Former AC Milan technical director Umberto Gandini has granted an exclusive interview to Milannews.it, where he has spoken about the Rossoneri's season and many other topics. Here are his statements:
On whether he was expecting Milan's season to be of this caliber:
“I was not expecting it even if evidently last season's growing final made us think. I didn't expect it not because I didn't have faith in the structure of the team or the company but because I thought they were a little behind in building a team that could compete at these levels. What pleased me most is the fact that the Pioli effect continued, which contributed to the growth of a cohesive and united team group, around the coach and Ibrahimovic. The team became aware and won important matches. They have stood up to titled formations for a long period of the championship and are in an enviable position."
On Maldini:
“He started a journey with Leonardo a few years ago and returned to football after many years, in another role. He took those steps forward that helped him to share his qualities which, up to that moment, he had not yet had the opportunity to demonstrate. These qualities, in my humble opinion, have been excellently complemented and supported by the work of Ricky Massara, a highly trained and competent manager."
On the financial fairplay being set aside:
“I would wait to say that the financial Fairplay structure has been set aside because, so far, only a few press rumors have arrived from the last Uefa matches. Until now, financial fairplay has had the important result of reducing the debt of the system by 90-95% which, when it was launched, was really heavy. It then had a distorting effect, which in my opinion was predictable, of crystallizing positions. By entering into a break-even logic and to 'spend only what you generate', obviously those who had the largest turnover continued to dominate from a sporting point of view and widen the gap. The end result is that you have removed the possibility of growth for those companies that, by changing ownership or management, they could become competitive and it crystallized the position of the usual suspects who got bigger. This effect was seen almost immediately and has not been able, over the years, to reduce it. With Rummenigge we had tried a small reform to help the historic clubs to make a comeback but basically the basic rules of financial fairplay were in force until the arrival of the pandemic which, inevitably, changed the cards on the table."
On the new San Siro:
“I absolutely agree with it because the story says that such a system can work and current technology allows, in a few seconds, that a system can change its facade in a few seconds. It was a project that at the time of Moratti's presidency we had evaluated together, that is a modernization of the San Siro that we then failed to realize for a number of reasons. A new stadium is extremely important not only for the economic and sporting growth of the two clubs but above all for the growth of the Italian football system. A new system, new experiences and the possibility of a new entertainment for today's audience, which has changed, [it] is fundamental."
On Yougov's recent study defining AC Milan as the strongest Italian sports brand in the Chinese and American market:
“In the meantime, I am not surprised because the work done both on and off the pitch that I know and of which I was a part has taken root over time. It is a confirmation of how important the Milan brand is in the world. It is fair to remember that it has had difficulties in recent years and thanks to the competitiveness found in recent months it has managed to make a comeback. It is clear that it is a similar discourse to the question of whether the chicken or the egg was born first, the Milan example demonstrates that sporting success is fundamental for the commercial value of the brand".
