Former Lazio and Milan defender Jaap Stam admits he was a better player in Italy than at Manchester United and praises his compatriot Matthijs de Ligt.
The former Netherlands international spent the last few years of his career in Italy, playing for Lazio and Milan. He played for two seasons in Roma and one at the Stadio Meazza before the final campaign of his career at Ajax. The 49-year-old has now become a coach and hopes to come to return to Italy one day.
“I was a tough defender and I want my teams to fight as I used to do,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
“I like Italy and your culture. I learned a lot in your country, not just as a football player. I became a better person and it would be great to have the opportunity to coach in Italy.
“Lazio had financial issues when I joined them from Manchester United, but the team was full of great players,” he continued.
“It was a nice period, I was stronger at Lazio than when I was in England. It was fantastic to play with Alessandro Nesta, he pushed me to do even more. We didn’t even need to talk. We already knew what to do, at Lazio and at Milan.”
Stam began his coaching career at Ajax, where he saw a young Matthijs de Ligt become one of the best players in the country before leaving Amsterdam for Juventus in 2019.
“He sometimes joined the U23 team from the U19 and he was better than first-team players even at 16. He has improved so much. Many questioned whether he could make it at Juventus and he did it. He is doing well and he will become of the best defenders in the world.”
De Ligt has become Juventus’ defensive leader this season and a stat by Opta highlighted that only twice a player managed to dribble past him in Serie A games this season. The former Ajax defender shared the Juventus dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo for two seasons before the Portuguese’s move to Man United.
“Ronaldo showed his strength at Juventus before returning to United,” said Stam.
“It’s not easy to understand what happens inside the dressing room. It’s vital to talk to him and involve him in the decisions because he can raise the level of the team. United don’t always play well and I believe they must do something more. I hope they’ll make better choices next season, they must return to the top.”