Milan legend Ambrosini reminisced about his career at Milan, Champions League memories, and his departure from the club during his appearance on the podcast "Derbyssimo Legends x MilanNews".

Was it harder to maintain a high level, or to share a locker room with so many champion players?

"Maintaining a high level is harder. In any case, like in the last few years of my career, even though the locker room was a bit complicated, being in it itself was everything. You know, only if a person is good enough can you stay there. It was really difficult to keep up on a competitive level with players who were technically better than me."

Which championship, Manchester 2003 or Athens 2007, is more unforgettable for you, and why?

"Personally, I would choose Athens, because I played in that one. Experiencing a full Champions League season as a protagonist leaves a deeper impression. The other championship was different in terms of chronology and opponent strength. In 2003, we won the semi-final and final against Inter Milan and Juventus, so in terms of confrontation and match quality, that team was actually stronger than the one that beat Liverpool in 2007. However, when you know you are a starter and experience everything as a protagonist from beginning to end, the satisfaction is completely different."

Istanbul 2005: Have you rewatched that match? What exactly happened then?

"I haven't rewatched it, because I witnessed it firsthand at the time, although I didn't play in that one. Watching it once from the stands was enough, because I was injured. For 20 years I've been saying that nothing can truly erase the pain of losing a game of that level, that importance, and in that manner. If you consider yourself a philosopher, you'd say wounds heal, but scars remain, because once you've seen something like that, you'll always remember it. Football later gave us the best compensation, playing against the same team again two years later, but even if you win it back, that memory will still remain."

What were you thinking when you watched that match from the sidelines?

"After the first half, I went back to the locker room. I was wearing a training kit, maybe even a match kit. My thought was that we had already won the Champions League, so I went into the locker room, changed into my clothes like the players after the match, went back to the field, took off my training kit, and mingled with those who actually played. That way, 20 years later, when you look at those images, no one will remember who played and who didn't (laughs). What would you think? With such a dominant performance and such a clear technical gap, you wouldn't imagine something like that would happen later."

Was Athens more like revenge, justice, or relief?

"It was relief. So-called justice is when you've been treated unfairly, and that time we weren't treated unfairly; we just experienced a cruel match outcome that we had to accept. Relief, because we were well compensated, as very few players or teams get an opportunity like that."

When you left Milan, what bothered you more: the decision itself, or the way you left?

"It was the way. If my story was built step by step by myself, I would definitely have ended my career at Milan. Even if they had seen me off in a better way, I still wouldn't have been ready, but I would have been calmer. Not being able to put a complete stop to it, not having a real farewell, this gap is still in my heart and mind. I know it won't be filled. From a sporting perspective, you cannot deprive a club, the management, of the right to decide that you are no longer part of their technical plans. No one should assume they can decide when and for how long they play, except in very rare cases. Paolo Maldini was one of them, but the club didn't handle his situation correctly."

So, in your opinion, what was missing: gratitude or honesty?

"It was honesty. At that time, what I felt was not that someone was willing to take responsibility for clarifying things. Everyone was more or less trying to shirk responsibility for that decision. That's what made me uncomfortable, because if they had called me in and genuinely thanked me for everything I had done over the years, what more could I have said? You can have your own thoughts, but ultimately you can only accept it. If it had been handled differently at the time, they could have given me a proper farewell with the fans."

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