Legendary AC Milan defender Franco Baresi has urged the club to take caution with their focus on data when it comes to identifying new signings running the club.
Speaking during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Milan News), the former Rossoneri captain was asked about Milan using data above all else as their reason for signing players in the transfer market.
It is an approach that is becoming more and more common in the modern game and many elder statesmen of football struggle to comprehend it. Baresi clearly has an understanding of the benefits but he also urges the club to take a more human approach to transfers as well.
“Data is important, but the human and technical aspect also counts. I welcome innovation, especially if they can help us make fewer mistakes and gather more information,” Baresi said.
Milan are certainly set for some upheaval in the transfer market given Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara were dismissed earlier this week and they have been working on a number of targets. New targets will likely need to be identified.
Careful now Baresi, you head could be next in the guillotine if you said bad things about the fuhrer.
Go tell your boss his way of doing things is wrong and tell us the outcome.
Different context. Baresi has spent his lifetime in this institution and was just offering his advice to this new guy in charge. He has every right to do so.
Yea but you’re suggesting he’ll get fired for it and then compared Cardinale to Hitler. Absurdity.
Maldini also spent his life in ACM, and what happen with him?
If you get bad outcomes when you tell your boss that you think his way of doing things is wrong, then perhaps it is time for you to change your job mate.
CEO has the vision. It is up to staff to execute the vision. They can share their views but ultimately, you don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen. You can have different ideas but you cannot have conflicting visions.
I would heartily disagree with the top-down view to management. It simply does not work. And well, I am not going to get into philosophical debates about that – got stuff to do.
On a more relevant topic, a general comment about the things people are blabbering about data in football as it if is a new thing – does anyone in their right mind think that Maldini and Massara (and every single club) did/does not use data when they were looking at the potential recruits? Smh.
Let’s just see how this window goes. I am seriously terrified about the prospect of going back to midtable for another decade and a half.
i love how so many guys here try to flex their business machismo. settle down buddy, it’s not a good look. in the end its a sport and yes its a business but we watch it for the sport. go play excel spreadsheet manager instead.
Top down management would suggest alls decisions are coming from Cardinale. If recent reports are to be believed, it was Maldini who wanted to act with total autonomy in the market. Cardinale’s vision was more of an “outside-in” approach to management. Where a team consisting of several different stakeholders would inform transfer decisions. It was reported that he even offered Maldini a role in this process, which he rejected. So contrary to the notion that sharing ideas was what for Maldini canned, it was his resistance to collaborating with Moncada, Pioli and others that was his undoing.
Resistance to collaborating with Moncada for 3 odd years (and Massara too I assume)?
I doubt that.
I am not knowledgable enough about what Maldini’s views on Pioli, apart from his vocal support during this tumultuous season.
But let’s assume Maldini wanted to replace Pioli – I will admit – I would actually like that. It is completely my personal opinion, of course, (as it might have been Maldini’s), but I think Pioli has taken as as far as he can in terms of quality. For another level in quality and consistent success, I might need another manager. I wonder how many people would disagree with that idea above.
Just to reiterate, I’m not trying to fight here (so difficult to make sure on texts that it is not interpreted as “fight”), different people will have different opinions, but yeah, based on what I know from conflicting media reports and what I see happening in Milan, I have to say, I am convinced that Cardinale made an cardinal mistake there. It is up to them now to prove me wrong.
https://sempremilan.com/vitiello-moncada-was-not-listened-to-maldini/amp
Just saying. Not fighting.
Please see the report from this site two days ago “Moncada was not listened to much by Maldini.” All the reports coming out suggest Maldini felt he know better than everyone when it came to the market strategy. He did not okay well with others, even wanting to sack Pioli who is no less beloved by the squad than Maldini himself.
Hearsay by Vitiello (without any sources ofc).
That’s just a plant piece fed to the media by some obscure Jorno.
Autonomy was in Maldini’s contract..that’s why it took a while last year to get that contract over the line and Gazidis resisted as much as he could.
As far too down management you’ve got it all wrong.
As an owner you bring in the most qualified people to run your organization otherwise you end up with the Cowboys football team.
You as a CEO listen to your people because they’re the expert. Any successful business owner knows this and does this.
One more thing….why hasn’t anyone mentioned what a big flop Aldi is? Because he was a purely data driven purchase by Moncada and they want him to look bad.
This news is all damage control by the media, sponsored by Cardinale, you should know this by now. Here are some facts for you to ponder on:
1. For the past 3 seasons, we have never seen m&m work without moncada and pioli on transfer targets, they always synchronized but all of a sudden now, Maldini was not listening to anyone???
2. Have you noticed we have only heard AC Milan’s version of the story so far? M&M haven’t spoken a word about what happened. The guilty party wants to quickly defend itself. If Maldini speaks the truth on this matter, all important Ac Milan players will leave this summer because they know first hand that Maldini wanted them to be winners again with Milan.
3. Have you also noticed that Milan is suddenly linked to everyone on the transfer market with only 35mil budget to spend? All in a bid to give the fans hope again and douce the tension. Ancellotti was right, such a move is destined for failure.
4. Even if our full team remains in tact, do you realize the psychological damage that has been done to them? Do you think they will still play with same passion as before. Beyond Pioli, they played for Maldini and Ibra. Will they be playing for Moncada now? what business do they have with him?
5. Pioli has never had this much success in his coaching career until Maldini brought him in. Admit it or not, Pioli’s success is highly linked to Maldini’s inputs in his work. They discuss tactics and exchange ideas, I saw that report some time ago. When Pioli came in, #Pioliout# was the reigning hashtag as we all saw him as destined to fail. Only Maldini knew what he saw in him and backed him to succeed. Maldini defended him from the fans then and later from Milan in difficult moments. If Maldini now sees Pirlo as the future/way forward for Milan, he has earned that right as Pirlo could just bring the success we desire. Non of us honestly thought Pioli will bring us this far but he has amazed everyone. Pirlo can certainly take us to the next level under he right guidance afteral, it’s Xavi who just won La Liga again with Barca where Ancellotti’s Madrid was. I can go on and on, but let me stop here for now. #CardinaleOut#
Hahaha!
Agree with Ink too. Jerry is going to start from scratch, bye legends, bye trophies, just burn Mondo Milan from the ground and start all over. He wants only submissive people around him, like Pioli. How lucky are we to get the Elon Musk of football.
Flossonero you also have the profile, you should wear a hat with little bells on it so you can get hired as the official buffoon of Jerry and get a shot at actually eating his dck.
Yea who wants to be owned by an American investor when 42 of the most valuable sports teams in the world are American. I won’t be eating any sick but you’ll likely be eating your words 🙂
42 of top 50**
Lol Flo…you talk as if you were in the meetings…lol
Nobody knows the truth but you can put 2 & 2 together but in your case your getting 22.
Just look at the clues.
Billy Beane with his Moneyball involved. Past interviews with Cardinale saying that money is the most important thing then sporting achievement.
Seeing he messed up and now Gerry is scrambling to get Ibra.
Low summer budget……you can deduce that it’s about maximizing your profits short term rather than sporting achievements. Watch how this plays out.
valuable or successful, how many them are in American sports? How many succeed in Football under Americans? Arsenal? Roma? Man U? Yeah….good try.
Yeah sorry to be rude we’re getting so emotional these days. I can’t imagine how Tonali feels like after growing up a Milan fan, living his dream and now living this nightmare. He was crying last Sunday for Zlatan’s retirement and his eyes are probably still wet now.
I was actually covering US football for years as a reporter in the US so it’s really very different. Closed leagues, same competition every year, fair trades, draft, salary caps, etc. Every team spends the same amounts and share the same revenues. There, it’s mandatory to go after young players and you can find many free agents every offseason. European football is very different, let’s see what happens now.
Exactly. Let’s see what happens. Let’s not assume that because Maldini was arguably the best LB in the world meant he was the best technical director. He had some great signings but he mad more bad ones to be fair. He was given an opportunity to continue with Milan in a slightly different role….he rejected it. Increasing the value of the club can only be good for us. A new stadium and a presence in emerging markets are much loftier ambitions than a single Scudetto.
all the american owners do is profit, but they eliminate the joy. i don’t watch calcio for business and i hope thats not why you watch either but i may be wrong, You seem to write like you think you are one of the sharks on shark tank.. such a big big man you are Mr. Business…
The most valuable football clubs in the world are Man United, Man City, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and PSG. Their massive value comes in tandem with success on the pitch. And that’s the point. New stadium, new fans, more money, more cash for transfers, better players, More trophies.
But by all means let’s get Arnautovic and Berardi instead of Thuram and Pulisic. He’s Maldini so he’s infallible right?
Everyone wants Milan to return to their former glory but lambasts the idea of profitability from their football purists perch. I’m old enough to remember said glory days and at the time Milan were one of the most valuable sporting entities on the planet. You simply cannot have sustained success on the pitch without profitability. I’m not saying it’s a zero sum game but for example, if I had to choose between breaking ground on a new stadium in 2024 and a Scudetto, I’d choose the stadium.
flosso who said anything about Maldini?? not sure where you got that from, pretty sure I didn’t mention him once here but ok.
Also, stop the business lecture, your entire 10+ paragraphs can be summed up in possibly 1 line. it’s not a complex thought…
Also I’m not a trophies by any means type of guy, shouldn’t have assumed that. That’s where your argument falls apart with me. A lot of people here think that way but not my style.
Some people are never happy and that’s all this proves. Chelsea spent 600m in transfers and finished in the bottom half of the table. So there is no telling what will happen until we allow things to play out. Problems with a data driven model? What do you call buying a player based on past performances if not a data driven model? Already the targets being mentioned are better than those Maldini had been eyeing. I remember the #elliotout and #pioliout folks saying the same things….then we won a Scudetto and went to UCL semi final in consecutive seasons.
Low summer budget not counting sales, which maybe we will finally do. Imagine what we might have done with the ~130m we missed in sales from 21-22 thanks to the master Maldini. Our awful period was from an owner who spent recklessly to try to win and yet that’s what it seems people prefer to the current model that has brought us success on and off the field. Baffling.
What did Napoli do last summer? Sold their “best” defender for a hefty sum and went out and bought Kvara, and Min Jae (who nobody has every heard of) and then won a Scudetto with them as immovable starters. For a lower net spend than us they got 4 excellent players, Simeone and Raspadori in addition to those I previously mentioned, and won the league running away.
Which reminds me remember when Kaladze brought the idea of Kvara to Maldini and Massara and they didn’t want to spend the 20m on him? 👀
@Flossonero, the €130 million euros from sales of those stars would have gone I to the owners pockets or cancelation of Milan’s debts. Let’s not deceive ourselves about that at all.. UCL just brought us €120 million, by your logic, imagine what we can achieve with this amount in this window? Where is the money now? Only €35 million given to the club for transfers, what happened to the balance? Can you explain to us?
Yes, we’re in very uncertain times. Who knows what saying the wrong thing will get you now. Data can absolutely help but we still need Milan quality players and that kind of attribute cannot be calculated by a computer. As an example, under Berlusconi, he used to demand players stay clean shaven, wear suits, etc. I know a lot of that is gone in all of football but it’s an example of the standards that you can not use data to uphold.
How does data work when the exact same players can perform completely differently in different situations?
Even Messi struggled to adapt from Barca to PSG. My completely unprovable theory is that Messi would not have reached the heights he reached had he changed clubs.
How does data tell you if a player will perform at the same level for their new club?
One obvious place to use data is for youth players but data didn’t much for Cutrone who had scored at every level including for the senior team.
I think this data malarkey will just be used as a further excuse to keep the churn going adding to the thousands of transfers every few months.
Agents will do well. Football not so much.
Flo is clueless everyone. Yeah by all means let’s get Pusilc who scored 26 goals in over 133 matches while Berardi scored that in one year.
But, but Pusilic is young.
“But, but Pusilic is young.”
Yep. That will be the main factor. Unfortunately. You cannot win championships with ONLY 20-something players.
Pulisic plays for USA as well, therefore we go for “marketing oportunities” in the States, screw vicotries and tittles! 🙁
Pulisic is a much better RW than what we have now. However I think talks of hiring him are wishful thinking or obfuscation. We can’t afford him.
Why cant I reply to Ink ????
Baresi is of course completely right.
Someone wrote that we should be happy a stadium will be breaking ground soon. I don’t know if anyone remembers but this stadium conversation its been going on for more than a while know. Sure let’s wait 10 more years with Milan in purgatory and hope the best. Also idk if anyone has noticed but Milan started to be relevant again when Ibra and Maldini came to the scene. Team spirit and chemistry were revitalized and group found what they were missing before: a guide. Sure analytics can find you “some” good players gut if they’re missing a reference point, they will run in circles. Time will tell, but I am not optimistic.
I hope that a new station is indeed coming, this time. The owners do seem to want it more than previous owners. And I think Ibra must be brought in to be a motivator for players. He is taking a sabbatical, I hope he does accept a role and gets back in some capacity (of course not as a player, he won’t be cancelling his retirement from the field, but we need him to keep the group spirit you’ve mentioned.
Oops, not station; stadium
In the last 4 years, all the young players we signed (the good, the flop, current core, and those who already left) was based on Moncada’s recommendations. He based his scouting on data but he also make interviews to understand the human aspect. Adding moneyball data will only enrich his data but he won’t neglect the human aspect.
So I’m not worried about this data vs human aspect. What I’m worried about losing Maldini is we lose his ability to attract players, stabilizing the team, and linking the team to upper management.
careful baresi, for today’s fans and players.. you arent the man Maldini is. for oldies maybe, but not for current and next gen. careful legend
The best thing for ac milan was for everyone to continue together, there was no need to fire anyone, not maldini and massara, not pioli, not anyone, we had the momentum, the other top teams in serie a had uncertainities in their technical structures, inter who are stable in that area are struggling with FFP and uncertainities with ownership, we had built a core, we had recorded a first positive balance sheet in a very long time, the fans were now excited, full stadium almost every time, why couldnt we just continue, that was the best for ac milan, anything else is a downgrade, thats why we are now wasting time trying to explain decisions and push negative speculations against someone who is quiet, someone who has always been quiet when he wasnt at the club
“I welcome innovation, especially if they can help us make fewer mistakes and gather more information”
Expresses concern? I interpret it the opposite way here.