Brozovic, the Milan coach follows him and his return to Inter becomes a coincidence

Filippo Conticello-Davide Stoppini

January 27th
– Milano

What ever happened to Marcelo Brozovic, the inexhaustible engine of Inter that he was? The Croatian’s calf is still throwing tantrums and the Nerazzurri midfield will still be orphaned by the Croatian tomorrow in Cremona: Inzaghi’s goal is to find him again with increasing playing time in the next (and slippery) double crossing, in the Coppa Italia against Atalanta and in the league against Milan. In general, however, his long absence has become a complex issue, also because not only the Inter staff are “taking care of” his recovery, but also Marcelo’s trusted trainer: his name is Andreja Milutinovic, he is the a man who has been privately manipulating his muscles for some time. Nothing strange so far, at least in general: the practice is common to many high-level footballers who associate private professionals with those regularly provided by their clubs. It all becomes rather curious, however, if it turns out that the same professional, who in this case closely advises one of Inzaghi’s most strategic players, is now paid by the competition. And what competition, given that this time the Devil really had a hand in it. He, Milutinovic, a trainer with a reputation as a guru in Serbia and a very rich client portfolio among Balkan players (and beyond), has in fact been the so-called “head of performance” of Milan for a few months, even if no official announcement has ever been made done and there is no trace in the Milan organization chart.

The Messi of Muscles

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As with all other clients, Milutinovic has built a symbiotic relationship with Brozovic over the years. He has cemented himself over the years with remote sessions and periodic visits to his center in Belgrade. The Croatian obviously has total faith in the advice of the “Messi of the muscles”, at least according to the definition of the Serbian Tadic, one of the many talents handled with care by Andreja, and his decisions in the most delicate cases are affected by it. Thus, in Marcelo’s latest vicissitudes, his friend’s long-distance advice had a fair amount of weight: the Croatian’s certain prudence in recovering from the discomfort in his calf is certainly not accidental. Probably, if he had depended only on Inter, Brozo probably would have already entered the group and could have started the countdown to return to the field. There was no tension over the choice because, after such a long-awaited and delicate recovery, it’s normal to have faith in the sensations of the player, who may be a bit moody by nature, but who certainly doesn’t spare himself on the pitch. It is no coincidence that this year the cause has been missed a lot: for four months, since the match against Udinese on 18 September, he hasn’t played a match as a Nerazzurri starter. More generally, he has been absent since November 13, when he tasted the pitch for ten minutes against Atalanta, before stopping due to a contracture in his left calf. Since that time he has never returned to the Nerazzurri’s disposal, although in the meantime he has still played an excellent World Cup with Croatia. Precisely in the semi-final against Argentina the pain would have flared up again which would have also made him miss the final for third place against Morocco. Once back in Appiano at the end of December, in the first training sessions he immediately reaccused the annoyance which, after instrumental tests, was identified as a minor muscle strain.

How many samples

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Fortunately, Brozo’s long journey now seems over: Milutinovic is also satisfied with the progress he has monitored from a distance, but closely. Despite the permanent job at Milan, his private consultancies continue to be wide-ranging. After all, it has always been like this, even when Andreja himself collaborated for a short time in 2015 with Mancini, then Inter’s coach, or when he directly provided his services to the Serbian national team. Now about a hundred players of various levels turn to him regularly: the fee is around 60,000 a year for each one. The list is varied and even illustrious: Salah, Modric, Kovacic, Milenkovic, former Inter fans Perisic and Kolarov, current Juventus players Kostic and Vlahovic. In the past he also helped the Bosnian Dzeko, while the black and white Dusan joined him in the hot days when he left Partizan to join Viola. Young muscles, but also older ones: just a few months ago, the eternal Buffon also flew to Belgrade to see the holy man.