Sacchi speaks about perfection at Milan and advice for Zidane: “Road to success”

Arrigo Sacchi is one of the most recognised coaches in Europe, thanks to his two spells with AC Milan in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Few coaches can showcase as much success as Sacchi. His story is one of the most recognised in football, and his Milan team are just as recognisable. A team filled with greats that he established or bettered.

In his first spell, he won two European Cups, two European Super Cups, as many Intercontinental Cups and a Scudetto. A massively impressive collection of trophies, more so considering his story.

Sacchi’s reply

Zinedine Zidane complimented the legendary coach at the Festival dello Sport yesterday, and Sacchi replied this morning, in his column for Gazzetta dello Sport, as MilanNews relays.

“It’s absolutely true that there were great champions [at Milan], but at the heart of everything was the game that these champions knew how to interpret to perfection. How many teams made up of champions haven’t followed the same path as us? Many, many.

“I remember, because I had firsthand experience, that when I went to Real Madrid, this was the attack: Beckham, Raul, Ronaldo the Phenomenon, Zidane, and Figo. First reserve: Michael Owen. The left-back was Roberto Carlos.

“Do you know what they won? Nothing. The reason? Simple: the game wasn’t what held those champions together.

“Zidane, who has been involved in football since he was a child, understood the lessons of that AC Milan and, as a coach, tried to apply them to his coaching at Real Madrid.

“However, I confess I have hope. He was a great Juventus player, he became a champion wearing the black and white shirt, he had a master like Marcello Lippi as a technical guide, he learned from him, he followed his advice, so why not imagine him on the Juventus bench?

“Not immediately, not now, far from it, also because I would be disrespectful towards Tudor and his work. But I would like someone like Zidane, someone who has always put attacking football first, someone who believes in team play and talent at the service of the team (just like he was on the pitch), to enter the world of Serie A.

“Our championship could only benefit from his presence. And then, Zidane on the Juventus bench would add a touch of romance that, in contemporary football, is sometimes missing. Think about it, Zizou. And keep watching my Milan games: that’s the road to success.”

Whether Zidane at Juventus would be good for Milan is another thing entirely, but the Frenchman could do a lot worse than learning from Sacchi; that much is certain.