Gerry Cardinale continues to back up his words with actions, as the AC Milan owner was present for a mercato summit on Thursday and Friday.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, Cardinale slept at Milanello on Thursday night, just like Silvio Berlusconi has previously. The most successful president in AC Milan’s history used to rest for a few hours during his visits in the room reserved for him.
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He even spent a night there, on the eve of a Champions League match. Cardinale followed Berlusconi’s example and last night, instead of staying at the luxury hotel in downtown Milan he’s used in the past during his visits to Italy, he stayed at the training ground.
The aim was clear: to continue his full immersion into the Milan world, and also to ensure that not a minute is wasted when it comes to planning for the future under Ruben Amorim.
A night at the office
Cardinale arrived in Italy from Los Angeles on Thursday morning and immediately headed to Milanello. He entered the gate a few minutes after 09:00, when the players had already had breakfast and were in the dressing room preparing for the morning session.
The American watched from the sidelines. Afterward, he greeted the players and then had lunch with Amorim, with whom he had a transfer market meeting. The focus was on upcoming incoming moves (attacking midfielder the priority, then another centre-back), as well as outgoing negotiations.
The meeting was also attended by Hendrik Almstadt, Bobby Gardiner, Jovan Kirovski and Donato Lomonte, all of whom now make up the management. Ruben Amorim left Milanello shortly before 14:00, along with almost all the players.
Cardinale, however, didn’t leave. He stayed all afternoon, making phone calls and chatting with his managers. Then dinner and some TV time, before sleeping in the room reserved for the club’s owner.
Why did he do it? He wanted to be at Milanello this morning, when the players were supposed to arrive for breakfast by 08:30. He bumped into some of them and spoke again with Amorim, whom he’d arranged to meet in August.
The RedBird boss won’t be joining the team on tour in Australia and Indonesia, but he will remain in constant contact with the Portuguese coach as usual. Cardinale left Milanello while the team was on the training pitch. This time, he did so by car, not the helicopter he’d used on July 13th.
Cardinale’s passion and involvement in Milan’s affairs have certainly grown exponentially since May 25th. He’s changed a lot in two months, and at this rate, he’ll change even more in the coming weeks. He wants to win and will do everything to achieve it.
Fake Berlusconi 😆
“Cardinale mirrors Berlusconi again”…ridiculous article honestly. Stop with the comparisons already. He can mirror Berlusconi all he wants; unlike him Berlusconi knew a thing or two about football and unlike him, Berlusconi brought champions. Period.
It’s a different time, Jimi. But you seem to be stuck in the 90’s. Gerry’s incompetence notwithstanding, the Italians you love and adore have done jack sh*t to market and modernize the league so that it’s more attractive to investments from the outside, which would of course improve the income for the clubs and allow them to spend like Berlusconi used to…
Give him a break, he have done everything right this window also broken Berlusconi’s transfer record by quite a bit. I love Berlusconi and what he could do without FFP. But he had to sell the club for this reason and was unable to compete with the regulations.
Signing another center-back is no more important than a new LWB and/or a RWB, if anything, it’s the other way around, the wing-backs are of a slightly greater importance since we have already bought Gila and fixing that department further more isn’t such an urgent issue right now which (OC) doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be improved given the chance…
*improved = upgraded
Unlike him, Silvio Berlusconi was a born and bred Milanese, “The Knight” had invested heavily right from the acqusition, he had never faked a photo to make people think he was at the celebration of the “scudetto” while he wasn’t and it sure as hell had never ocurred to him to sack (or in any other way humilliate) Cesare or Paolo Maldini, Rivera
or Baresi. This buffoon here is clearly an imitator (and an unsuccessful one), he still doesn’t know a thing about Milan’s history which we know from his own confession, he is a disgrace to our name.
Forza Cardinale.
Berlusconi v Jery = van Basten v Fullkrug