Ex AC Milan full-back, Ricardo Rodriguez, gave an exclusive interview to Milan News. A starter for two years after arriving from Wolfsburg, the Swiss, now at Betis, lost his place after Theo Hernandez arrived.
This is his memory of his time at Milan:
"Many good memories, I think we had a nice team. Not everything went well, but the important thing is I played a lot. I felt good at Milan, we had a solid team."
You had Giampaolo, Gattuso, and Pioli: which coach did you get along with best?
"All of them taught me something, really. Even with Pioli, with all of them really. And then there was Montella too. With those two and with Giampaolo and Gattuso: I can’t pick just one. I did something good with all of them."
Like Ronaldinho, you stayed at Milan for exactly two and a half years. Did you want to stay longer?
"Look, I always tried to give my best. But in the end, the decisions were up to the club, which wanted something else."
Did they want to let you go?
"No, no, no. They didn’t want to sell me. In fact, they were happy if I stayed along with Theo. But I wanted to play more, and I knew that after Theo arrived I wouldn’t have much playing time. I chose to leave, no one pushed me out. They would have been happy if I had stayed."
It was said that much of that team didn’t like Leonardo Bonucci…
"That’s not true. I had a good relationship with Bonucci. The two of us got along well, and I think others did too. I can’t say more about this now."
Milan is up there competing for the title with Napoli, Roma, and Inter. Can the Rossoneri win their second Scudetto in four years? Rodriguez said:
"I hope so for Milan. It’s a good team coached by a great manager… a great manager like Allegri who knows what to do. Let’s see what the players do."
Your successor in that position is Pervis Estupiñán, South American like you (Ricardo Rodriguez’s mother, Marcela, is Chilean). What do you think of the former Brighton player?
"He’s good, he’s good. They brought him in because they saw qualities in him. So far he’s doing well."
Is there anyone in this Milan squad who has impressed you?
"I played with many of them. Modric is strong… but there are many strong players at Milan, including my friend Jashari. At Torino, I played with Ricci too. I hope Milan does well."
The club spent almost 40 million to buy Ardon Jashari from Club Brugge after a long back-and-forth... Rodriguez commented:
"The money they paid Ardon is significant. But he’s a good guy and a strong player who can grow a lot at Milan. He’s injured now, but he’ll come back strong, trust me."
At Torino you played with Ricci, who before Rabiot’s injury had limited opportunities. Modric overshadowed him, but at 24 can he still learn from him?
"Of course, you can always learn from a great player. Samuele is growing, and I think he’ll do well at Milan because he has many good qualities. His biggest quality? Game vision."
Your former coach at Milan, Gattuso, will he bring Italy to the World Cup after 12 years?
"Let’s see, but he’s doing well and I hope so. Italy must always be there, at the World Cup. Always."
