GdS: Scaroni, Furlani, Maldini and Baresi – Milan DNA at the heart of the project

By Oliver Fisher -

The current AC Milan leadership is filled with people who have been fans of the club and care deeply about its future, a report claims.

La Gazzetta dello Sport note how Franco Baresi is the honorary vice president and Paolo Maldini is the technical director, two former captains of the Rossoneri who are considered icons of the club, but it does not stop there.

Club president Paolo Scaroni and the new CEO Giorgio Furlani have been Milan fans their entire lives, meaning that the club are well represented by people who experience all the sensations just as fans do.

Right at the top there is Gerry Cardinale who is the (relatively) new owner of the club, and was pictured among thousands of fans at the Scudetto party in May as the leading man of RedBird Capital. Meanwhile there is also Gordon Singer – an Elliott Management director who was confirmed as a member of the board even after the transfer of ownership to RedBird – who has often been spotted in the stands.

Having the Baresi-Maldini pair at work off the field after their countless years on the pitch is a luxury that not many other clubs can boast. They raised two Champions League trophies each and made history with the Rossoneri, seeing the red and black shirt as a second skin.

In Nyon, when the round of 16 draw paired Milan with Tottenham, Baresi said: “We have to respect them but be ambitious, Europe is in our DNA.” The first leg of the tie on February 14 could be huge in the course of the season.

Maldini got back into the game when Elliott called him in 2018 to entrust him with a role he had never held in his career. After a season as director of strategic development, alongside Leonardo, he became director along with Ricky Massara (and between 2019 and 2020 also with the former CFO Zvone Boban).

The Scudetto followed last may, one built around the intuitions of him and the management to sign Theo, Ibra, Maignan, Tonali, Giroud and others. He provides an example for all players to follow and his constant presence at Milanello also serve to mentor those who can become the next greats.

Scaroni became the 24th president five years ago and the cover of his smartphone has a miniature shirt with the number 1 and the writing ‘Presidente’ on. His bond with Milan precedes the appointment, though.

“When I met Berlusconi in the mid-1980s, I told him that my son and I were Milan fans and the next day we got 100,000 lire in Rossoneri shares,” he said.

Then there is Furlani, who was born in 1979 in Milano and has been a Rossoneri supporter since he was a boy, cheering the team on at San Siro and never missing the game. To watch the 2007 Champions League final against Liverpool, he shared the experience with a Brazilian and a Portuguese in front of the only TV available in the Chilean desert.

A few months ago, Furlani took over from Ivan Gazidis as CEO, which saw him left London and returned to Milan with his family. After the defeat against Sassuolo he met with Maldini and Massara at San Siro to discuss the defeat, because such bad results are simply felt more when you are a fan of the club.

Tags AC Milan Giorgio Furlani Paolo Maldini Paolo Scaroni Ricky Massara

3 Comments

      1. must have missed that phrasing at the top when i read the article at first but you are absolutely correct there adrian so my bad.

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