Scaroni next to Cardinale in the stands: “The minimum goal is to finish the season among the top four in the championship.” And on the market: “I know Forlani is focused on January”
This was not the match Jerry Cardinale would have liked to see from the VIP stand. In the eyes of the Redbird boss, and by extension Milan, a lackluster team certainly presented itself. And yes, a great night in the Champions League should have lit up the San Siro once again. Disappointment is inevitable: the club’s hopes are pinned on the Champions League. Only by participating in the Champions League do Milan have the opportunity to perform on the most important stages in Europe, a mechanism that then activates a chain reaction: greater visibility, greater income, and greater investment possibilities. The music hasn’t quite died down yet: Stefano Pioli will have to go and win at Newcastle and hope for Borussia Dortmund’s success against Paris Saint-Germain. Meanwhile, another bad night could threaten the team’s European progress at the end of November.
decision maker
—
The presence of Gerry Cardinale in Milan is no coincidence: he never missed the most important appointments. Various raids in the city always turn into business trips. Last time around, he took the opportunity to outline a potential new career field for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who he also spoke to ahead of yesterday’s game. Milan’s list of commitments includes appointments related to the new stadium, which is a priority regardless of yesterday’s result. However, this remains the fixed ideology of ownership and management. Discussion of technical issues is inevitable today: but a series of mitigating circumstances must be taken into account when prosecuting the coach and players. A missed penalty kick from Giroud could have directed the match in another direction. An injury to Thiao, who was using crutches, took the certainty away from the defence: in his place came Krunic, who played as an attacking midfielder in the Rossoneri’s last tournament. Finally, Borussia scored as Milan continued to attack in an attempt to come back. All the points were noted down by Cardinale, along with the other senior management sitting next to him: President Scaroni (not the best Christmas evening) and the CEO. Forlani.
Ibra’s future
—
Scaroni himself had expressed his opinion about Ibra before the match: “We are all waiting to see what he wants to do when he grows up. He can collaborate in all the projects that RedBird has in football, in sports and in the world. It depends on him, I am optimistic.” Even before that, it was he who dictated the club’s line: “For us, it is necessary to always be in the Champions League: for economic reasons, but also because we want to feed our 500 million fans around the world with Milan.” Being in the Champions League means permanently staying in the top four in the tournament (“that’s the minimum goal”) and moving forward as much as possible once you gain entry. “If I could always win the Italian League title I would be happier, but it would be another goal,” Scaroni reiterates. On the market: “I know Forlani is focused on January. The financial sustainability we have gained allows us to look at opportunities with some calm.” January is far away, Milan is thinking about the present.
“Award-winning beer geek. Extreme coffeeaholic. Introvert. Avid travel specialist. Hipster-friendly communicator.”
