Dejan Savicevic is a player who knows all about what it means to succeed at AC Milan and to do so with the No.10 shirt, and he has given his thoughts on the current season so far.
Savićević was considered one of the best players in the world during the 1990s having emerged with his beloved Red Star. It was at Milan that he got the nickname ‘Il Genio’ (The Genius) which was given to him by the Italian press.
With Milan, he won three Serie A titles and the 1993–94 Champions League where he scored in the final during a 4-0 victory against Barcelona, among other trophies. He later returned to Red Star for half a season in 1999, before ending his career with Rapid Wien in 2001.
Now, the No.10 shirt he wore is occupied by Rafael Leao and there are certainly some similarities between the duo. They can be the creative heartbeat of the team, or can go missing when needed most.
Savicevic spoke during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport which was published in this morning’s edition of the paper, and he addressed a number of topics.
What do you think of Rafa Leao?
“Leao is a great player, Milan’s best in the last two or three years.”
Of course, he’s never been as strong as Tuesday…
“For me it’s not a surprise that he plays like he did against PSG. For me it’s a surprise to go to Qatar for the World Cup and not see him as a starter. Every now and then Leao is a genius like I was. A little genius… but different.”
Sometimes he is exhilarating, then he disappears. In Italy we say ‘Genius and recklessness’ and this time genius is with a capital letter. Why does this happen?
“The stimuli. I’ll give you an example: at the Marakana in Belgrade there were 90-100 thousand people and I really liked playing there. On the other hand, away from home, with 7-10 thousand people, I didn’t really want to…”
Who will win the Champions League and Serie A?
“It’s too difficult for the Champions League: I’ll tell you in March. In Serie A, Inter and Milan are the strongest. I’ll also include Milan, even though they did everything wrong against Udinese.”
Do you like Pioli?
“I can’t watch all the matches, but Pioli won the Scudetto having a couple of strong players and the others… less so. Hats off for that.”
At 3pm Milan will play in Lecce against Nikola Krstovic, a Montenegrin. What kind of player is he?
“A true professional. Those who are successful sometimes raise their heads and work less. But he doesn’t, he works, works, works. On the pitch he is a strong 9, strong with the head, who shoots well with his right foot.
“He doesn’t have the shots of Vucinic but he knows how to score goals. Even if he has some problems now, Lecce made no mistake in signing him.”
Would you make a difference as much or more in today’s football? Or are they running too fast for your liking today?
“I believe that today we race like in my time, the problem is that we play a few more games. Once upon a time the European Cup was won by playing 9 games, now it’s 13. And it’s easier for the attackers: in the nineties they got beaten up a lot more.”
And there were fun players. Who entertains you today?
“Messi always excites me, then I liked Neymar, but he had too many problems with injuries. So I say Leao and Mbappé.”
Any lesser-known names?
You are remembered as one of the players who gave the most joy and Giorgio Furlani, the CEO of Milan, called one of the two companies that hold the club’s shares ‘Genio’. Now what gives you joy?
“Being as happy as that day in Athens is impossible… or maybe not. I would like to go to a World Cup or a European Championship with Montenegro. In that case, yes, I would be even happier.”
