold their tickets to Liverpool fans. I remember the first
goal. I could see Gerrard and (Jaap) Stam and I was about to shout: ‘Be
careful! He’s coming!’ But then I didn’t say anything. Then the ball
comes in and Gerrard scores. I say to myself: ‘Oh s***! Why didn’t you
say something?’
CARRAGHER: Was the second goal (from Vladimir Smicer) the turning point for you?
MALDINI:
Yeah. That changed a lot. All of a sudden, you are one goal from the
tie. But when it got to 3-3, we started again and we had chances. The
psychology of the game can change when you get to 3-3. Maybe you started
to think you had something to lose.
CARRAGHER: What of Gerrard’s performance in that game? He played three different positions. Do people still talk about him in Italy?
MALDINI:
I still remember his face and the pain he was in from cramp but he was
still going around tackling everybody. He put everything into it. For
you guys, he was an example for all the others.
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