If he still didn’t understand, he did it Giorgio Furlani to clearly clarify how unique and central the position of is Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Milan of the present and the future. “Don’t ask me technical questions, you have to ask Zlatan those” is the standard response from the man who, organization chart in hand, is still the CEO of Milan, the tip of a working group redesigned by Gerry Cardinale during the hours of dismissal of Paolo Maldini with the instruction for everyone to report directly to the highest ranking manager. That is Furlani himself.
An organizational chart in which Zlatan does not appear given that his return to the AC Milan world took place outside the rooms in Via Aldo Rossi, with a role of senior advisor of the RedBird property. The reality is different and emerged in the folds of many situations in the second part of the season, until the veil was finally torn. Ibrahimovic is and will be Milan, he will be responsible for all the sporting operational choices that will shape the next project starting with the decision on Stefano Pioli’s fate.
Gerry Cardinale had anticipated this by officially presenting him at the beginning of March in London, at a round table organized by the Financial Times: “He is my proxy in Milan, he has the authority to be my voice with the players, with the technical staff and at Casa Milan “. In other words, I gave him the keys to the company and the others must adapt even if they make use of their respective skills given that the former Swedish striker lacks the part of know-how linked to the economic management of the company which is central to the made in fund USA.
The question remains why such an investiture was not directly accompanied by the certification of a role within the club. In fact, Milan is in the hands of an external consultant and this represents an anomaly that leaves room for the most mischievous interpretations, for example Cardinale’s need not to at least formally affect the balance of internal management. Details, not urgencies. Those refer to what Ibrahimovic will do with Milan next season, what margin of maneuver he will have in convincing Cardinale to invest a little more money than in the past and what his orientations are on the bench.
Pioli’s position is linked to the results of the last stretch of the season. Even if it goes well, Zlatan will have to use all his charisma to make part of the Milan world digest the possible confirmation of a coach who, despite the 2022 scudetto and the Champions League semi-final, is still considered not a top player. And who has been at Milanello since the autumn of 2019. Should he decide for a divorce, Ibrahimovic will find himself at the crossroads. A ‘weak’ name will make it perceived as aligned with Cardinale’s minimalist strategies (another delicate issue for those who dream of a Milan quickly at the top), the arrival of Antonio Conte or similar, however, will be a sort of personal all-in and group.
The recent history of the Rossoneri says that the great former players thrown into the front row in managing the transfer market struggled at the beginning, making quite a few mistakes. Zlatan will have to prove himself different in this too because, now that the accounts have been remedied, Milan are called upon to move up a level and from next summer return to truly fighting for the Scudetto. Another year at a sidereal distance from the top could not be accepted, even more so if it bore the signature of the man who is used to always winning.
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