Thursday, Sep 10, 2015
Dubai: Six years after being discarded by then Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal, Brazilian Lucio sees the irony of his fruitful subsequent move to Inter Milan.
At the peak of his career, Lucio was with Bayer Leverkusen when the Bundesliga team met Real Madrid in the final of the 2002 Champions League. Lucio scored with a header, but Real Madrid went on to win the crown 2-1.
In 2004, Lucio switched to Bayern Munich, where he won one German Cup and three Bundesliga titles in his five years in Munich. Then Van Gaal arrived and Lucio did not find favour with the Dutchman, who did not even speak to him before forcing the Brazil captain out.
Lucio moved to Inter Milan in 2009 and the Jose Mourinho-coached Italian side reached the final against Van Gaal’s Bayern Munich in 2010, with Inter winning 2-0 at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid to complete a memorable treble.
That win not only ensured a missing Champions League crown for the Brazilian, but also made Mourinho only the third and also the youngest man, at 47, to conquer Europe with two clubs, following his 2004 success with Porto. Ironically, Mourinho had also worked under current Manchester United boss Van Gaal at Barcelona in the 1990s.
“I didn’t see that win in 2009 as vindication or revenge for me against what he [Van Gaal] had done,” Lucio told Gulf News.
“After winning the World Cup [2002], it was very tough for me to accept I had to leave Bayern Munich. At that time, I could not understand what lay in store for me. But today I see things so clearly. I was not meant to win the Champions League while in Germany, but while I was in Italy I won the one trophy that was missing.”
The former Brazilian skipper can be followed on Instagram via lucio_3
By Alaric Gomes Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2015. All rights reserved.
