Scaroni clarifies Pioli’s future and insists Cardinale is ‘really passionate’ about Milan

By Oliver Fisher -

President Paolo Scaroni believes that Gerry Cardinale will show the passion he has for AC Milan, while he also defended Stefano Pioli from criticism.

Scaroni spoke during an event at Milan Club New York about a number of topics related to Milan from the objectives for the current season to the future including the stadium project, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“Let’s start from the fact that reaching the quarter-finals in the Champions League is objectively a great success, also considering that it hasn’t happened to us for a long time,” Scaroni said.

“I consider it one of the two goals for the season, the other being of course that of qualifying for the Champions League for next year, we hope to be able to get the second one as well.”

It has not been a good season domestically for Milan at all as they are 23 points behind leaders Napoli in Serie A, they suffered elimination in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia at the hands of Torino and they lost 3-0 to rivals Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana.

Pioli has come under pressure as he has been accused of not helping the team get out of their various struggles with his tactical approach and for failing to motivate a team that seem less focused compared to last season.

“We’re on the right path, our trust in Pioli is intact, we’re convinced that he’s the right coach to lead us to qualification for the Champions League for next season. Anything more that comes is certainly welcome,” Scaroni added.

“I have been a member of the board of directors since Yonghong Li’s ownership and Milan have made great strides in recent years. From all points of view, things are going well, I often stop to talk about ‘money’, even if in sport the results on the field naturally count, but I have to say that Milan’s balance also reassures us for the future.”

It is now well known that Milan intend to build their own new stadium to try and bridge the gap with the elite European sides who generate at least double the revenue that the Rossoneri do, and Scaroni stressed the importance of the project.

“It is certainly an important topic because a modern and efficient stadium can allow for an increase in revenues. But that’s not all. I am convinced that stadiums must be new, beautiful, well lit and full because this is the only way they are good for televisions and televisions are at the centre of our income.

“We have been fighting for years to give Milan a new stadium. Gerry Cardinale and I met with the Mayor of Milan Sala last Thursday. We are fully exploring La Maura’s hypothesis for see if it is the option to focus on, we still give ourselves a couple of weeks of analysis, since these things are complicated. We must see if La Maura is really the right solution, if it is not, we will look for others that may be out of the ordinary from Milan.”

Finally, Scaroni added some words on Cardinale: “He enjoys himself, he has become a true fan. Then of course he sees everything, as it should be, even from a business point of view. In the end he invests and this money must find a fair return.

“It seems to me that he is really passionate about Milan, maybe a little less when we play games like the one against Udinese before the break, but that happens to me too.”

Tags AC Milan Paolo Scaroni

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