AC Milan player Dejan Savicevic
Dejan Savicevic has admitted that he could have joined Juventus, but instead owes so much to AC Milan and to Silvio Berlusconi.
During a stint at Milan between 1992 and 1998, Savicevic won the Champions League, three Scudetti and two Supercoppa Italiani, plus the European Super Cup. This earned him a spot in the AC Milan Hall of Fame, with his captivating performances in the No.10 role.
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‘The Genius’ is 60 years old today. Savicevic now lives in Podgorica (formerly Titograd), the capital of Montenegro. He was the greatest footballer in Montenegrin history and has been president of the Football Federation for 20 years.
Re-elected seven times, this is his final term, and it expires in 2029. He spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport about his past at Milan and how he could have ended up joining a rival.
You turn 60 today, how are you?
“Great. I’m in Budva, at my house by the sea, taking a few boat trips, but I still have a lot to do. You know, commitments, plans, contacts. I’m a volunteer president, I don’t earn a cent, there’s plenty of work to do, and luckily I’m still having fun.”
You used to be entertaining on the pitch. Dribbling, sprinting, scoring goals…
“I have good memories, I’ve been lucky. I’ve played in important places, I even won two European Cups, with Red Star Belgrade and Milan.”
At Milan you became ‘Il Genio’…
“But no, I wasn’t a genius, I was just a great player. It was you at Gazzetta who called me that. Maybe because I did things others couldn’t do, maybe because I had more imagination.”
But you like being called ‘The Genius’, don’t you?
“Yes yes, he’s nice, cheerful and makes you laugh a little. My friends and classmates when they want to make fun of me call me Genius. In Italy everyone, but it’s exaggerated.”
As exaggerated as the goal against Barcelona in 1994?
“The best of my life. The night before the final, Prime Minister Berlusconi said to me: ‘Dejan, if you’re a genius, prove it.’ I was lucky (laughs). It was all beautiful, the beginning and the end…”
You made your Serie A debut at 16. The newspapers wrote ‘a phenomenon, a true playmaker, with magic feet’. Was it an exaggeration?
“A little. I didn’t score many goals, I liked assists, it was nice to help my teammates score. I made it to the national team with Buducnost. I was 20, we beat Turkey 4-0 and I scored the third goal. In 1988 I went to Red Star Belgrade, champions of Yugoslavia.”
And you immediately became \the star of the star’…
“Come on, I was just a player on a great team. Many champions made me feel good. They loved me, but I loved all my teams too. Buducnost, Red Star, Milan, and Rapid Vienna. Especially Red Star, which remains my first home team.”
Savicevic
And Milan?
“It’s always in my heart. I arrived in 1992, I was supposed to go to Juve, then Roma, then Monaco in France. I was at Red Star Belgrade, I was happy. We had won the European Cup, beaten Marseille in Bari.”
You had a difficult start at Milan…
“Yes, I struggled for a year and a half. It was tough, I had some physical problems and there were Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Papin up front.
“But I chose Italy because it was the best league in the world and had the best players. It was a good choice; with another team I wouldn’t have won so much or had the visibility that AC Milan gave me.
“And then there were the fans. Wonderful, passionate. Their chants were the best motivation. It’s very nice that people remember me after more than twenty years. Some people tell me I was like Platini. It’s beautiful.”
And what does this Milan remind you of?
“Mmm… my Milan was a different team, we were always in the Champions League final. I’ve seen little of this one, only snippets on TV. They’re young and fresh. The coach is young too. He had a good reaction against Lazio. We have to wait patiently and accept mistakes, they’re part of football.
“I know, there’s no time, but the quality should emerge, it will catch up with the others. Unfortunately, Inter seem further ahead. But the season is long and complicated for everyone. Let’s wait. I’ve waited a year and a half.”
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