France’s Papin regrets having left Milan after only two years

May 1993… Milan had just won back-to-back league titles but despite their Serie A supremacy and 10 consecutive wins on their way to the 1993 European Cup final in Munich, the Rossoneri were denied by Olympique Marseille when Basile Boli rose above friend and foe to head home the only goal of the game.

It was the first time a French team had won UEFA’s major title for clubs.

When Swiss referee Kurt Rothlisberger blew the final whistle, the entire Marseille bench stormed on to the field but Milan’s French striker Jean-Pierre Papin fell down on his knees with his former president at Olympique Marseille, Bernard Tapie, being the first to console him.

“Milan were by far the better team on the day but a final is a one-off match and everything can happen,” Papin told The Sunday Times of Malta.

The Frenchman had joined the San Siro giants from Marseille in the summer of 1992.

“I signed for Milan for two reasons mainly, to play alongside Marco Van Basten and to win the Champions Cup,” Papin, who was in the OM team that went down to Red Star in the 1991 European title showdown, said.

Papin would only go to fulfil part of his wish.

For Milan, that final in Munich felt like the end of the world.

Ruud Gullit moved to Sampdoria, Frank Rijkaard had informed his team-mates on the eve of the game that he would be leaving while Van Basten had aggravated his ankle injury and would never play again.

“Van Basten and I only played a couple of times together. He was sidelined with injuries and when he was fit very often Fabio Capello preferred to rely on his tried and tested players,” Papin explained.

At that time, Milan could only field three of their expensive foreigners at one time due to UEFA rules.

The following season, Capello, still licking the wounds from that upset to Marseille, revolutionised his side, putting his faith in Dejan Savicevic, Zvonimir Boban and Marcel Desailly.

Subsequently, for the 4-0 demolition of Barcelona in the 1994 European Cup final, in Athens, Papin was relegated to the stands. In the end, he succeeded in putting his hands on the coveted trophy… but wearing plain clothes.

Renowned as one of the greatest strikers in the modern era, Papin, who made 54 appearance for the French national team, won the Ballon d’Or in 1991.

His agility and technical abilities saw him execute spectacular strikes in abundance. During his time, French journalists even coined the word ‘papinade’ to describe his trademark volley.

“The goal against Porto away… that’s my top for Milan,” Papin opined.

“I had time to think where I was going to place my shot and the execution was perfect. The emotion, of course, was incredible… it was also the match-winner.

“I realise how crucial that goal was because everybody still talk about it today.”

Sadly for the Rossoneri, Papin’s supply of goals was cut short when he decided to seek pastures new and moved to Bayern Munich in 1994. The Frenchman came to regret leaving the San Siro after only two seasons.

“At the time it wasn’t only me at Milan. There were other players of a high calibre including Van Basten, Daniele Massaro, Marco Simone, Michael Laudrup, Florin Raducioiu and Gianluigi Lentini,” he said.

“We were taking turns and that was okay. But then Capello decided to rely more on Savicevic, Boban and Desailly.

“I managed 63 games and 31 goals for Milan but I was young and I wanted to play.

“With hindsight, I think I should never have left because I could have given more to the team. Years later, I met Capello and he also thought that I had rushed into my decision.”

Papin, however, will never forget his time when he donned the famous red and black jersey.

“I was in a Milan side that had a star-studded squad, able to dominate in Italy and abroad,” he said.

Milan have been in hibernation for several years now but Papin reckons the side could return to stardom in the near future.

“It’s not easy to play or be a coach in a club like Milan,” he said.

“The days when bringing in big names that would translate into immediate success are gone. Okay, you need one or two top men to shake things up but you also require time to gel a team. I think, Sinisa Mihajlovic could be the right man to lift Milan.”

In a 17-year career, that saw Papin playing in the Serie A, Bundesliga and the Ligue 1, he managed 350 goals in 620 matches.

He still follows the game passionately and singles out Barcelona’s Luis Suarez for special praise, saying the Uruguayan is the most complete striker around.

“Suarez is the best out-and-out striker at the moment,” he said.

“Sergio Aguero is close but for the rest I see no other forwards that strike fear inside the opponents. Football has developed so much.

“A striker today is asked to drop deep to collect the ball instead of running in front of goal where he is in a better position to beat the keeper.”

Euro 2016 contenders

As regards next year’s European Championship finals in France, Papin, now 52, believes there are few teams that can match Germany or Spain but puts France as rank outsiders.

“For me Germany start as hot favourites and Spain are close behind,” he said.

“I also feel excited about the new crop of home-grown talents in the French side.

“This is a new generation of players and they could produce a surprise in the Euro finals. Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Geoffrey Kondogbia are already great players… I am curious to see how far France will go next year, they can be the surprise team.”

Papin was in Malta earlier this month as guest of the Milan Supporters’ Club (Malta).