Gennaro Gattuso says the defacing of Franco Baresi’s mural is deeply upsetting, although he believes “we live in a world with many problems”.
Speaking at the Sports Festival, the Milan coach discussed his relationship with Gian Piero Gasperini, Italy’s 2006 World Cup triumph, his work with Lazio president Claudio Lotito and the development of players including Davide Frattesi and Nuno Tavares.
Gattuso said Gasperini supported him during difficult periods of his career, including when Gattuso was at Milan and Gasperini was managing Atalanta.
“Gasperini is a great coach; he was always there for me during difficult times,” he said. “We’re a bit similar, both strong personalities, and he always made me feel his support.”
Gattuso also compared Gasperini’s influence on Italian football with that of Arrigo Sacchi.
“Nobody talks about this, but in terms of the revolution he brought, he is on the level of Arrigo Sacchi,” he said. “Many of my colleagues and I have tried to replicate what he does, but it’s very difficult.”
He added that sharing dinner with Gasperini “would be an honour”.
Gattuso urged his players not to look too far ahead to the derby, insisting their immediate focus must be Monza after a 20-day break. He described Monza as a young team that “runs like crazy” and recalled the disappointment of Napoli’s defeat by Hellas Verona, which meant they missed out on Champions League qualification after finishing fifth with 77 points.
World Cup memories
Gattuso said winning the 2006 World Cup remains his greatest football memory, despite almost missing the tournament after suffering a knee injury and muscle tear in a friendly against Switzerland 10 days before it began.
“I wasn’t even supposed to be in that national team,” he said. “I trained 13 to 14 hours a day to recover.”
He recalled playing in the semi-final against Germany while on a yellow card and unable to risk another booking, which would have ruled him out of the final.
Gattuso credited Marcello Lippi with creating the unity that carried Italy to victory. Players were allowed to bring their wives and children to the hotel and stay until midnight, while the team stayed in a family-run hotel rather than a five-star establishment.
“Staying in a family hotel like that was the secret,” he said, adding that the hotel’s Calabrian owners cost him “how many tickets”.
Gattuso also described his friendship with Marco Materazzi, who helped him when he was a young player at Perugia. Their relationship changed when Materazzi joined Inter and Gattuso played for Milan.
“In the tunnel, it was as if he didn’t know you,” Gattuso said with a laugh.
He said football suffers without supporters, adding: “Full stadiums are missed: football without fans is not football.” Empty grounds during the COVID-19 pandemic had been unavoidable for health reasons, he said, but “now we are suffering from this, with no fans to help us”.
Lazio, Frattesi and Tavares
Gattuso said he prefers direct discussions with club presidents and described Lotito as “an incredibly smart person, a genius”. He joked that Lotito’s many phones made it difficult to establish whether he had once said: “The less he talks, the better.”
He called his experience with the national team painful and said he wanted to begin again immediately. After rejecting Lotito two or three times, he accepted the Lazio job because he believed the players could contribute in difficult circumstances.
Gattuso praised Frattesi, whom he coached with the national team, and said he had urged the midfielder to accept greater responsibility rather than settle for playing 15 minutes a match. He described Frattesi’s decision to join Lazio as “an incredible one” during a difficult transfer window.
On Tavares, Gattuso said only Nuno Mendes could be compared with the Portuguese defender: “Only Nuno Mendes and Tavares are at the same level.” He said Tavares had not yet reached his full potential and admitted there had been “tense moments” between them initially.
“I hate people who have talent but do nothing to improve themselves,” Gattuso said. “My path was completely different because I had no talent, and I worked hard to improve myself.”
He also recalled struggling early in his coaching career as player-manager of Sion, where he initially failed to adapt to a different generation. He said he now concentrates on two or three priorities and no longer becomes angry over minor issues.
Gattuso joked that he would never want himself as a player, saying: “When I watch myself play, I immediately change the channel.” After retiring, he lived in Gallarate and opened a fish market after finding fish too expensive to buy.
Milan, he said, had been a dream. Early on, he felt he did not deserve to be there, but photographs of trophy-winning teams at Milanello motivated him to continue. He described Paolo Maldini as “an all-around champion” whose technique, mentality and personality left him in awe.
On seeing Baresi’s mural defaced, Gattuso concluded: “That hurts me a lot, but we live in a world with many problems, and now I’m not surprised by anything.”
