When Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara exits were made official, many argued that the AC Milan's new era with Gerry Cardinale has finally started. Now, CEO Giorgio Furlani has been appointed as the reference for market strategies, working together with chief of scouts Geoffrey Moncada and Stefano Pioli. The head coach now has a new role, he is more of a manager, just like how most Premier League clubs operate.
As highlighted this morning by Corriere dello Sport, a completely unprecedented role is emerging for Pioli in this transfer window, one that is more common beyond the English Channel, in England: the "Manager."
In other words, Pioli can now have more influence and power in the transfer market business. He can actively participate in the club's strategies regarding buying and selling players. It is a significant appointment by Gerry Cardinale, who has always given maximum support to Pioli and now attempts to tie him even more closely to the Rossoneri bench, a position the coach is already very attached to: after all, he is already the eighth coach in Milan's history in terms of the number of appearances.
Pioli, for his part, doesn't just intend to be a figurehead but aims to ensure that his choices carry weight, as is right for the new role assigned to him. It's not a coincidence that he's already making moves with some phone calls: he called N'Dicka to try to convince him, even though the defender seems destined for AS Roma, and according to La Gazzetta Dello Sport today, he also made a phone call to Marcus Thuram; it remains to be seen if he will have better luck with the French centre-forward, son of Lilian Thuram.
What matters is that Pioli has already embraced his new role. Furthermore, the Rossoneri coach currently remains the only real figure acting as a mediator between the club and the team, a task that Maldini and Massara previously carried out.
In this sense, it would be interesting to see if a figure of this kind, tailored to the role, could be found, as was the case with Abbiati in the past: the name Zlatan Ibrahimovic immediately comes to mind, but the Swede will decide on his future after the summer.
While the city rivals, Inter, are gearing up for the Champions League final against Manchester City (You can check match statistics and any football results on Fast Score), Pioli has little time for rest and vacation. With his new unprecedented role, he is surely thinking of the best moves to make his team competitive in the league and also in the elite European competition next season.
