Inter’s legendary former full-back Maicon admits even he suffered sleepless nights before playing in the Milan derby.
The Nerazzurri will do battle against AC Milan again tomorrow in arguably the most important Derby della Madonnina for a decade, with Antonio Conte’s side hoping to open up a four-point gap at the top of Serie A.
Maicon reminisced on some of his favourite moments and memories from the derby in an interview with Inter’s official club podcast, Kick Off.
“Winning such a match is always important, it gives you the right energy to grow as a player,” the Brazilian explained.
“The night before a derby I never slept much.
“Taking on a team like AC Milan always gave me great satisfaction in my career.”
Maicon was part of an historic 4-0 rout against the Rossoneri at the start of their treble-winning season in 2009.
“It was a unique match for me,” he remembered.
“We’re already talking about a special game, but scoring in it then made it unforgettable.
“When I scored I ran over to a friend with whom I’d made a bet before the match.
“Thankfully, he was the one who’d lost that bet.”
Inter and AC Milan were full of Brazilians during that period at the end of the 2000s, with the likes of Julio Cesar and Lucio strutting their stuff against Ronaldinho and Kaka.
Maicon recalled the camaraderie between his fellow countrymen at the time, revealing: “We used to make bets between us Brazil teammates, it was wonderful.
“The long-distance jokes with Kakà, my club rival but national team companion, were always enjoyable.
“The important thing, for all of us, was to give our best and the friendship has remained in tact to this day.
“Everyone always tried to give their best.”
Asked to nominate one teammate who was always particularly tense in the lead-up to a derby, Maicon picked Marco Materazzi, who has also spoken ahead of tomorrow’s game.
“You know better than me that he experienced that great challenge like no one else,” he continued.
“But the whole group was aware of the importance of that match.
“When the fixture list was released at the start of every season the focus was always on the derby games.”
The 39-year-old, who returned to Italy last month by signing for Serie D side Sona, also touched upon arguably his greatest ever career goal during his last derby for Inter in 2012.
“There are many beautiful and important goals in my career, but certainly that long-distance shot to secure our victory is among the best,” Maicon concluded.
“The derby is special.
“It’s a worldwide match, not just an Italian one.”
Maicon also had words of praise in another section of his interview for Inter’s current wing-back Achraf Hakimi, who many believe to be the Brazilian’s natural heir.
