No. It was getting more difficult every year, for the simple reason that everybody knows how you play and they are more focused on you. That's why the game was only 1-0.
I didn’t because for most of the year I was injured; I had a cartilage injury and I was just coming back. When we played against Bayern Munich in the semi-final, that was when the surgeon gave me the OK to train with the team for the first time. Can you imagine: I was training from that game until the final. And you know, the game was on television a couple of months ago; I watched it and I played well. I should have scored some goals, by the way. I missed a couple of opportunities.
No, I remember more about the final the year before. It’s strange: there are games that I can’t even remember anymore. Also, because I was out for such a long time, the focus was on, “Let’s get back!” So there were no expectations in that final for me. I knew Rijkaard scored that goal, I was happy, blah, blah, blah. But I had to play a World Cup after that. I had no time to celebrate because I had another tournament coming.
Yes. Oh yes, we were watching them all the time. Watching them, watching them, watching them. Of course, you can play your own game but sometimes you have to take advantage of their weaknesses.
I was just trying to express myself. Not so much in performance, but more to work as hard as I could for my team. So I was pressing hard. I was putting the opposition under pressure to make mistakes. I didn't feel big enough not to do the hard work; that was part of who I was.
What was difficult for my teammates to understand was that I didn't care who I was playing against, I just wanted to have fun. We were playing against Real Madrid away for the first time [as a team in the round of 16] and I was always in a room with Carlo Ancelotti. The morning we had to play, he stands in front of my bed, I wake up and he says, “You. I watched you all night. You were sleeping like a baby. How can you sleep like a baby when we’re playing Real Madrid? I haven't closed my eyes for a moment!”
I said, “Carlo, please, what are you worried about? We are much better than Real Madrid. Now leave me alone!”
Also, at pre-match meals I would be talking and laughing. In the beginning everyone was looking at me like, “Oh my God, is he serious, this guy?” But that had nothing to do with it. It was just my way of preparing for the match. Some players have to be quiet all the time; that was not for me.
Initially it was just me and Marco van Basten. We begged Sacchi to buy Frank Rijkaard, begged him; we kept on going and eventually they took him. That was the missing jigsaw piece to get everything the way we wanted in midfield. Him and Ancelotti, oh my God! Nobody gets through there. They were so strong on the ball.
The three of us would never sit with each other though. We were always sitting at different tables with the Italians, talking with them in Italian, so they had no feeling that there was some kind of clique of the three Dutchmen. We adapted. And in those days not many Italians were speaking English, so you had to learn the language. Italian is the most beautiful language in the world though so it was easy to learn.
Italians love everything to do with beauty: cars, women, watches, fashion, holidays, food… everything! So that is a nice environment to live in. And sometimes I make fun of them because there is always drama. “How are you doing?” “Ah, ah, I don’t know. Ah…” Italians love the drama. It’s always like that but it’s a beautiful country with beautiful people, so I’m very fond of the time that I spent in Italy.
Yes, you do. But you realise that already when you pick up that “cup with the big ears”. It’s a fantastic feeling because it’s the best thing you can do for a club in Europe, and the whole world is watching. So then you realise, “Hey, this is huge.” Especially in Italy, where they adore the beauty of football. It was wonderful.
But it was difficult too because I had no privacy anymore. I couldn’t go anywhere. No restaurants, no going out, no buying clothes – simple things. It was impossible. But that’s the Italians; that’s their passion. It was hard because I learned to say “no”. People don’t like it when you say that, especially journalists. If I was to say to you, “No interview,” you would be very angry with me. You would say, “Oh, this Ruud, he is very cocky. The arrogance.” That is how it goes.
It is exceptional if you think about it. Sometimes you don’t realise it, but it is an unbelievable achievement. What you hear, most of the time, is that people appreciated the way we played. We always tried to attack, even when we were winning games 4-0, 5-0. That was unheard of for a team in Italy; 1-0, 2-1, you know? But this was a team that was going like crazy, trying to score goals, goals, goals, goals. That was very nice to be part of. All these players I played with who were all exceptional. When we all got together, all of a sudden, something clicked. You could feel it: “There’s something going on here.”
No. It was getting more difficult every year, for the simple reason that everybody knows how you play and they are more focused on you. That's why the game was only 1-0.
I didn’t because for most of the year I was injured; I had a cartilage injury and I was just coming back. When we played against Bayern Munich in the semi-final, that was when the surgeon gave me the OK to train with the team for the first time. Can you imagine: I was training from that game until the final. And you know, the game was on television a couple of months ago; I watched it and I played well. I should have scored some goals, by the way. I missed a couple of opportunities.
No, I remember more about the final the year before. It’s strange: there are games that I can’t even remember anymore. Also, because I was out for such a long time, the focus was on, “Let’s get back!” So there were no expectations in that final for me. I knew Rijkaard scored that goal, I was happy, blah, blah, blah. But I had to play a World Cup after that. I had no time to celebrate because I had another tournament coming.
Yes. Oh yes, we were watching them all the time. Watching them, watching them, watching them. Of course, you can play your own game but sometimes you have to take advantage of their weaknesses.
I was just trying to express myself. Not so much in performance, but more to work as hard as I could for my team. So I was pressing hard. I was putting the opposition under pressure to make mistakes. I didn't feel big enough not to do the hard work; that was part of who I was.
What was difficult for my teammates to understand was that I didn't care who I was playing against, I just wanted to have fun. We were playing against Real Madrid away for the first time [as a team in the round of 16] and I was always in a room with Carlo Ancelotti. The morning we had to play, he stands in front of my bed, I wake up and he says, “You. I watched you all night. You were sleeping like a baby. How can you sleep like a baby when we’re playing Real Madrid? I haven't closed my eyes for a moment!”
I said, “Carlo, please, what are you worried about? We are much better than Real Madrid. Now leave me alone!”
Also, at pre-match meals I would be talking and laughing. In the beginning everyone was looking at me like, “Oh my God, is he serious, this guy?” But that had nothing to do with it. It was just my way of preparing for the match. Some players have to be quiet all the time; that was not for me.
Initially it was just me and Marco van Basten. We begged Sacchi to buy Frank Rijkaard, begged him; we kept on going and eventually they took him. That was the missing jigsaw piece to get everything the way we wanted in midfield. Him and Ancelotti, oh my God! Nobody gets through there. They were so strong on the ball.
The three of us would never sit with each other though. We were always sitting at different tables with the Italians, talking with them in Italian, so they had no feeling that there was some kind of clique of the three Dutchmen. We adapted. And in those days not many Italians were speaking English, so you had to learn the language. Italian is the most beautiful language in the world though so it was easy to learn.
Italians love everything to do with beauty: cars, women, watches, fashion, holidays, food… everything! So that is a nice environment to live in. And sometimes I make fun of them because there is always drama. “How are you doing?” “Ah, ah, I don’t know. Ah…” Italians love the drama. It’s always like that but it’s a beautiful country with beautiful people, so I’m very fond of the time that I spent in Italy.
Yes, you do. But you realise that already when you pick up that “cup with the big ears”. It’s a fantastic feeling because it’s the best thing you can do for a club in Europe, and the whole world is watching. So then you realise, “Hey, this is huge.” Especially in Italy, where they adore the beauty of football. It was wonderful.
But it was difficult too because I had no privacy anymore. I couldn’t go anywhere. No restaurants, no going out, no buying clothes – simple things. It was impossible. But that’s the Italians; that’s their passion. It was hard because I learned to say “no”. People don’t like it when you say that, especially journalists. If I was to say to you, “No interview,” you would be very angry with me. You would say, “Oh, this Ruud, he is very cocky. The arrogance.” That is how it goes.
It is exceptional if you think about it. Sometimes you don’t realise it, but it is an unbelievable achievement. What you hear, most of the time, is that people appreciated the way we played. We always tried to attack, even when we were winning games 4-0, 5-0. That was unheard of for a team in Italy; 1-0, 2-1, you know? But this was a team that was going like crazy, trying to score goals, goals, goals, goals. That was very nice to be part of. All these players I played with who were all exceptional. When we all got together, all of a sudden, something clicked. You could feel it: “There’s something going on here.”
No. It was getting more difficult every year, for the simple reason that everybody knows how you play and they are more focused on you. That's why the game was only 1-0.
I didn’t because for most of the year I was injured; I had a cartilage injury and I was just coming back. When we played against Bayern Munich in the semi-final, that was when the surgeon gave me the OK to train with the team for the first time. Can you imagine: I was training from that game until the final. And you know, the game was on television a couple of months ago; I watched it and I played well. I should have scored some goals, by the way. I missed a couple of opportunities.
No, I remember more about the final the year before. It’s strange: there are games that I can’t even remember anymore. Also, because I was out for such a long time, the focus was on, “Let’s get back!” So there were no expectations in that final for me. I knew Rijkaard scored that goal, I was happy, blah, blah, blah. But I had to play a World Cup after that. I had no time to celebrate because I had another tournament coming.
Yes. Oh yes, we were watching them all the time. Watching them, watching them, watching them. Of course, you can play your own game but sometimes you have to take advantage of their weaknesses.
I was just trying to express myself. Not so much in performance, but more to work as hard as I could for my team. So I was pressing hard. I was putting the opposition under pressure to make mistakes. I didn't feel big enough not to do the hard work; that was part of who I was.
What was difficult for my teammates to understand was that I didn't care who I was playing against, I just wanted to have fun. We were playing against Real Madrid away for the first time [as a team in the round of 16] and I was always in a room with Carlo Ancelotti. The morning we had to play, he stands in front of my bed, I wake up and he says, “You. I watched you all night. You were sleeping like a baby. How can you sleep like a baby when we’re playing Real Madrid? I haven't closed my eyes for a moment!”
I said, “Carlo, please, what are you worried about? We are much better than Real Madrid. Now leave me alone!”
Also, at pre-match meals I would be talking and laughing. In the beginning everyone was looking at me like, “Oh my God, is he serious, this guy?” But that had nothing to do with it. It was just my way of preparing for the match. Some players have to be quiet all the time; that was not for me.
Initially it was just me and Marco van Basten. We begged Sacchi to buy Frank Rijkaard, begged him; we kept on going and eventually they took him. That was the missing jigsaw piece to get everything the way we wanted in midfield. Him and Ancelotti, oh my God! Nobody gets through there. They were so strong on the ball.
The three of us would never sit with each other though. We were always sitting at different tables with the Italians, talking with them in Italian, so they had no feeling that there was some kind of clique of the three Dutchmen. We adapted. And in those days not many Italians were speaking English, so you had to learn the language. Italian is the most beautiful language in the world though so it was easy to learn.
Italians love everything to do with beauty: cars, women, watches, fashion, holidays, food… everything! So that is a nice environment to live in. And sometimes I make fun of them because there is always drama. “How are you doing?” “Ah, ah, I don’t know. Ah…” Italians love the drama. It’s always like that but it’s a beautiful country with beautiful people, so I’m very fond of the time that I spent in Italy.
Yes, you do. But you realise that already when you pick up that “cup with the big ears”. It’s a fantastic feeling because it’s the best thing you can do for a club in Europe, and the whole world is watching. So then you realise, “Hey, this is huge.” Especially in Italy, where they adore the beauty of football. It was wonderful.
But it was difficult too because I had no privacy anymore. I couldn’t go anywhere. No restaurants, no going out, no buying clothes – simple things. It was impossible. But that’s the Italians; that’s their passion. It was hard because I learned to say “no”. People don’t like it when you say that, especially journalists. If I was to say to you, “No interview,” you would be very angry with me. You would say, “Oh, this Ruud, he is very cocky. The arrogance.” That is how it goes.
It is exceptional if you think about it. Sometimes you don’t realise it, but it is an unbelievable achievement. What you hear, most of the time, is that people appreciated the way we played. We always tried to attack, even when we were winning games 4-0, 5-0. That was unheard of for a team in Italy; 1-0, 2-1, you know? But this was a team that was going like crazy, trying to score goals, goals, goals, goals. That was very nice to be part of. All these players I played with who were all exceptional. When we all got together, all of a sudden, something clicked. You could feel it: “There’s something going on here.”
No. It was getting more difficult every year, for the simple reason that everybody knows how you play and they are more focused on you. That's why the game was only 1-0.
I didn’t because for most of the year I was injured; I had a cartilage injury and I was just coming back. When we played against Bayern Munich in the semi-final, that was when the surgeon gave me the OK to train with the team for the first time. Can you imagine: I was training from that game until the final. And you know, the game was on television a couple of months ago; I watched it and I played well. I should have scored some goals, by the way. I missed a couple of opportunities.
No, I remember more about the final the year before. It’s strange: there are games that I can’t even remember anymore. Also, because I was out for such a long time, the focus was on, “Let’s get back!” So there were no expectations in that final for me. I knew Rijkaard scored that goal, I was happy, blah, blah, blah. But I had to play a World Cup after that. I had no time to celebrate because I had another tournament coming.
Yes. Oh yes, we were watching them all the time. Watching them, watching them, watching them. Of course, you can play your own game but sometimes you have to take advantage of their weaknesses.
I was just trying to express myself. Not so much in performance, but more to work as hard as I could for my team. So I was pressing hard. I was putting the opposition under pressure to make mistakes. I didn't feel big enough not to do the hard work; that was part of who I was.
What was difficult for my teammates to understand was that I didn't care who I was playing against, I just wanted to have fun. We were playing against Real Madrid away for the first time [as a team in the round of 16] and I was always in a room with Carlo Ancelotti. The morning we had to play, he stands in front of my bed, I wake up and he says, “You. I watched you all night. You were sleeping like a baby. How can you sleep like a baby when we’re playing Real Madrid? I haven't closed my eyes for a moment!”
I said, “Carlo, please, what are you worried about? We are much better than Real Madrid. Now leave me alone!”
Also, at pre-match meals I would be talking and laughing. In the beginning everyone was looking at me like, “Oh my God, is he serious, this guy?” But that had nothing to do with it. It was just my way of preparing for the match. Some players have to be quiet all the time; that was not for me.
Initially it was just me and Marco van Basten. We begged Sacchi to buy Frank Rijkaard, begged him; we kept on going and eventually they took him. That was the missing jigsaw piece to get everything the way we wanted in midfield. Him and Ancelotti, oh my God! Nobody gets through there. They were so strong on the ball.
The three of us would never sit with each other though. We were always sitting at different tables with the Italians, talking with them in Italian, so they had no feeling that there was some kind of clique of the three Dutchmen. We adapted. And in those days not many Italians were speaking English, so you had to learn the language. Italian is the most beautiful language in the world though so it was easy to learn.
Italians love everything to do with beauty: cars, women, watches, fashion, holidays, food… everything! So that is a nice environment to live in. And sometimes I make fun of them because there is always drama. “How are you doing?” “Ah, ah, I don’t know. Ah…” Italians love the drama. It’s always like that but it’s a beautiful country with beautiful people, so I’m very fond of the time that I spent in Italy.
Yes, you do. But you realise that already when you pick up that “cup with the big ears”. It’s a fantastic feeling because it’s the best thing you can do for a club in Europe, and the whole world is watching. So then you realise, “Hey, this is huge.” Especially in Italy, where they adore the beauty of football. It was wonderful.
But it was difficult too because I had no privacy anymore. I couldn’t go anywhere. No restaurants, no going out, no buying clothes – simple things. It was impossible. But that’s the Italians; that’s their passion. It was hard because I learned to say “no”. People don’t like it when you say that, especially journalists. If I was to say to you, “No interview,” you would be very angry with me. You would say, “Oh, this Ruud, he is very cocky. The arrogance.” That is how it goes.
It is exceptional if you think about it. Sometimes you don’t realise it, but it is an unbelievable achievement. What you hear, most of the time, is that people appreciated the way we played. We always tried to attack, even when we were winning games 4-0, 5-0. That was unheard of for a team in Italy; 1-0, 2-1, you know? But this was a team that was going like crazy, trying to score goals, goals, goals, goals. That was very nice to be part of. All these players I played with who were all exceptional. When we all got together, all of a sudden, something clicked. You could feel it: “There’s something going on here.”
No. It was getting more difficult every year, for the simple reason that everybody knows how you play and they are more focused on you. That's why the game was only 1-0.
I didn’t because for most of the year I was injured; I had a cartilage injury and I was just coming back. When we played against Bayern Munich in the semi-final, that was when the surgeon gave me the OK to train with the team for the first time. Can you imagine: I was training from that game until the final. And you know, the game was on television a couple of months ago; I watched it and I played well. I should have scored some goals, by the way. I missed a couple of opportunities.
No, I remember more about the final the year before. It’s strange: there are games that I can’t even remember anymore. Also, because I was out for such a long time, the focus was on, “Let’s get back!” So there were no expectations in that final for me. I knew Rijkaard scored that goal, I was happy, blah, blah, blah. But I had to play a World Cup after that. I had no time to celebrate because I had another tournament coming.
Yes. Oh yes, we were watching them all the time. Watching them, watching them, watching them. Of course, you can play your own game but sometimes you have to take advantage of their weaknesses.
I was just trying to express myself. Not so much in performance, but more to work as hard as I could for my team. So I was pressing hard. I was putting the opposition under pressure to make mistakes. I didn't feel big enough not to do the hard work; that was part of who I was.
What was difficult for my teammates to understand was that I didn't care who I was playing against, I just wanted to have fun. We were playing against Real Madrid away for the first time [as a team in the round of 16] and I was always in a room with Carlo Ancelotti. The morning we had to play, he stands in front of my bed, I wake up and he says, “You. I watched you all night. You were sleeping like a baby. How can you sleep like a baby when we’re playing Real Madrid? I haven't closed my eyes for a moment!”
I said, “Carlo, please, what are you worried about? We are much better than Real Madrid. Now leave me alone!”
Also, at pre-match meals I would be talking and laughing. In the beginning everyone was looking at me like, “Oh my God, is he serious, this guy?” But that had nothing to do with it. It was just my way of preparing for the match. Some players have to be quiet all the time; that was not for me.
Initially it was just me and Marco van Basten. We begged Sacchi to buy Frank Rijkaard, begged him; we kept on going and eventually they took him. That was the missing jigsaw piece to get everything the way we wanted in midfield. Him and Ancelotti, oh my God! Nobody gets through there. They were so strong on the ball.
The three of us would never sit with each other though. We were always sitting at different tables with the Italians, talking with them in Italian, so they had no feeling that there was some kind of clique of the three Dutchmen. We adapted. And in those days not many Italians were speaking English, so you had to learn the language. Italian is the most beautiful language in the world though so it was easy to learn.
Italians love everything to do with beauty: cars, women, watches, fashion, holidays, food… everything! So that is a nice environment to live in. And sometimes I make fun of them because there is always drama. “How are you doing?” “Ah, ah, I don’t know. Ah…” Italians love the drama. It’s always like that but it’s a beautiful country with beautiful people, so I’m very fond of the time that I spent in Italy.
Yes, you do. But you realise that already when you pick up that “cup with the big ears”. It’s a fantastic feeling because it’s the best thing you can do for a club in Europe, and the whole world is watching. So then you realise, “Hey, this is huge.” Especially in Italy, where they adore the beauty of football. It was wonderful.
But it was difficult too because I had no privacy anymore. I couldn’t go anywhere. No restaurants, no going out, no buying clothes – simple things. It was impossible. But that’s the Italians; that’s their passion. It was hard because I learned to say “no”. People don’t like it when you say that, especially journalists. If I was to say to you, “No interview,” you would be very angry with me. You would say, “Oh, this Ruud, he is very cocky. The arrogance.” That is how it goes.
It is exceptional if you think about it. Sometimes you don’t realise it, but it is an unbelievable achievement. What you hear, most of the time, is that people appreciated the way we played. We always tried to attack, even when we were winning games 4-0, 5-0. That was unheard of for a team in Italy; 1-0, 2-1, you know? But this was a team that was going like crazy, trying to score goals, goals, goals, goals. That was very nice to be part of. All these players I played with who were all exceptional. When we all got together, all of a sudden, something clicked. You could feel it: “There’s something going on here.”
No. It was getting more difficult every year, for the simple reason that everybody knows how you play and they are more focused on you. That's why the game was only 1-0.
I didn’t because for most of the year I was injured; I had a cartilage injury and I was just coming back. When we played against Bayern Munich in the semi-final, that was when the surgeon gave me the OK to train with the team for the first time. Can you imagine: I was training from that game until the final. And you know, the game was on television a couple of months ago; I watched it and I played well. I should have scored some goals, by the way. I missed a couple of opportunities.
No, I remember more about the final the year before. It’s strange: there are games that I can’t even remember anymore. Also, because I was out for such a long time, the focus was on, “Let’s get back!” So there were no expectations in that final for me. I knew Rijkaard scored that goal, I was happy, blah, blah, blah. But I had to play a World Cup after that. I had no time to celebrate because I had another tournament coming.
Yes. Oh yes, we were watching them all the time. Watching them, watching them, watching them. Of course, you can play your own game but sometimes you have to take advantage of their weaknesses.
I was just trying to express myself. Not so much in performance, but more to work as hard as I could for my team. So I was pressing hard. I was putting the opposition under pressure to make mistakes. I didn't feel big enough not to do the hard work; that was part of who I was.
What was difficult for my teammates to understand was that I didn't care who I was playing against, I just wanted to have fun. We were playing against Real Madrid away for the first time [as a team in the round of 16] and I was always in a room with Carlo Ancelotti. The morning we had to play, he stands in front of my bed, I wake up and he says, “You. I watched you all night. You were sleeping like a baby. How can you sleep like a baby when we’re playing Real Madrid? I haven't closed my eyes for a moment!”
I said, “Carlo, please, what are you worried about? We are much better than Real Madrid. Now leave me alone!”
Also, at pre-match meals I would be talking and laughing. In the beginning everyone was looking at me like, “Oh my God, is he serious, this guy?” But that had nothing to do with it. It was just my way of preparing for the match. Some players have to be quiet all the time; that was not for me.
Initially it was just me and Marco van Basten. We begged Sacchi to buy Frank Rijkaard, begged him; we kept on going and eventually they took him. That was the missing jigsaw piece to get everything the way we wanted in midfield. Him and Ancelotti, oh my God! Nobody gets through there. They were so strong on the ball.
The three of us would never sit with each other though. We were always sitting at different tables with the Italians, talking with them in Italian, so they had no feeling that there was some kind of clique of the three Dutchmen. We adapted. And in those days not many Italians were speaking English, so you had to learn the language. Italian is the most beautiful language in the world though so it was easy to learn.
Italians love everything to do with beauty: cars, women, watches, fashion, holidays, food… everything! So that is a nice environment to live in. And sometimes I make fun of them because there is always drama. “How are you doing?” “Ah, ah, I don’t know. Ah…” Italians love the drama. It’s always like that but it’s a beautiful country with beautiful people, so I’m very fond of the time that I spent in Italy.
Yes, you do. But you realise that already when you pick up that “cup with the big ears”. It’s a fantastic feeling because it’s the best thing you can do for a club in Europe, and the whole world is watching. So then you realise, “Hey, this is huge.” Especially in Italy, where they adore the beauty of football. It was wonderful.
But it was difficult too because I had no privacy anymore. I couldn’t go anywhere. No restaurants, no going out, no buying clothes – simple things. It was impossible. But that’s the Italians; that’s their passion. It was hard because I learned to say “no”. People don’t like it when you say that, especially journalists. If I was to say to you, “No interview,” you would be very angry with me. You would say, “Oh, this Ruud, he is very cocky. The arrogance.” That is how it goes.
It is exceptional if you think about it. Sometimes you don’t realise it, but it is an unbelievable achievement. What you hear, most of the time, is that people appreciated the way we played. We always tried to attack, even when we were winning games 4-0, 5-0. That was unheard of for a team in Italy; 1-0, 2-1, you know? But this was a team that was going like crazy, trying to score goals, goals, goals, goals. That was very nice to be part of. All these players I played with who were all exceptional. When we all got together, all of a sudden, something clicked. You could feel it: “There’s something going on here.”
