Milan legend Dejan Savicevic admits he “did not expect” Zlatan Ibrahimovic to make such an impact, but was surprised by the Suso flop.
The Derby della Madonnina against Inter is on Sunday evening, so Savicevic spoke to Radio Rossonera.
“I played in many derbies and obviously remember the victories with most fondness, like the 5-0 against Ronaldo’s Inter in the Coppa Italia, but it’s always tough against them.”
The club has changed a great deal in recent years and Savicevic did not see all this transformation coming.
Milan legend Dejan Savicevic admits he “did not expect” Zlatan Ibrahimovic to make such an impact, but was surprised by the Suso flop.
The Derby della Madonnina against Inter is on Sunday evening, so Savicevic spoke to Radio Rossonera.
“I played in many derbies and obviously remember the victories with most fondness, like the 5-0 against Ronaldo’s Inter in the Coppa Italia, but it’s always tough against them.”
The club has changed a great deal in recent years and Savicevic did not see all this transformation coming.
“I didn’t think Silvio Berlusconi would sell Milan, but when he left with Adriano Galliani and Ariedo Braida, it made me at least happy to see Paolo Maldini and Zvonimir Boban back at San Siro, the players of my generation.
“It’s going to be very difficult to get Milan back to those levels, as we were truly a fantastic squad.”
There has been another comeback in January, as Ibrahimovic returned for the first time since 2012.
“I didn’t expect him to do as well as he has so far, considering he is 38 years old,” continued Savicevic.
“He gave his teammates more confidence. It was a risk, but Milan did well to bring him back and I hope he continues like this.
“Milan need Ibrahimovic, because the younger players so far have not done well. We all expected more from Suso, but he would play two or three games well and then just switch off. Rafael Leao is certainly a player who can improve.
“It’s tough to make predictions for the derby, but it’s important that Lautaro Martinez is suspended for Inter, as he is right now one of the best players in Italy.
“It’s true that Inter have 19 more points than Milan at the moment, but that means nothing in the derby.