RUdo Gullit (Amsterdam, 1962) maintains an imposing physique at 191 meters tall, but has long since left behind the curls he shared with his childhood friend Frank Rijkaard, who lives in the multicultural Oud West district of the Dutch capital. Along with the elegant Marco van Basten, they formed the backbone of the great AC Milan and Dutch national teams that stunned European football in the late 1980s. He has currently been with Madrid as a member of the prestigious Laureus World Sports Academy since 2017, with the Champions League semi-finals starting next week. Which team do you think is the favorite to win the title?
In recent years, I have always been a Bayern Munich fan. they play really well. I also like Paris Saint-Germain. So I think the winner will be decided from that tie.
Ramin Yamal shows leadership beyond his years after painful departure
What about the World Cup? For me, the favorites are France and Spain, but there are other teams as well. Logically I would like the Netherlands to be among them.
For me, the favorites for the World Cup are France and Spain. I really like Argentina’s winning mentality, but it’s very difficult to win twice in a row
Argentina is always there, but it’s very difficult to win twice in a row. Only Italy (1934-1938) and Brazil (1958-1962) achieved that. I really like their winning mentality, but if you ask me what I think, I’ll repeat that Spain and France are the big favorites.
Who is your favorite player? Lamine Yamal is of course amazing. I also like (Harry) Kane, he scored a lot of goals. We’ll have to see if he can do it against England, but we don’t know. Of course I like Pedri and it would be great to see Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the World Cup again. Mbappe will also do his best. Yes, I’m really looking forward to it. There are a lot of good players!
Pedri’s name comes up. Do you like him that much? Look, I don’t think many players have the same thing. The most important thing is not that you are a good player, but that you have the work ethic of a good player and he has it too. He is working very hard in midfield. That’s why I love him so much. It’s not just what you do with the ball, but especially what you do when you don’t have the ball.
It’s not just what you do with the ball, but especially what you do when you don’t have the ball. That’s why I love Pedri
Bellingham is a little more static and that’s why we play a little different football. I think he had the same injury situation as me. Gullit had serious problems with his knees, especially his right knee. Coming back from an injury like this can be difficult because everyone wants to get back to their previous level. He had bad luck. In my first year I scored a lot of goals, but then there were a lot of changes in the team and suddenly I couldn’t do the same things as before. He would like to be more aggressive, but for various reasons he can’t do that anymore. And it’s not just his fault.
When you won the Ballon d’Or in 1987, you dedicated the award to Nelson Mandela, who was in prison at the time. Do you think racism is still a serious issue reflected in football? There’s a lot going on in the world. I remember when I dedicated this song to Mandela, people from the ANC (African National Congress) came up to me and said: “You’ve already made your point. Stop talking so much about this issue, because the only thing you can do for us is to play well.” And these days, it’s very dangerous for athletes to talk about politics. Politics will haunt you throughout your career. So I understand when players kind of sit on the sidelines and say, “No, I can’t be involved in that.”
Nowadays, it is very dangerous for athletes and athletes to talk about politics. Politics is something that will bother you throughout your career. That’s why I understand why players are avoiding it a little bit
You played for AC Milan and Sampdoria, so you know Italian football well. What’s wrong with that? In my opinion, they have lost their essence. Italians are very proud. Image is everything to him and he will protect it at all costs. That’s why their defense has always been the best. The last time we won Euro 2020 we had Chiellini, Bonucci and a great goalkeeper. And now the defenders they were are no longer seen. That doesn’t mean you have to stick to your goals. But you need to know how to defend.
Italy has lost its essence. Italians are very proud. His image is everything and he will protect it at all costs. That’s why their defense has always been the best. Last won Euro 2020 with Chiellini, Bonucci and a good goalkeeper
In our time everyone was talking about Sacchi’s Milan and how great we were and so on. However, almost every day we practiced defense, not attack, but how to win the ball back. And that’s something they kind of forgot. I think they have looked at the modern tactics of you have to attack, you have to play. And that only works if you have good defense. So I think they need to get back to the basics. You don’t have to play catenaccio, but you can play something in between.
Barcelona and Real Madrid complained a lot about the referee in the last Champions League match, but they always do.
Do you think they were right? Look, they can’t complain. For both teams, the referee’s performance had previously been in their favor, but this time it was against them. It’s part of life and football. It’s hard to understand, but you get it. Camavinga’s red was tough, but it was also stupid on his part. He gave the referee every opportunity. And the two red cards for Barcelona were clear, which is a shame. There was no question about VAR.
Camavinga’s red was tough, but it was also his stupidity. He gave the referee every opportunity. And Barcelona’s two red cards were clear, which is a shame.
I think we played more as a team back then, but now I see that we rely more on individual talent. They are still strong and their players have technique and presence, but they will be playing a harder working opponent and could get into trouble. Another example is Barcelona, they also have a very sophisticated attack with their own style that leaves a lot of space. And they always, always get caught. So while the two are different styles, they also come with risks. And they play a team that plays really hard and everyone runs a lot. And you have the potential to defeat them.
Football isn’t honest and it’s not always fair. Sometimes you can play better and still lose, so you have to accept that. And you have to be humble even when you lose.
If you look at Atletico, they are playing better against very strong teams. why? Because they adapt to them in a realistic way. Sometimes you think your opponent won the match even though they were much better. In the Copa final, we played against a team that was doing the same thing as us, and we lost. Football isn’t honest and it’s not always fair. Sometimes you can play better and still lose, so you have to accept that. And we must also be humble in the face of defeat. And that’s tough for a lot of teams because if you play better and still don’t win, it’s hard to digest that.
Lionel Messi is the only soccer player to win the Laureus Award, which is given to the best international male athlete. Do you think this is fair?Actually, it doesn’t really bother me. In fact, I like seeing athletes from other sports such as track and field, tennis, gymnastics, and Formula 1 recognized.
