Journalist Antonio Vitiello has heavily criticised the AC Milan ownership and management for ‘destroying’ five years of building work.
Milan are heading for a very forgettable 2024-25 campaign. They currently sit ninth in the league table and were eliminated in the Champions League play-off round by Feyenoord, meaning the Supercoppa Italiana win out in Saudi Arabia feels like a distant memory.
It will be the first year in five that the Rossoneri are not in the Champions League, barring a miracle in the last couple of months of the season. This should lead to some major restructuring in the management (new sporting director and head coach) and some big changes in the squad too.
Vitiello spoke in his weekly column for MilanNews about the current state of affairs at Milan, and – in addition to imploring Milan to go for Antonio Conte – he took aim at the hierarchy.
“In one year, everything that Milan had laboriously built in the previous five years has been destroyed. The 2024-25 season leaves behind only rubble after terrible management at every level and sector of the club,” he said.
“The wrong choices of the coaches, an expensive market that has not brought results, daily situations bordering on the amateurish. But fortunately this horrible year is about to end and we will have to start again by reorganising the club.
“Milan must be entrusted to competent people, this year’s mistake must serve as a lesson, because it is humiliating to see this team in ninth place in the standings and every game collecting bad figures.
“It is still inexplicable how RedBird could think of making Milan work by leaving it in the hands of inexperienced managers (and we add also presumptuous), with an American model that is not applicable in Italy.”
That’s a great, new and helpful perspective that absolutely nobody has considered before.
Please hire someone good, gasp or Vincenzo
It is crazy to think that Inter went through bankruptcy just in the summer but are stronger than ever. For me, that shows the difference in approach and competence. Oaktree chose not to mess with the winning formula and let the club continue to do what it was already doing well. For us, Red Bird came and tried to put their stamp on things by dismantling the hard work that was done by Maldini and Massara with little to no money.
This is a testament to how bad management can destroy a club, no matter how much money you spend on players.
It is definitely an interesting juxtaposition. Supposedly, Oaktree is not interested in running Inter in the long, or even medium term, while Redbird is supposedly in it at least until the new stadium is up and running (which would be a good 5-6 years from now). In other words, Oaktree greatly benefits from not rocking the boat, because it wants to turn the property around quickly, while Redbird has longer terms interests and thus needs to take a more active management in the club. Of course, none of this has anything do to with how well it’s all executed.
Oaktree are doing what Elliott did. They understand they know nothing about the world of football and hired competent and impactful people who know the environment and breathe these colors.
Gerry is driven by an overblown ego and narcissistic disorder. This club is a hostage of his complexes.
But I’m glad it backfired. Took them long enough. And 250 millions down the drain.
It’s not crazy at all when you consider that inter is run by Marotta – a veteran in the field. And Milan is run by incompetent clowns.
Hence the results.
But Elliott used the ‘American Model’ and built a scudetto winner that was also profitable…
Elliott hired the right people and treated AC Milan with the respect it deserved. They started with CEO Ivan Gazidis, one of the most experienced executives in the football world. They brought in Leonardo, who had a solid background as both a coach and a technical director. Then came club legend Paolo Maldini, who was key in convincing young talent to believe in the Milan project and served as a respected figure in the sporting direction. They also brought in Boban, someone with real authority in the game, having held a top role at FIFA.
Now look at the clown show under Cardinale. He appointed Furlani, a portfolio manager with zero football knowledge or experience, as CEO of one of football’s most historic clubs. He promoted Moncada, a scout with no tactical understanding or technical qualifications, to the role of sporting director. Then he gave Zlatan Ibrahimović — a player known for his ego, lack of loyalty, and never being a true leader — some vague executive position that no one really understands.
To make things worse, the clown hired two foreign coaches in a league where they rarely succeed. Fonseca, who already failed miserably with Roma over two forgettable seasons, and Conceição, who has no experience in a top-five league. On top of that, most of the players they brought in are foreigners who lack the tactical discipline and experience needed to play in Serie A, completely destroying the identity and tradition of the team.
There’s a massive difference between the serious, structured project that Elliott built and the chaotic mess Cardinale is running now
Elliott understood they know nothing about the world of football and hired competent and impactful people who know the game, the environment and breathe these colors.
Gerry is driven by an overblown ego and narcissistic disorder. This club is a hostage of his complexes.
He thought he’ll teach European and Italian football something new with his cowboy ways of doing business. But I’m glad it backfired. Took them long enough. And 250 millions down the drain. And it’ll get even worse before it gets better. So buckle up and grab yourself some 🍿
I think this is the key… Elliott were aware that they knew nothing about European football and so they let people who know all about it do the work. When you think about it, it is actually quite simple. If you dont know something, just hire people who do. But ego is a funny and self-destructive thing. Red Bird had the opportunity to take the club to the next level, building on Elliott’s work and taking credit for it. Instead they chose to go down the ego path with the god complex. Such a shame…
Elliott hired capable people and let them run the club. Look at the people RedTurd has been hiring, including the coaches and the foreign players. What do they even know about football, let alone Italian football? A bunch of foreigners just walk into the league and succeed? Seriously?
It’s important to remember that many fans, including many on here supported and actively demanded these things.
The ultras turned on Pioli, demanded transfers, expressed great satisfaction when there were lots and lots and lots and lots of transfers, showed zero loyalty to the directors, manager, and players had brought them success.
Many of those sentiments were echoed on here.
The club captain was openly mocked for years. Fans showed more loyalty to random new signings than players who had been at the club for years and delivered success.
The fact of the matter is that the media, owners, and fans are more interested in the sport of the transfer market than the sport of football.
They spend more time before, during and after games speculating and gossiping about who to sign and sell than actually watching and discussing the game.
The fans are as responsible as the owners. And they have gotten what they deserve.
ACM’s root problem isn’t Americans, but a particular American – the indigent and inept Redbird and its bespoke business model designed to make money for the owner but not deliver success on the pitch for the fans. Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter, to name a few European clubs, are all owned by Americans and enjoying success.
A 7-time CL winner, ACM should be doing far better than languishing in a mid-table spot in Serie A and struggling to even qualify for a Europa Conference League place next season. Without an ambitious new owner that has truly deep pockets and genuine football expertise, our once-great club will remain mired in mediocrity for many more years.