The new owner of AC Milan, Gerry Cardinale, have serious plans for the future of the club and ambitious plans to continue the rise back to being among Europe’s elite.
Calciomercato.com reports that after four years of Elliott Management’s ownership where the vision was about improvement in the balance sheets through cost containment and targeted investments, things might change.
Investments: There is talk of ambitious sporting plans, and four things are key to this. It starts with becoming stronger on the field by improving the team that deservedly won the Scudetto. There are two priorities: reinforcing the right wing and look for a reliable goal scorer, for physical and technical reasons.
For someone like Dusan Vlahovic, for example, RedBird might have decided it was worth breaking their usual policy because the investment would have paid off over time.
Milan must become stronger off the field too, and it is important that the club have a strong figurehead to send in front of the Lega, the Federazione and UEFA, someone who speaks Italian and knows the mechanisms of Italian football.
New stadium: The passion of the Milan fans in the derby win over Inter struck a cord with Cardinale and he will certainly endorse the project for a new stadium – one no longer shared with Inter and which will become the real home of Milan.
It is possible that he will not settle for a stadium with a capacity of 60-65k either as previously pitched, but rather one of 80k or more like San Siro, because very few modern stadiums are built smaller than their predecessors.
Youth sector: The growth of young players will remain important. Calabria and Tonali cannot remain the only Italian representation in the team, because of squad list rules too. Producing the likes of Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta, Galli and Evani might not happen again, but it should produce talent ready for the first team.
The voice: The fourth point refers to the importance of Cardinale being present to speak to the team in important moments, with the charisma and passion that he wishes to transmit. It is true that Cardinale does not live in Italy and does not speak Italian, but his greater closeness to the players can only help.
The passion of Berlusconi and Galliani will remain unique, but between their presence at Milanello and San Siro shows just how important a close-knit environment is.
