Paolo Maldini reveals what really happened at half-time in Istanbul during Milan-Liverpool and turned down Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
The icon of Italian football spoke to Jamie Carragher – who was playing for Liverpool in that extraordinary Champions League Final of 2005 – and SportMail.
“I didn’t sleep for three months after it,” confessed Maldini after Milan somehow threw away a 3-0 lead in six minutes, eventually losing on penalties..
Paolo Maldini reveals what really happened at half-time in Istanbul during Milan-Liverpool and turned down Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
The icon of Italian football spoke to Jamie Carragher – who was playing for Liverpool in that extraordinary Champions League Final of 2005 – and SportMail.
“I didn’t sleep for three months after it,” confessed Maldini after Milan somehow threw away a 3-0 lead in six minutes, eventually losing on penalties..
“If you watch the first half, you cannot imagine we would lose. But sometimes people don’t remember – you will because you were there – it wasn’t only in the first half we played good. It was only six crazy minutes.
“After that, we started to play again and we had chances to score. I remember Steven Gerrard playing as a defender. People on your team were physically destroyed.
“We couldn’t have done anything better. The crazy thing is we arrived in Milan and the supporters were waiting for us. They were screaming: ‘What have you done?!’
“We put everything into it. We played maybe our best Final, with the exception of 1994 (a 4-0 win over Barcelona). I thought it was my last chance to win it and it had gone.
“And the game was crazy. I scored – I scored! It was the quickest goal in a final!
“I know a story came out that we celebrated at half-time. You know that it was impossible. When we got into the locker room it was crazy. People were screaming at each other, like they were fighting.
“So Ancelotti turns to everyone and says: ‘Shut up! For five minutes, I don’t want to hear any of you! I don’t want to hear one word!’
“So we completely shut up, we calmed down and then we started to talk about what we had done good, what was not so good and we started thinking about the second half. That was it.
“Inside, I thought to myself, ‘We have a big chance’, but I didn’t say anything. Nobody did.”
Maldini also confirmed he had turned down proposals from the Premier League, as player and manager.
“I had an offer from Manchester United, but I didn’t speak directly to them. Luca Vialli, when he was Chelsea manager, called me. That was in 1996.
“We’d had a very bad season. There was also something from Arsenal, but I never spoke to them directly.
“I would have said no anyway. Vialli was a friend of mine and he was the only one who made me think.
“I had some problems with my team and the supporters at that time. I thought, just for one day, ‘What if?’ But then, no.”
Chelsea also proposed Maldini become a Coach, but the timing was all wrong.
“The offer came only one week after my last game for Milan. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to move my family to London.
“I went there. I spoke to Mr Abramovich. I spoke to Ray Wilkins, who I had played with at Milan. I don’t know. I decided not to do it.”