Former Inter midfielder Paulo Sousa discussed his transfer to Inter and how it was playing alongside new Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo in an interview with Portuguese media outlet Tribuna Expreso earlier today.
“German is one of the languages that I refused to learn. It was only afterwards that I realized that I was wrong because I was going to Borussia Dortmund to return to Italy, this affected me.”
He touched on how words from Inter hero Ronaldo convinced him to join the club.
“At that time, the idea of returning to Serie A came from talking to the best player in the world, Ronaldo, who was at Inter. I only worked with one agent in my career, Giovanni Branchini, the historical agent of Ronie. All these reasons led me to come back.”
The former defensive midfielder spoke about how Spanish clubs were also interested in signing him at the time.
“For me another type of transfer had also opened up, Real Madrid and Barcelona, and probably it would have been the best option to go to Spain, even to see the training methods.”
The former Fiorentina coach then commented on how the appointment of former Juventus coach Marcello Lippi helped him stay in Milan.
“Before Lippi signed with Inter I was destined to leave because I didn’t fit in the team anymore. With his arrival and his approach, identical to the one he had at Juve, I decided to stay.
“I could have been his first choice in midfield, but that was not the case. My performance was influenced by my bad mood, and this did not allow me to think about many things, especially about others!”
Finally, Sousa spoke about Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo, who he played alongside at the Nerazzurri.
“Pirlo was still playing as a number 10 at the time, but he had difficulty in changing pace. And Ancelotti, a genius, decided to push him down the pitch, flanking Gattuso and Ambrosini to give him physical stability.”
Sousa spent two years with the Nerazzurri, from 1998 to 2000, where he failed to win an honour with the Milanese club. He made 40 appearances for the Milanese club in that time, scoring two goals and providing one assist as a defensive midfielder. His most successful period was with Juventus.