“Now I look at you on the Milan bench and you act crazy; you scream, you shout, you incite your players. I think you’re the right person in the right place," wrote Ancelotti.
“There’s a need for passion, your character, your spirit of sacrifice to overcome obstacles. There’s also a need for your joy to defuse certain tensions, and some of your solemn rage to wake up someone who is sleeping.
“In a team, in a group, there’s always someone who sleeps…
“On the pitch you were my warrior. I never once saw you give up, never once saw you leave the pitch with a clean shirt, never once saw you refusing to battle.
“That’s what I always admired about you, the ability to reach your objectives despite the fact nature didn’t bless you with great technical gifts. Because - can I say this? - your feet are not exactly the most educated!
“But the grit that you gave us no-one else had, and you had something unusual - you knew how to pass it to others.
“How many times did I see you talking to a teammate, to help him, to encourage him, to support him in difficult times?
“That’s football. Beyond schemes, formations, diagonals, pressing and counter-attacks there are people. And it’s people who make the difference.”