Ambrosini reveals favourite Milan memories and excellent Maldini anecdote – video

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan’s official media channel took a trip down memory lane with club legend Massimo Ambrosini, discussing some of his favourite Rossoneri moments.

Ambrosini made well over 300 appearances for Milan during an 18-year spell at the club, and we took a look back at his exceptional performance in the 2007 Champions League final in Athens on Wednesday.

During an interview with Milan, Ambrosini shed light on some of the more memorable moments he had during his almost two-decade stint at San Siro.

Below is the full interview transcribed, with thanks to MilanNews

On arriving at Milan: “It was a very special moment. I was at my house in Pesaro and my attorney entered the house and the first thing he said, after introducing himself to my parents was: ‘I see that you are a nice family and you are very attached to your son. From next year he won’t be here anymore’. Both my parents and I, because I didn’t know that I should have gone to Milan until then, we stayed a bit like this. It was a particularly beautiful moment.”

An unforgettable game and one that he would like to replay: “Milan-Ajax in 2003: a difficult game against a strong team, in which we managed to get to the bottom of the last second, with a little luck, and everything happened from there.

“What I would like to replay, which in reality I was unable to play because I was injured, is the Istanbul final. I would have liked to have replayed it regardless of if we had won, because I didn’t play it.”

Ambrosini was then asked for a story that is not commonly known, and he delivered a belter.

“Once 3 or 4 of us met for a lunch at Milanello to convince Paolo Maldini to continue playing. Paolo in the last years of his career renewed year after year, because he had physical problems. On that occasion we almost forced him to sign. I want to think that his career has lengthened thanks to our insistence.”

On his strongest team-mate opponent: “Ronaldo was the one who, for the amount of time and the physical condition with which he came, made me say: ‘Mamma mia!’. Sheva was my room-mate, then there is also Kakà, but if I have to choose one I would say Paolo (Maldini), because it is an unattainable example for the continuity it has had over the years and for what it has represented for all of us. As an opponent, however, I say Zidane.”

On the photo he would put on Instagram: “The photo of the first training session, because I printed it in my visual memory: everything I did when I walked through the gates of Milanello. That moment there I would like for a photo to be there remember.”

On the first game seen live as a fan: “The first Serie A game I saw was a Sampdoria-Lazio in Genoa, when Beppe Signori played in Lazio. We were with the Cesena Students playing against the Sampdoria youth team and they brought us in the afternoon to watch the game.”

On the song that was never missing in the playlist: “I am a fan of Springsteen and therefore ‘Born to Run’ was the song that accompanied me”.

Favourite subject: “Geography. I managed it, I managed to overcome the obstacles. I was hard to please, but it went well.”

On the ideal companions for a soccer match: “I take Rino, as a goalkeeper I put Dida, or rather Abbiati, because he is bigger and covers the whole goal. A great soccer player is Cristian Brocchi, because when he shot he always scored.

“I put Clarence (Seedorf, ed), because with those legs he always manages to score. Pirlo I put him to be the coach, who wants to do that?”

Tags AC Milan Massimo Ambrosini Paolo Maldini
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