Nesta on Milan pain and glory against Liverpool, depression after retirement

Monza coach Alessandro Nesta (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Alessandro Nesta looked back over his career, turning down Real Madrid, experiencing both glory and pain at Milan against Liverpool, plus why depression hit after retirement.

The former Lazio and Milan defender is currently the coach of Serie A side Monza, where he was recalled after a brief period of being sacked in December 2024.

Sitting down for a long interview with former Italy teammate Luca Toni on Amazon Prime Video Italia, he recalled his playing career with some surprising revelations.

“The year before I went to Milan, Real Madrid had called and I said no, because I wanted to stay at Lazio. Then Milan came, Lazio were falling apart, then the first year at San Siro we won the Coppa Campioni and Coppa Italia,” said Nesta.

“The first four months, I was horrible, as I was struggling to detach myself from Rome, but once I realised where I was, I rolled my sleeves up.”

The Rossoneri won the Coppa Campioni in 2003 by beating Juventus on penalties in Manchester.

“Nobody slept the night before, because if you lose to Manchester United, nobody will say anything, but losing to Juventus… Paolo Maldini and Andrea Pirlo were super tense too. It was a bad game for me, few scoring opportunities and it went to penalties.

“I had only taken one penalty before, for the Under-21 side. Some were limping, others didn’t feel ready, the coach pretended not to notice me at first, but seeing as so many others pulled out…

“I surprised Buffon, because I hit it with my toes. I was prepared to wait until the last second and then shoot when Gigi moved. But Buffon didn’t move. So I didn’t have a Plan B and I sort of scuffed it, but it worked.”

Nesta’s Milan take revenge on Liverpool

However, Nesta insists the Milan side that lost to Liverpool in the Istanbul Coppa Campioni Final of 2005 was stronger than in 2003.

They were leading 3-0 only to concede three goals in the space of six minutes, then capitulate on penalties.

“It’s not true that we were celebrating in the locker room at half-time, some idiot from the other team said that, I don’t even know his name. It was actually quite tense, we knew there was a long way to go.

“Steven Gerrard kept Liverpool afloat, he was an animal back then, he was everywhere.”

What happened after the defeat in Istanbul?

“Nobody talked in the locker room, nobody dared. We went to eat with our families and it was total silence. All summer, I’d wake up and think that can’t have really happened. But when we met up again, we said to ourselves it cannot end like this. We just had to get over it.”

Milan got their revenge by beating Liverpool 2-1 in Athens for the 2007 Coppa Campioni Final.

“That was destiny, we were convinced that we would win, because we couldn’t not win again,” continued Nesta.

“We actually played worse than the Final we lost, but we were more solid and had that belief, right from the start.

“Pippo Inzaghi could barely stand due to muscular problems, Alberto Gilardino was in incredible form, but the coach had this intuition that gets you to win the Coppa Campioni. He knew Pippo even in bad shape could score goals.

“Kaka was in amazing shape, we were sure that we’d win. Even Liverpool knew it, you could tell.”

Nesta left Milan for the Montreal Impact in 2012 before hanging up his boots in 2015.

“I said enough after surgery and needing two painkillers a day, my body was telling me it was cooked. The year before, I played two games against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona, but I knew a year later he’d crush me if we met again.

“Milan had proposed another year on my contract, but I said no. I’m a defender, I have to chase people down, it’s harder for a striker to realise he’s finished.”

When Nesta did finally retire from playing, he fully admits that he struggled with depression.

“Every day seemed the same, my wife was a saint to put up with me. I lacked adrenaline and needed competition, so I needed to get back to football and the only way was to be a coach.

“It is more fun to play, but once the adrenaline kicks in, your mentality does change.”