AC Milan's crisis period is a puzzle for the fans and the media unleashed a lot of criticism to the management, players and coach. The director, Paolo Maldini, was far from safe from the criticism.
In fact, Italian journalist of Il Corriere dello Sport, Alessandro Giudice spoke about the team's moment to Calciomercato.it and said the following words:
"Milan is the club that has spent the most in the summer transfer market. There isn't a player in the summer market who has convinced Pioli to give him the starting shirt, at a time when things aren't going very well and therefore he is usually more inclined to change. I'm not saying that the campaign can be branded as a failure, but Milan couldn't count on the contribution of the summer transfer market at the crucial moment. Cardinale turned off the taps? He didn't close anything."
On Maldini and the management of the club:
"Milan's problem is organisational, not individual skills. Milan grew up with an organisational method. By respecting rules, for example by not submitting to agents consistently and with some success, but also by selecting investments based on new systems. They were the first to have organised scouting among the big Italian clubs. The first with investments based on the criteria of an investment committee. There has been great enhancement of the players. Replacing this criterion with one with absolute powers in the technical area is a mistake that Milan are paying dearly for. Ex-footballers shouldn't be directors. It is no guarantee that you are a good director. The footballer must learn that when he leaves the field he starts from scratch and must learn. Maldini's choice denotes ingenuity and a lack of malice that leaves you stunned. No director asks for absolute autonomy. Changing the mechanism is senseless and denotes a lack of knowledge of the job and the role of the director. Milan granted it to Maldini and Massara, at the end of the championship there will be a review. I find Milan's path positive, I find it wrong to attribute everything to just one person. Several people and various choices were involved. It's not belittling or denigrating Maldini. Replacing a team-based method with a person-based one is a dangerous thing. The results so far have not paid off."
Milan must behave in every mercato period like Milan. Not like Empoli or Udinese, afraid to make big offers. You still have the most international trophies in Italy, won because in those years you showed strength in the mercato. Offered players were like taken. Today, obscure clubs from England compete for some players, which did not happen during the period I am talking about. Return to Milan’s bargaining and bidding force, fear no more! Whoever thinks that he came to a small club to make it bigger is wrong! It’s a big club that wants to be bigger! Treat Milan like Milan! Because we are Milan, not Torino or Sampdoria!
You are absolutely correct!