Van Basten recalls fond Milan memory and praises ‘fundamental’ Ibrahimovic

By Isak Möller -

Marco Van Basten recently featured in an interview and revealed the most special memory from his time at AC Milan. Before he was struck by injuries, the Dutchman was really one of the best strikers in the world. 

Van Basten retired in 1995 at the age of 31 due to an ankle injury that he simply couldn’t get rid of. Before that, though, he had a rather wonderful adventure with Milan as he amassed 201 performances and 125 goals for the Rossoneri.

Speaking to Carlo Pellegatti’s Youtube channel, as transcribed by PianetaMilan, Van Basten revealed one of his most special memories at Milan. He named the 4-0 win against IFK Göteborg, in which he scored all of the goals (one overhead kick).

On the game…

“It was a particular evening, one of great joy and pride. At that time, we had a great team. In that game, Massaro played full-back because Maldini wasn’t there. I played in an attacking tandem with Papin that evening, he didn’t score, I scored 4. The most important thing was Milan’s victory. That evening the refs had also disallowed a goal.”

On the overhead kick…

“Eranio’s cross was a little behind me, so I was forced to hit the ball with an overhead kick. It went well.”

On the strength of that Milan…

“In that period with Capello, we were a great group. With Sacchi, they were important years at a tactical level, while with Capello we were a little freer. Capello worked more on the mentality of the players, also because tactically we were already in place. That was the strongest Milan. We had a defence full of stars, in midfield there were other stars and also in attack. We had the best players in the world in all departments.”

Van Basten also shared his thoughts on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is currently recovering from knee surgery and is expected to be back in action at the start of 2023. He stated that the Swede has been fundamental for Milan’s recent success.

On Ibrahimovic…

“Ibra has been fundamental in making Milan grow in recent years, especially in terms of mentality. To get back to winning you needed to take this extra step and with Ibra they did it.”

On Ibra as a youngster…

“At Ajax, I was Koeman’s assistant when he arrived. He was someone who challenged me on the pitch, but I was half injured and therefore I couldn’t do much. Instead, he always wanted to challenge me, it was a lot of fun.”

Tags AC Milan Marco van Basten
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