After an entire summer during which Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke alongside the new signings, yesterday it was CEO Giorgio Furlani who sat next to Tammy Abraham, presented in the conference room of Casa Milan.
He filled in for the Swede, who is still out of town for "a commitment made long before joining Milan." The Rossoneri executive, after a turbulent start to the season with mixed results, Fonseca struggling, and the Theo-Leao case, tried to play the peacemaker by calming the various controversies, as pointed out this morning by Corriere della Sera.
Furlani confirms confidence in Paulo Fonseca
Questions for Furlani during the conference were inevitable, and it was impossible not to address the poor start to the season: Milan has only obtained two points in three matches and has yet to find a victory, conceding six goals (two per game) and showing an even shakier defence than last season under Pioli. The CEO preached calm: "We would have liked to have 9 points, of course, but there’s no panic. I wouldn’t talk about important matches or anything like that. We are satisfied with the work the coach has done in preparation, we are with him, and the team is with him as well."
Complete confidence in the work of the Portuguese coach, regardless of the upcoming trio of matches against Venezia, Liverpool, and Inter. Furlani stated that the club is satisfied with the work Fonseca did over the summer and reiterated that the only way to get through this moment is by working together.
Furlani had to address the Theo Hernandez - Rafael Leao situation, obviously...
Another major topic on which Furlani was inevitably questioned concerned the incident between Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao during the cooling break in Rome against Lazio.
Again, the Rossoneri executive immediately downplayed the controversy, emphasizing the exaggeration of an incident that neither the club nor the team thought would escalate to such proportions. Furlani said: "There has been a lot of talk, perhaps too much. We executives and even the players themselves were surprised by the reaction that followed. For us, it is a non-issue."
Regardless of how it went, it is clear that, in general, both Theo and Leao will need to be brought back to their best after the break, as they have the strength to be decisive within this team. For the Frenchman, there is also the additional issue of his contract renewal: the management will need to skillfully maintain balance with his entourage in what promises to be a delicate negotiation.
Theo's demand to stay in Milan is reportedly 8 million euros. There will be time for this in the coming weeks.
