Van Basten slams 'dishonest Sacchi'

By Football Italia staff

Milan legend Marco van Basten thought he would “last forever”, revealed his poor impression of Arrigo Sacchi and how Zlatan Ibrahimovic “provoked” him.

The Dutch 55-year-old is registered with 90 goals in 147 Serie A matches and picked up the Capocannoniere title three times during his stint in Milan, where he won the Scudetto three times and helped them to the European Cup twice.

The former hero had to retire at the age of 31, when his ankle forced him to stop playing, and the Rossoneri phenomenon claimed that it was a hard blow to admit it was over.

“In Milan I felt like I was part of the family,” he told Corriere della Sera. “We lived a whole life together. You saw me get born, as a player and a man. You saw me grow up.

“Unfortunately, you also had to witness my end. I was convinced that I could last forever. I told my teammates that I would stop at 38 years old.

“At first, I didn’t understand. I was too focused on feeling bad. I wondered why it was me who had to suffer. I never got an answer.”

Arrigo Sacchi was the coach that brough the two mentioned European Cups to San Siro and one of the League titles, but Van Basten reveals that he wasn’t fond of his personality.

“There was never a personal relationship between me and him,” he added. “He never gave me the impression of being honest in his human relationships.

“When he wasn’t happy with how we trained, he took it out on the younger players, on the weaker ones.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has returned to San Siro this winter and Van Basten admitted that the former Sweden international had “provoked” him during his stint as coach of Ajax.

“I went back to Ajax as a coach and there was one boy who provoked me,” Van Basten said. “You are Van Basten, he said and passed me the ball, show me what you can do.

“Because of my ankle, I couldn’t anymore. Who the boy was? I’m sure you know him. He was called Zlatan, his surname is Ibrahimovic.”

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