After yet another series of protests by Milan fans, Jerry Cardinale, owner of Red Bird and AC Milan, has given a lengthy interview to "La Gazzetta dello Sport" and "Corriere della Sera". In four years, Cardinale has never spoken openly to journalists, but has granted a few interviews to Italian newspapers when he saw fit. Four years, one Italian Super Cup won – a mere drop in the ocean for a glorious club like Milan. So many poor results: from finishing eighth in the table last year to being outclassed by rivals Inter in recent years.
“Gerry Cardinale’s interview seems like the ‘classic attempt to put out a fire’,” says our contributor Matthew Santangelo, co-founder of 'That Milan Podcast' and writer for Football Italia. Ahmad El Mir, a graphic designer at MilanReports, shares this view, and he adding: ‘The interview is a way of saying that it’s not my fault’
A harsher and more blunt view comes from our deputy editor of the Arabic edition, Sultan, who criticises Cardinale for having only financial interests, aimed at enriching the fund and its partners. For Sultan, a television journalist with Kuwait Television, Cardinale’s statements have always been contradictory and detrimental to Milan’s history. “He didn’t even remember that Milan was the second most successful club after Real Madrid,” Sultan added.
Among the many contradictory statements made by Gerry Cardinale – which my colleagues have analysed and with which I can say I agree almost entirely – I believe that, in this period of humiliation for both the football team and the club, we cannot afford to shift our focus to a rival club like Inter, which has humiliated Milan in recent years. To refer to Inter by claiming that the aim should not be to lose finals 5–0 is to show a complete lack of understanding of what has happened in recent years. Inter have won two Serie A titles in the last three years (one of which at San Siro, celebrating right in front of Milan), and reached a Champions League final. Since Maldini's departure, Inter have amassed 55 more points. A clear result that shows just how far apart the two clubs are. Inter keep all their star players and win; Milan sell them off for the owners’ financial interests
Some mild approval from Chicago, according to our editor Connor Nolan, who reckons Cardinale hasn’t done too badly: “I’m pleased to see the owners spending so much money every year. RedBird invests heavily but often makes the wrong signings. That’s why we need better management. Furlani? Not suited to this role"
Also from Chicago, our editor Miguel Agyei takes a harsher view: "Cardinale and Furlani have failed in their four years. We need to go back to the model that worked, the one with Maldini. We’re pleased the club is in a healthy financial position, but what’s the point if we can’t compete?"
Milan has spent a lot, especially in the last year, just as Nolan claims. However, it did so at no cost, as reported by Transfermarkt. In fact, it took in a lot of money, more than it spent.
‘Ever since Maldini was sacked, it’s been a disaster. Everyone has failed; we need true Milan fans at the helm’ – this is the brief comment from Javier Posada, an American editor at Milanreports.
‘The interview seems like an attempt to limit the damage or shift the blame. When leadership lacks accountability, failure is usually the result,’ concluded Paco Alonzo, a correspondent for MilanReports during the club’s recent tour of America, with a philosophical remark.
Speaking of another corporate restructuring at the end of the year – which is what one gathers from Cardinale’s words (we shall see if they are backed up by action) – the owner of RedBird concluded his interview with "La Gazzetta dello Sport" by stating: “I need to surround myself with leading Italian figures”. It was perhaps the worst way to end the interview with a highly contradictory statement: Milan had a truly great figure, a figurehead for the Rossoneri fans who was delivering results, and that was Paolo Maldini, who, once again due to internal disputes, was unceremoniously shown the door. Unfortunately, no one seems to really care about Milan, and the fans have realised this.
