Vitaly Kutuzov told how Italian football legend Paolo Maldini spent three hours struggling to set up internet for a young Belarusian
The Belarusian joined Italian "Milan" at the age of 21, which was in 2001. In a big interview with Championat.com, he told how he adapted to Italy and its football.
Photo: Elena Di Vincenzo/Archivio Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
By the way, he debunked the legend that the club bought him immediately after the first match of the European Cup tie "Milan" — BATE.
"I was then the captain of the Belarusian youth national team, scored a lot in the championship, and one of the coaches from the 'Milan' system had previously watched six whole matches with my participation. Only after that did he say in Milan: 'We must take this guy.' So this is not a one-half story," Vitaly said, noting that he could have also moved to "Fiorentina."
Kutuzov notes that "Milan" then had many stars, but the more famous the person, the simpler they are in communication, like the legend of Italian football, captain of the club and the Italian national team Paolo Maldini.
"I sat next to him in the locker room, one seat away. Sometimes childhood dreams of touching Paolo Maldini surfaced, but I immediately stopped myself: 'No, no, it's alright, Vitaly. Control yourself' (laughs). And then, of course, you get used to all of this — it becomes routine."
"I have an interesting story with Paolo. At that time, computers had just appeared, and I was looking for some connection with my homeland. I had a portable computer, and I needed to connect it to the internet. I was told that Maldini understood this best, and they sent me to him. After the first training session, I approached him and said: 'Paolo, I need your help, you're in the loop, you follow the trends.' After lunch, I went to his room, and Maldini started setting up the internet for me, looking for some disks. Everything was much more complicated back then.
Paolo went to the club office, connected some drive — he toiled for about three hours, barely rested. Right from his room, we went to the second training session, I only took my computer back. The captain of "Milan" and the Italian national team spent three hours on me!
With one act, he gained a fighting unit, ready to fight for the club, for him, and for all the guys. Maldini showed: 'I am the captain, I am here to ensure that everything is good in the team. If someone needs help, I am always there.' I saw Paolo's character, his humanity, *generoso* in Italian," Vitaly Kutuzov said.
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