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<p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script><ul><li>Francesco Coco recalls partying to cope with stress</li><li>Milan defender still drunk ahaead of Barcelona clash</li><li>Eventually retired at 30 after suffering injuries</li></ul>

'One of the best matches of my career' - Former Milan star Francesco Coco admits he was drunk before facing Barcelona after partying until 7am

Serie A

AC Milan

Juventus

LaLiga

Celta Vigo

Barcelona

<p>Coco discussed in a wide-ranging interview with French publication <a href="https://www.sofoot.com/articles/francesco-coco-un-jour-berlusconi-ma-lui-meme-coupe-la-frange" target="_blank">So Foot</a> 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.</p>

WHAT HAPPENED?

<p>A left-back, Coco burst onto the scene at <a href="'One of the best matches of my career' - Former Milan star Francesco Coco admits he was drunk before facing Barcelona after partying until 7am" target="_blank">Milan</a> 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.</p>

THE BIGGER PICTURE

<p>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 <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/team/barcelona/agh9ifb2mw3ivjusgedj7c3fe" target="_blank">Barcelona</a>] 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.</p><p><span><span>"<span>There is a lot of pressure in these matches and everyone deals with it based on how they are made.</span></span><span>&nbsp;</span><span><span>For the most emotional and stressed, it is better not to think about the match, otherwise the pressure will consume them.</span></span><span>&nbsp;</span><span><span>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.<span>&nbsp;</span>Most of my best games I played without sleeping the day before, I went out with friends, I drank.</span></span><span>&nbsp;</span><span><span>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.</span></span><span>&nbsp;</span><span><span>I was free in my head. In the end it's the stress that cuts you off.</span></span><span>&nbsp;</span><span><span>Stress is one of the worst diseases in the world."</span></span></span></p>

WHAT COCO SAID

<p>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.</p>

DID YOU KNOW?

<p>Since retiring, Coco has lived the typical life of a former top level footballer, doing media work, starting business ventures - including his own academy, and playing in legends games. In May, he turned out for a Barcelona Legends team in an exhibition game in Zambia alongside Camp Nou icon Ronaldinho.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cstvh5ZtIS_/" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
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WHAT NEXT FOR COCO?

'One of the best matches of my career' - Former Milan star Francesco Coco admits he was drunk before facing Barcelona after partying until 7am | Goal.com

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.

&apos;One of the best matches of my career&apos; - Former Milan star Francesco Coco admits he was drunk before facing Barcelona after partying until 7am