AC Milan’s project has taken two big steps forward in the year of 2022 as two major objectives were ticked off, according to a report.
MilanNews writes that Milan fans will look back upon 2022 with a feeling of immense fondness given that the Scudetto was captured on the last day of last season, beating rivals Inter to be crowned champions, and on Wednesday night the Rossoneri secured a return to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
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There is more than that to celebrate though such as the renewal of Paolo Maldini and other cornerstones of the Rossoneri project, such as head coach Stefano Pioli who recently penned an extension until 2025.
A league title won after an 11-year wait after an exciting head-to-head battle against Inter brought an atmosphere to San Siro that hasn’t been seen for over a decade. The taste of the great Champions League nights is back, and with more to come in the last 16.
Then there is the growth of young talents such as Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez, Sandro Tonali and Pierre Kalulu without forgetting the crucial contributions of the more experienced players who have become fan favourites like Simon Kjaer, Olivier Giroud, Mike Maignan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
In each year since Stefano Pioli arrived the squad have managed to raise the bar, overcoming predictions from ‘experts’ and obstacles such as injury crises and the Covid pandemic.
We must also mention the improvement in the club’s prospects off the field, given that the accounts are now in a much healthier state given the increase in revenues, cost containment, wiser investments and more partnerships and sponsorships.
Is this the end? Far from it, and when it comes to ambition, it is impossible not to mention Paolo Maldini, who has always been convinced of the real strength of this team.
“We started 4 years ago, this is the year in which we have to tighten. We want to be protagonists in Italy to return then to have the European dimension that has always belonged to Milan. It is not easy because we are still far off from an economic point of view. I believe that Milan will be a dark horse among the runners-up. We must be ambitious, we are happy. talk something serious,” he said.
