‘Very grateful and happy’ – Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard reminisce about time at Milan | OneFootball

Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit have reminisced over the time that they spent with AC Milan, helping the club achieve some of its most glorious days.

When thinking of some of Milan’s most iconic sides in the late 1980s into the 1990s, it is impossible not to think of the ‘Tre Tulipani’, the nickname given to the three Dutchman Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten.

The two midfielders and the striker won multiple major honours with the Rossoneri and they were also pivotal to the 1988 European Championship win for the Netherlands, establishing themselves as being among the three best players in the world at the time, if not the best.

Milan sat down with all three players for an exclusive interview which we presume was filmed while the trio were over in Italy for the 125th birthday celebrations towards the end of January, and you can watch it in full below.

Below are the comments from Van Basten, who scored over 300 goals in an incredible career that was so sadly cut short at the age of 28 due to recurring ankle issues.

On his first day at Milanello: “Beautiful fields, a great terrain, so much history and the food was great.”

On his best match for AC Milan: “The final in Barcelona against Steaua Bucharest.”

On the first goal that comes to mind: “I don’t know exactly, the two goals in the Champions League final against Benfica come to mind, both very particular.”

On his best quality: “I think the desire to never lose, the desire to win and to do everything I had to to win. Flaw? Concentration is important, it was often there but in easy matches I lost it.”

On who was the strongest out of him, Gullit and Rijkaard: “All three, together.”

On how he would define Sacchi: “Great coach.”

On how he would define Capello: “Winner.”

On how he would define Ancelotti: “Great friend.”

On how he would define Berlusconi: “Number one.”

On the opponent who impressed him the most: “It has to be Vierchowod. He was a tough nut to crack, but he was also nice.”

On his relationship with Gullit and Rijkaard today: “I’m always happy when I have these two friends close by. We still see each other, we eat together, we play golf. We all three live in Amsterdam, we talk about everything and also about Milan. I’m very grateful and happy to have been part of a great team that has won so much, I’m proud.”

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The same questions were asked to Rijkaard, who joined Milan in 1988 from Sporting CP and played for five seasons at Milan.

On his first day at Milanello: “A nice memory: it was a lot of fun.”

On his best match for AC Milan: “I think it was the one against Steaua Bucharest because it was a finale, we completely dominated the opponent.”

On the first goal that comes to mind: “My first goal in the Champions League final with Benfica.”

On his best quality: “I hope being on the pitch (laughs). As a player I have always tried to help my teammates, when I did it was also useful for myself. My flaw? When the game was too easy I fell asleep, I lost concentration.”

On who was the most competitive out of him, Gullit and Van Basten: “Definitely Marco.”

On who was the strongest: “Maybe Ruud.”

On how he would define Sacchi: “The maestro of the orchestra. He wanted me at Milan, I arrived thanks to him and my Dutch teammates.”

On how he would define Capello: “Very intelligent in understanding which team to field, which players to choose.”

On how he would define Ancelotti: “He is a maestro, too. I remember at the beginning I learned his movements in the midfield of Milan, he has always been an example.”

On how he would define Berlusconi: “There is only one President, our President.”

On the opponent who impressed him the most: “It has to be Maradona.”

On his relationship with Van Basten and Gullit today: “I’m happy to be here in this happy moment with them. Forza Milan, I wish many more years and good things for the future.”

Finally, Gullit gave his thoughts on the same topics. He moved from PSV to Milan in 1987 for a world record transfer fee, and won the Ballon d’Or that year before racking up nine trophies with the Rossoneri.

On his first day at Milanello: “The food was great. The atmosphere inside was also great, you could feel like you were there to win something.”

On his best match for AC Milan: “The final in Barcelona against Steaua Bucharest.”

On the first goal that comes to mind: “The first goal I scored in the Milan shirt against Pisa.”

On his best quality on the pitch: “Happiness, I wanted to have fun. When I wasn’t having fun it was difficult for me. Of course you have more fun when you win, you have to give everything you have. My flaw? In some matches you think you can do a little less.”

On a chant he remembers: “At the beginning we didn’t understand Italian very well. I remember that we asked ourselves ‘Who is Ugo Lasagna’? but then it was ‘The whole stadium’ (laughs).”

On who was the most competitive out of him, Rijkaard and Van Basten: “Marco.”

On who was the strongest otu of him, Rijkaard and Van Basten: “All three, each had a different talent, together we were complete.”

On how he would define Sacchi: “Fanatic.”

On how he would define Capello: “A winner, a silent winner. He spoke little but when he smiled he was special.”

On how he would define Ancelotti: “A great person, I like him as a person. Your favorite uncle.”

On how he would define Berlusconi: “Number one, he was the best I had. He inspired the team, he was always close to us. He gave us an example of how to win, how to behave, he was a philosopher even on the game and on off-field behaviour.”

On the opponent who impressed him the most: “Maradona, but also Inter in general. I’ve always liked derbies against a strong team”.

On his relationship with Van Basten and Rijkaard today: “In moments like these I am proud that we had the opportunity to play together, I feel lucky for the many victories. Frank and I have known each other since we were 12 years old, it is incredible to have had an adventure like this together.

“Marco and I have known each other since I was 17, we could never have thought of being able to talk about that era with those trophies. Also the fact that the fans after so many years say that our football has been appreciated all over the world is a great compliment. Forza Milan.”