The Milan derby is only days away. The rivalry between the two Milan clubs is as fierce as any on the European football map.
Few are more familiar with the intensity of this rivalry than Alberto Zaccheroni. He was Milan's coach for two-and-a-half years, leading them to the league title in 1999.
In 2003, he became only the fourth man in 100 years (after Giovanni Trapattoni, Luigi Radice and Ilario Castagner) to pass from one Milan club to the other. A lifelong Inter fan, Zaccheroni guided the Nerazzuri as caretaker coach to Champions League qualification.
Yet, he never won over the hearts and minds of the Inter fans who couldn't bring themselves to forgive Zaccheroni after he denied Inter the Serie A title by leading Lazio to a 4-2 win on May 5, 2002.
Now working as a football analyst for Italian newspapers, Zaccheroni, whose last coaching job was with Torino three years ago, recently took time out of his schedule to spend seven days in Malta, learning English in one of the language centres on the islands.
Renowned for his trademark
3-4-3 system, Zaccheroni ditched the old catenaccio stereotype and adopted an attacking mentality.
While his teams were often praised for their beautiful football, he has put his hands on just one trophy throughout his career.
Certain coaches reverted to 'winning ugly' when faced with the prospect of a season without a trophy, yet Zaccheroni remained unshaken in his credo of always finding a way of playing successful, entertaining football.
"I never changed my style, it was only a case of blending some thoughts and changing a few details," he said.
"What is the point of playing beautiful football if you can't win trophies," I asked. Zaccheroni sought to put the record straight with some haste.
"I agree that the only thing that remains in the statistical books is the final score. Luciano Spalletti left his mark on the Italian league as he has taken an attacking approach to the game and I admire him for that.
"Yet, you know how many times did he beat Juventus? Zero. I won nine of the 16 matches I played against Juventus. Nobody can beat my record," he fondly remembered.
Coaching in Italy, where attacking football always seems to be treated with a mixture of delight and suspicion, is not easy. Once, Milan president Silvio Berlusconi famously remarked - "Zac might not be the right tailor for the quality material he has under his hands".
"At Milan, I worked with great players who were either past their prime or prone to injuries. Zvonimir Boban had chronic back pain, Leonardo was carrying a sportsman's hernia and nobody knew how old Weah was," he said.
"Even in an injury crisis, I do not believe in saying - okay get me another player. If I can improve or adapt an existing player instead of buying, I will do it. For example, I transformed Guly from striker to winger and he became a star," he recalled.
At Udinese, president (Giampaolo) Pozzo made a small fortune when he sold the likes of Bierhoff, Helveg, Appiah and Amoruso," Zaccheroni added.
Zaccheroni is best known for leading Milan to the league title in 1999. While he may not have had one of the strongest Milan sides of the last 25 years, he still managed to win the scudetto after a hard-fought race with Lazio.