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UEFA President Lenart Johansson presented the players’ medals to Milan and Hernan Crespo did not go to the locker room. The Argentine stayed on the field to see what would happen next.
“Until then, I didn’t realize we had lost,” he recalls. “It wasn’t until Gerrard raised the bowl over his head that I realized that it was all happening. The atmosphere on the team was like a funeral. No one was talking, not even in the locker room. Not on the bus or at the hotel. Some of the children cried. Others silently hugged their wives and children. “
According to Carlo Ancelotti, Crespo was the most ruined of all: “He had never won a Champions League (and never won a BA) and believed he was about to lift the trophy. Minutes after the first half, confidence He was a great player and it would be fair to win the tournament. He deserved the win more than any other. “
Pirlo was depressed and was considering finishing his career.
“It was a day after which I wanted to finish my career. After Istanbul, it no longer made sense to me. The most painful thing was realizing that we were guilty of ourselves. It was a collective suicide,” Pirlo writes on his resume. full of zombies without brains. We don’t talk, we don’t move, we just turn off.
But only a few hours later we realized what a nightmare had happened. Insomnia, anger, depression, emptiness. We had contracted a new serious illness with many symptoms: Istanbul syndrome. I no longer felt like a soccer player and that was killing me. I didn’t feel like a person, and it was worse.
I used to think about football all the time, but I didn’t care. I didn’t look in the mirror; I was afraid the reflection would spit in my face. The only correct solution for me was to finish my career, an ignominious retirement. The story was over, it was over. I walked with my head bowed. I wanted to jump into a pool and drown. The feeling of powerlessness in the face of fate remained with me forever. I have never seen this match. He is an enemy that I no longer want to meet. “
Gatuso wanted to leave, and Galliani dissuaded him
“A black hole opened in Reno, which mercilessly absorbed him,” describes Gattuso’s condition after Carlo Ancelotti’s final.
Genaro himself says: “I don’t want to think about it again, it hurts a lot. This defeat was a great blow. I even thought about leaving Milan, ashamed of the fans. Failure tormented my soul. But ultimately, Family, teammates and agents persuaded me to stay. The summit made me want to get back on my feet, as well as my love for Milan, which had been inflamed since I was a child. “
Adriano Galliani attributes Gatuso’s credit to staying at the club for seven years: “I locked him up in the museum with our cups, literally. For 8-9 hours. Only the secretary came in to bring him coffee and snacks. I also felt bad and did not I was able to sleep weeks later. But even then, I told Reno that we would still win the Champions League and that it could only happen against Liverpool. “
According to Genaro, I had never seen a complete record of the match, I had only seen excerpts from it: “Dudek’s dance at the gate has haunted me for many years. I closed my eyes and saw a nightmare: how he knocked out two shots at Shevchenko in the minute 119 “.
Nesta thinks Ancelotti made a mistake
Alessandro Nesta acknowledges the team’s collective guilt: “We played the best half ever. We allowed Liverpool to play just 10 minutes out of 120, but we lost.” But according to the defender, the main culprit for the failure is coach Ancelotti: “Carlo made a single mistake: he did not put me on the penalty list. In the Manchester final against Juventus I scored from the white point, but he did not choose me in Istanbul. That is probably their only mistake during the eight years we have worked together. “
In his three books, the mentor talks a lot about the “Rossoneri” tragedy in Istanbul. Carlo is convinced that he did not admit any obvious weakness. “I spent long days and nights searching for the error and at what point it was fatal,” he writes. “We were criticized for thinking after the first half that we were already winners and that at one point or another in the final we could have acted differently.
But the attitude of the players back then was incredible. The quality of the game we showed in the first half was the best of all my finals. This match is a great example of how a coach can control almost every aspect of the match: strategy, tactics, motivation, analysis of the opposing team. But the only thing you can’t control is the end result. In soccer, and in life in general, there is always an element of chance and it cannot be ruled out in every event analysis. However, over time, you can learn to do your best to minimize these disturbances in the air. “
The Milan players say they did not celebrate at halftime. But Kafu has a different version.
Liverpool defender Jimmy Traore says that when he passed the Milan locker room before the second half, he heard screams and joyous songs. “They were already celebrating victory,” recalls the former Mali national.
And what happened in those 15 minutes is one of the great mysteries of the end. Rossonera players have different versions on the subject.
Ancelotti: “The players did not hide their enthusiasm and shouted at each other:” Come on! We will win! “,” We continue with the same spirit “,” We are the best! They applauded each other. We didn’t start celebrating in advance, we were just charged with positive energy. I let the team relax their emotions for a few minutes and then reassured everyone: “The matches against the British never end prematurely. You need to be careful. Don’t let them take advantage at the beginning of the half. We should have no problems. We have to control the game. Go Go! “That’s all I said to them.”
Nesta: “Ancelotti told us: ‘Guys, we have not finished yet. There are many more at the end. Enter the field and score more, only then will the match end.”
Maldini: “We were not celebrating. On the contrary, we were fighting for some messy passes, etc. Ancelotti shouted:” Shut up for five minutes! “We calm down and start talking calmly.”
Gatuso: “These are idiotic rumors, we don’t celebrate on vacation. Traore is talking nonsense.”
Crespo: “Total absurdity, complete absurdity. This team was full of professionals who had won a lot. They all knew perfectly that despite the result, the second half would be difficult. No one thought we had already won.”
But in an interview with FourFourTwo in May 2019, Cafu categorically denied the rest of the team: “Are we celebrating? Yes, that’s true. We scored three goals for Liverpool, the most tactically prepared team I have ever played against. We think it is our day, we relaxed. They believed after the second goal. It wasn’t our fault, only Liverpool deserved that turn. “
Ancelotti revived the team using her undergraduate thesis
“I am often asked what I thought when Liverpool called. The answer is simple: nothing. Zero thoughts. Empty: Carlo writes in his book” I prefer a bowl. “I was paralyzed, I did not even have time to react. I did not understand what I was doing. happening. “.
According to Ancelotti, he never saw the game, but not because he felt uncomfortable: “It just doesn’t make sense. I don’t feel the need. The defeat in Istanbul was one of many for me. The depression disappeared. It was more difficult with the team – I had to picking up kids, piece by piece. The most difficult puzzle of my life. I remembered my diploma thesis that I had written in Kovercchano eight years earlier. I opened the psychology chapter: “[…] The result of the lack of results is a loss of enthusiasm. In such a situation, the footballer questions the effectiveness of the work methods he does. The coach with the support of the club must find the strength and continue to believe in his ideas, without a doubt, to be sure of himself and, above all, to be aware that the team follows him and approves his decisions. If you are sure that the team is supporting you, then you should bet on the work you are about to do. “
And more: “[…] You must ensure that the team does not worry about the results. If the team faces difficulties, it will become stronger and more united. Then the coach can count on motivated and determined players. It will be easier to work with and the results will certainly improve. “
The recipe for overcoming the crisis was understandable. You have to make the best of the drama. Either they succeed together and they all rush to a goal, or that’s the end. “
***
In the 2005/06 season, Milan remained third in the Italian champion and reached the semifinals of the Champions League and the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup. For the first time, under Ancelotti’s leadership, the Rossoneri won nothing.
In May 2007, Milan met Liverpool again in the Champions League final. The match was again in the Balkans, in Athens. But this time the joy was for the Italians.
