Marcel Desailly remembers his successes at Chelsea, the lasting impact of Gianluca Vialli and how Italy grew into a World Cup-winning team in 2006 in an exclusive interview with Football Italia.
After an incredible five-year spell with Milan, the former French defender left for Chelsea in the summer of 1998, joining up with then-player and coach Vialli. In West London, Desailly won the FA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, becoming a talismanic figure for the club.
Desailly played 222 matches across his six-year spell with Chelsea, leaving in the summer of 2004. He retired a little over a year later, capping off an amazing career that saw him win the World Cup, the European Championship and two Champions League titles.
Speaking to Football Italia on behalf of Gambling Zone, Desailly first reflects on his time at Chelsea and how it felt to work alongside the late Vialli.
“So first of all, I had a call from Ruud Gullit – who had an Italian foundation – who was the coach of Chelsea. I didn’t come at that time, I was good at Milan.
“With the late Gianluca, it was another era because he was a player and coach at the same time. He had that smartness, tactically, and also knew how to use the best qualities of the players for them to perform.
“We won the FA Cup with him in 2000, the last FA Cup final played in the old Wembley Stadium. He was a good coach, but the stress of the job was causing him problems.
“I remember he was telling us that it wasn’t easy for him to handle the transition psychologically that you have to make from being a player – understanding, reading the game and building up your philosophy. As a coach, it was a really difficult transition for him.
“He went to Watford after as a coach, and then he gave up, he could see that it wasn’t for him. But what a gentleman, what a gentleman, you wanted to work for him, fight for him, and he brought a lot to Chelsea.
“Even though we didn’t win a lot at the time, he created the foundation for the club, the winning mentality for the future. Same as Claudio Ranieri, when he came, he established the diet, the medical work, and they introduced the importance of the facilities at the training ground.
“They brought the structure and foundation of the club. And when Roman Abramovich arrived, those foundations through the Italian ability system were already there for Chelsea to start a magnificent era when Mourinho came in.”
Desailly then looks back at his various clashes with Italy and how they grew into winning the 2006 World Cup.
“I would say that it’s just a matter of being patient and continuing to raise players to the highest level. We – France – have probably killed a generation of players towards our victory,” he argues.
“In 1996, Italy weren’t at their best, we didn’t see the real them during the European Championships. In 1998, they were really growing, a good generation was coming through.
“They weren’t the best, because I believe the Argentinians, the Dutch and the Brazilians were better than them, but they were having a good generation. But unfortunately, we won against you on penalties in the quarterfinals. It happens.
“And then for 2000, unfortunately for Italy, we were the best team and the gods of football decided it was for France, but you had Alessandro Del Piero, Marco Del Vecchio, Francesco Totti, who wasn’t yet ready to be the first choice, but Italy had an amazing defence – Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Maldini, they really had good potential. So, it was a matter of patience.
“Italy lost Maldini, they lost a couple of players, but at the end of the day, they managed to win the 2006 World Cup with Totti, Del Piero and new entries. That World Cup was a tactical World Cup. In 2002, it was also too difficult, Brazil were too strong for any other team.
“Globally, there’s always hope for Italy, when you don’t expect them to win, suddenly they come in and do it. They won the European Championship recently, then straight after they had a drop, no explanation for that – a good generation of players, but there’s a drop.
“Is it mental, is it physical? I think physical, the intensity of the game. Some generations, some players cannot keep a high level of intensity and impact in the game because in their league – yes intensity is there, but not to the extent to be ready for the national team.”
Good insight and memory. Only points id make are that Italy probably were the best team at Euro 96, in fact, I’m almost certain they were. They played the best football in the group stages and were undone by Sacchi’s choices in the second game and bad luck against Germany. People don’t remember how well that team played. In 2000, Totti was already a star. He probably would have won the balon’dor.