To Milan and beyond

In the second part of an extensive piece, Ruud Gullit tells uefa.com about his time in Italy.

By Pete Sanderson, Federico Rocha & Paul Nixon

Smooth transition
A virtuoso player, Gullit always seemed to play with a more exhilarating flair than most; and, unlike many players of his generation, he effortlessly bridged the chasm of styles from the pragmatism of the Italian league to the hustle and bustle of the English Premiership.

'Little faith'
Gullit joined Milan back in 1987 for a world record fee of €8.5 but few people in his homeland truly believed he would make a success of the move – even though he was to be joined at the Rossoneri by his fellow countrymen Frank Rikjaard and Marco van Basten.

Two titles
"A lot of people doubted me when I made the switch to Milan," Gullit told uefa.com. "I had won two consecutive Dutch titles with PSV [Eindhoven] and was captain of the national team but they did not think I was good enough technically to be a success in Italy.

'Ambitious squad'
"That made me even more determined to be a success and I trained very hard and tried to do all the things I knew I was good at - I knew my limitations but I also knew I had enough talent to help Milan win their first big trophy since 1979." He added: "The good thing for me was everyone around me seemed equally hungry to succeed but we had to match that ambition in our minds by putting some silverware on the table."

'Glory years'
They did so in some style winning the Italian league three times and lifting the European Champion Clubs' Cup twice in Gullit's seven-year stint at the San Siro. Their success was in no small part down to the Dutch trident with Gullit winning the European Footballer of the Year once and World Player of the Year twice.

'Spoke Italian'
"The move to Italy worked out for all the Dutch guys," Gullit said. "We made sure we did not stay together all the time so we could learn the language and customs. We had a strong relationship but we tried to speak Italian with each other to help learn the language. We also made a concerted effort with the Italian players at the club. They were great times."

Smooth transition
The charismatic Dutchman may have arrived on the scene a decade too late to be a member of the Netherlands total football epoch – but at times his talent and versatility outshone even the finest exponents. His move to England further proved his genius and although he was reaching the autumn of his career when he joined Chelsea he still managed to play as a defender, midfielder and as an attacker.

'Too much trust'
"I have mixed feelings about my time at Chelsea," Gullit said. "As a player it was wonderful and I found a new lease of life - then I took over as coach. The highlight was becoming the first foreign coach to win the FA Cup but, in hindsight, I put too much trust in the people around me. I was working hard to make things work but it was made very difficult as I suddenly realised some of my colleagues did not want me to succeed – they wanted my job."

Read the final part of the exclusive feature next week