The red bird No. 1 from England raises doubts about Pioli's future: “A young team, but I would not like not to be first in the tournament” and on the field: “We will build a 70,000-seat facility with the ideas that exist in America.”
Milan wants to win. To do this we may need change, even on the field. “We will look at change in every aspect of society,” says Jerry Cardinale, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic sitting next to him, from the podium of the Football Business Summit in London. It's a general idea, but it's also domain specific. “I relied on Zlatan to collect opinions, viewpoints, and advice about the idea of change on the field,” he continues. Everything in Milan has to change, even if I prefer to use the word evolution. We will look at what we have done so far, and the many injuries we have suffered. But neither Zlatan nor I are satisfied with the fact that we are not number one in the Italian League. We are trying: We have a young team, and if we take into account how young it is and how new it is, we are not doing badly. But it is not enough not to cause harm: we still have a lot of work to do. So it is reasonable to expect change.” And then, regarding player management: “We try to be responsible in how we build the team. But if we do that and then we don't have all the players, what's the point? There are many reasons for this.” “You can't just blame the medical staff. Players are under tremendous pressure and play many matches: Italian league, cups and national teams. We have to worry about their health.”
Goodbye San Siro
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This also applies to the stadium, as Cardinale confirmed that Milan will get a new stadium soon. “We have made more progress on the new stadium in 18 months than in recent years – explains Cardinale – it will be the first stadium to be built in Italy since 2011, a 70,000-seat stadium to which we will bring commercial ideas for a facility of this type that we have in America. “Milan is an ideal place to bring football and music together, and this new stadium will be good not only for Milan, but also for the city, Italy and the entire Italian league. I will establish a company that will build the new stadium, but then I will build the new stadium. We want that company to build factories.” “New all over Italy. Because I want to win the Italian League title, but I also want the whole Italian League to improve, because competitiveness is what makes the sport better.” Zlatan resumes: “I think I will miss San Siro more than I will miss San Siro – he says jokingly, before getting serious -. I have a lot of memories there, it is a historic stadium but in everything there is a new beginning. There are modern ways of doing things and with a new system.” “You can do it. Then Milan doesn't have San Siro and needs its own stadium: it would be big, especially for the fans. It would also be important from an economic point of view.”
Jerry Ibra couple
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Cardinale and Ibrahimovic are an attractive duo. If the Swede approaches the challenge of being a businessman with the same confidence with which he took to the field, the Rossoneri owner has charisma and clear ideas on how to manage the team, having taken a period of professional training “so as not to enter a world I do not know with guns blazing, like any American.” normal.” Cardinale explains that the choice to turn Zlatan into his voice in the locker room is the same one he made when he invested in Hollywood by relying on Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. “Zlatan allows me to live in the United States but in Milan – explains Cardinale -. I hired him at RedBird for this very reason: we talk several times a day and he has the authority to speak on my behalf with everyone in Milan. And he does it with legitimacy and credibility. The way he behaves And how he talks to the players as a former footballer, but with the voice of the owners is unique. I don't want to go to the dressing room and talk to the players, I want Ibrahimovic to do it for me. I want to win, but asking someone like Zlatan to be my voice, and let “For me to separate myself from the emotional side of things is part of my way of achieving that.” “Jerry made me an offer that I could not refuse – says Ibra, after saying that he feels free as a former player -. Many of the players I spoke to 8 months ago were my teammates and there is respect between us, but in my current role I have to think about the future of the club. “And I think about it differently than I did before. The team is growing, and we've created other players around the group of players. Because you win with hard work even off the field.” The ideas are there, now it's about turning them into successes. This may represent a revolution in the ideas put forward by Cardinale and Ibrahim.
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