AC Milan great Marco van Basten accuses his former coach Arrigo Sacchi of being dishonest and reveals how Ibrahimovic once provoked him.
Marco van Basten is one of the absolutely best players in AC Milan’s history. The Swan Of Utrecht is still much loved by fans, who have not forgotten his exploit with the Red and Black jersey and still suffer from his premature retirement.
The Dutch legend could have done even more during his trophy filled career but an ankle injury destroyed everything. A pity, because the 3 times Ballon D’Or winner played his last match at 29. The images of his farewell press conference, Fabio Capello breaking down in tears and his greeting at San Siro are still touching.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Van Basten talked about his experience at Milan and the forced retirement: “At Milan I felt like I was part of the family. Together we lived a whole life. You saw me born, as a player and as a man. You saw me grow up. And unfortunately you have seen my end. I was convinced that I would last forever, I told my teammates that I would play until 38 years old. At the beginning I didn’t understand it. I was too focused on feeling bad. I wondered why that suffering should have happened to me. I never had an answer“.
The legendary number 9 lifted the lid on his time under Arrigo Sacchi, a coach with whom he has not had an easy relationship despite the many victories together: “There has never been a personal feeling between me and him. It never gave me the impression of being honest in human relationships. When he wasn’t happy with how we trained, he took it out on the young players, the weakest, who perhaps were in the lead pulling the group“.
Van Basten also reveals a story about Zlatan Ibrahimovic during their time at Ajax: “I went back to Ajax as coach and a boy provoked me. You’re Van Basten, he said passing me the ball, show me what you can do. But I could no longer move my ankle. Who was he? I’m sure you know him. His name was Zlatan, his surname Ibrahimovic“.
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