Kakha Kaladze has reflected on the time he spent at AC Milan by recalling his favourite memories, and he also discussed Rafael Leao and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
It was back in January 2001 that Kaladze became the most expensive Georgian footballer in history when Milan paid €16m (via Wikipedia) to bring him to Italy, and he became a starter almost immediately playing initially as a midfielder and then reverting to a more familiar full-back role.
He would end up spending nine years at the club and won eight major trophies including the Scudetto, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Super Cup (twice), the FIFA Club World Cup and above all else the Champions League in 2002-03 and 2006-07.
Kaladze was interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport this morning and he spoke about a number of topics from his spell with the Rossoneri to the battle between one of the current protagonists in Leao and his opposite number Kvaratskhelia.
Kakha, what do you remember of the Champions League matches you had with Milan?
“Two different realities. The first time I had just arrived in Milan and you can imagine the tension that gets inside you from days before the match.
“The one against Juventus was a match worthy of football history books, for how it was played, for how it was decided and for the atmosphere that was created in Manchester with our fans.
“The final in Istanbul, as has already been said several times, was a surreal final in terms of how it ended, the ball just didn’t want to go in… I remember a shot by Sheva in extra time with a sure shot and their goalkeeper took it with part of the wrist and the ball incredibly rears up as it comes out.
“We arrived at penalties mentally tired and unfortunately it ended as we know. The third final was the match of the solidity of the team, concentrated. I would say total concentration: having met them two years earlier, we knew what Liverpool were like and mentally we were perfect.”
The best moments of your career?
“I choose three images: lifting my first Champions League, scoring the goal in the derby, seeing the joy of our Curva every time.”
Carlo Ancelotti said that the week before the Champions League against Inter was the most difficult from an emotional point of view. Can playing in Europe against an Italian team create problems or is it a game like any other?
“Every match is a story in itself, especially when you get to the final stages and in our case it was a derby within a derby. However, there is a key point for both teams: they get to know each other in more detail by playing in the same league. Whoever is better at exploiting this knowledge will go on.”
How do you digest a 4-0 in the league before such an important double challenge?
“Napoli all have experienced players and a great coach, I’m sure that the day after the match they have reviewed the match and now they will know perfectly how to get back to the state of concentration that is needed in the Champions League.”
Do you follow the Italian league, at least in the most important moments?
“Certainly. I always follow the Italian championship and Milan, my heart is red and black and Milan stays inside you for life.”
The explosion of Kvaratskhelia in Naples has also given visibility to Georgian football. Could he be a driving force for the football movement in your country?
“Kvara is a high-profile prospect, he has characteristics that make him today one of the players, given his age, with a guaranteed future at the highest levels.
“In Georgia we always have some players every year who have what it takes to be able to play in Italy, Spain, Germany. At Cremonese this season they have taken Lochoshvili, he is a young central defender, physically strong, pure lefty with technique: he can grow and do well.
“A young man that I point out to be taken into consideration because he has the right numbers is Gabriel Sigua, a midfielder born in 2005 who has already made his debut for the senior national team.”
These are difficult times. Can football also help countries going through complicated situations?
“Football is a monstrous vehicle and if serious work is done starting from the academies, the results come, it doesn’t matter from which country they come, but interesting players are found and there are.”
Does Leao have the numbers to really be a top player? He had slower growth than Kvaratskhelia…
“Leao is devastating. As a former defender I say that it’s a unique problem to have to mark him, he has incredible physical prowess, if you don’t stop him in advance it’s pain, he points at you and beats you naturally, he has strength and shooting, Milan are making him grow to make him one of the three best in the role in Europe.
“Looking at him from the outside, I think his only current weakness with him is that sometimes, maybe, he has lapses in concentration, but he happens to everyone. And even when you don’t see it, the final shot or the assist always brings it out.
“He is a great player, congratulations to Milan for a perfectly made investment. As for Kvara, his performance this season is impressive, at times he almost looks like a player who has been in Serie A for three years.”
Who does Kvaratskhelia remind you of and who does Leao resemble?
“They actually look alike, but with some differences.”
If you were a coach, would you let them play together?
“In the team of desires yes… Leao on the left and Kvara on the right who returns to you on the left.”
What do the Georgian and the Portuguese give to their respective teams?
“A deadly weapon that is the speed of execution, and then they know how to create spaces for the attacker.”
You know the San Siro crowd. How much will it affect in the first game?
“Very, very much. San Siro has always been aur twelfth man for us, when you play for Milan you have the colours sewn into your heart and you cannot disappoint the fans. You always have to give 110 percent and the satisfaction comes.”
