Ex-Milan defender Francesco Coco claims he got in from a night out at 7am the day before facing Barcelona in one of his best ever games.
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Francesco Coco recalls partying to cope with stressMilan defender still drunk ahaead of Barcelona clashEventually retired at 30 after suffering injuriesWHAT HAPPENED?
Coco discussed in a wide-ranging interview with French publication So Foot how he attempted to cope with stress, opting not to sleep the night before many of his best games, choosing instead to go out with friends and drink so that he wasn't left lying awake at home overthinking. That was particularly the case when Milan faced Barcelona in a Champions League game at Camp Nou in September 2000 and he scored the first goal in a 2-0 win, despite being out drinking and partying until 7am of the day before.
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A left-back, Coco burst onto the scene at Milan as a teenager in the mid-1990s and was hailed as the next Paolo Maldini. Despite winning two Serie A titles and going to the 2002 World Cup with Italy, he struggled to live up to that billing. Coco was eventually retired by the age of 30, having had trials with Newcastle and a pre-riches Manchester City in the final stages of his career.
WHAT COCO SAID
Coco said: "I wasn't crazy because I did 'particular' things, but because I was simply sure of my footballing and physical skills in everyday life. So I took the right to not always be very professional. There were many matches in which I didn't sleep the night before. Two days before this match [against Barcelona] I went out until 7am. I came home, I took my bag, I brushed my teeth and I left for Spain. I was still drunk. Yet I played one of the best matches of my career. There were many moments like that. But on the other hand I always respected my teammates, my role, my managers.
"There is a lot of pressure in these matches and everyone deals with it based on how they are made.For the most emotional and stressed, it is better not to think about the match, otherwise the pressure will consume them.For example, when I was at home in my bed before a match, I couldn't sleep the whole night. I thought about it too much, I kept waking up. In the end, I arrived that day tired.Most of my best games I played without sleeping the day before, I went out with friends, I drank.I arrived on the day of the match with a light mind, I didn't think about it until that moment, because, in fact, I knew myself.I was free in my head. In the end it's the stress that cuts you off.Stress is one of the worst diseases in the world."
DID YOU KNOW?
Coco swapped Milan for Inter in 2002 following the conclusion of a loan at, coincidentally, Barcelona. It was part of €28m deal that saw Clarence Seedorf join the Rossoneri in the opposite direction. But while the Dutchman played 432 games for Milan and won the Champions League twice, Coco struggled badly with a major back injury at Inter as his once promising career quickly faded.