Honestly, I don’t even really want to waste time on this stuff anymore. Writing about this Milan is a continuous suffering, because as fans, first of all we suffer to see this massacre every week but, above all, personally, I feel helpless in the face of this ownership which forces us to follow its own rules which are constantly, laconically and obviously losers. The Elliott/Furlani cycle brought this team a miraculous championship and a series of sporting humiliations that rarely have a comparison on a national level. Hostages of these people who have no sporting interest in Milan, we can only hope to limit our suffering by increasingly and slowly detaching ourselves from a passion that is making us an obsession. These gentlemen, Singer father and son, either take the money they have lent, from RedBird, from PIF, from Pinco Pallo, or they will not leave and will force us to accept this massacre in the name of their economic interest.
The elimination from the Europa League, yet another objective declared out of hand and then lost, had already been prepared this Monday evening with Furlani’s interview with DAZN. Many have lavished insults or justified some statements, it may seem absurd, but just by listening to the words of the Rossoneri CEO I understood that we would never be able to get through the round and that the future would be very complicated. On Thursday evening I hoped for a boost of pride on the part of the coach and the team, but, unfortunately, disaster (yet another) was already largely set in stone. Furlani’s words were very clear, at least from my point of view. Beyond the perfunctory phrases about the season, on other topics such as the stadium, the coach and the team’s technical growth, the key passage of the interview, which nails our ambitions below zero, concerns the structure of the “new” management. Ibra and Moncada will take care of the sporting part, I (Furlani) will take care of the financial part. Requiem. But since they are Americans it is better to say, period. There is little to interpret or add, it is the crystal clear, strong and evident declaration that the priority will and will remain the company’s economic continuity and not competitiveness in the field. We can consider it the smoking gun. I’ll try to explain, barring sensational developments between RedBird and PIF, the loan will not be paid promptly and RedBird will remain the weak part of the company. Therefore, if Ibra had in his hands a promise of a contract with Conte (name not by chance) of 7M net per year for three years (total operation 42M gross), the final veto on this sporting operation (in my opinion impeccable because it would an important upgrade) would always remain in the hands of Furlani (Elliott) for economic feasibility. So rather than putting that figure on the table, which if we think like Elliott you won’t even get back as an economic investment, the answer will be only one, “It can’t be done” and we will look for profiles more suited to Elliott’s economic needs, I repeat more suited to the need economic (Pioli profile so to speak), that is, a low cost profile and not an upgrade, a profile that can access the Champions League with a futuristic and young team, even with difficulty but which gets there every year. It is no coincidence that, to date, Furlani is the greatest opponent of Conte’s arrival at Milan, so much so that, although Ibra and Conte’s entourage are ready to sit at the table, it is he who is not interested in starting a negotiation. Also because, in addition to the economic issue, a very complicated scenario would open up for Elliott, namely the management of a strong personality like Conte, who is not exactly a yes man, one of those who love a lot in via Aldo Rossi. The same thing will apply to the purchase of players. Pay attention to what Furlani says to DAZN. We don’t make coups just to make them, that is, I don’t buy the big name because he busts my accounts. Just read the names going around, always and only bets, never a certainty. The famous center forward will be chosen not for his technical characteristics on the pitch but only for the economic feasibility of the operation and the future, i.e. the possibility of monetizing with a transfer of him. Stop. Since Elliott really likes to manage this team like a financial asset, studying the numbers and tying everything to the numbers, try reading these. 11 discounts in 46 games played. In the European season 17 goals conceded in 12 games played. Also in Europe, 5 defeats in 12 games. In the championship 37 goals conceded in 32 games played. But what are they talking about? 12 points more than last season. This is what awaits us and what we have already seen in these years of the “Elliott cycle”.
I’m not talking about the Pioli cycle because there is no Pioli cycle. Cycles are based on something that was built during a cycle, it is based on victories, because a cycle also feeds on that. This coach has destroyed, he has not built anything. If you think about it, what does this technical guide leave behind that is different compared to 2019 when it arrived? A championship, you might say. Not won by him but under the tutelage of Ibra and Maldini. Today, with a clear head in 5 years, we remember 10 games played rationally compared to the others that were literally improvised. He completely destroyed the defensive phase, he eliminated the offensive phase by limiting it to Leao’s 1vs1, he didn’t want a single attacking midfielder, he destroyed the ambition of being able to play with anyone. In 2019 post Bergamo he said that “the players don’t know the difference between winning, losing or drawing”, today we are still there and you can see it in how the team faces the matches. What’s the problem if you score 2 goals in Reggio Emilia in 10 minutes? Nobody, who cares we have to play the quarterfinal of the Europa League on Thursday. What’s the problem if you score 2 goals in 20 minutes against Roma? Nobody, who cares we have to play the derby on Monday. What’s the problem with losing the sixth consecutive derby? Who cares, we are already qualified for the next Champions League ahead of last year. This is the mentality instilled by the coach and supported, supported and shared by the club. To think that I still hear Milan fans who have the courage to tell me that Conte is a shitty hunchback and we don’t want him at Milan because of his past? But please, let’s get out of the trenches because the war is over a long time ago and we have been behind for too long. Here we need (we need) people with a winning mentality who are totally repelled by sporting defeat. We need (we need) people to instill a mentality because society is neither capable nor interested in doing so. Ibra alone, and we will see how long and if his role will last, it is no longer enough. But, as mentioned, our priority is not the pitch but the budget, so we will still see half-way revolutions, like last summer. Real revolutions cost time, money and minds. The revolutions that Elliott sets up are skits to point the finger at someone and shift attention to something else, so much so does the “friendly” press try to endorse these choices by doing a bit of brainwashing on sporting ambitions. Because, today it must be said, there have been and still are journalists close to the company who continue to work to “justify” these things and are the same ones who spread the rumors about Lopetegui and Fonseca, because during a conflict misinformation is a fundamental weapon to lower the mood of the troops. If they offer you Lopetegui as an alternative, it is obvious that the fan will be happy with Pioli’s confirmation… But in 2024, with social media and the visibility in the media that football has, lies have short legs. If a certain coach is available and you don’t take him, they will pass him off as someone with “impossible” demands but in truth they didn’t even want to try because they don’t care and they don’t see an economic return.
My close friend Raoul Duke always reminds me of something that is an absolute truth. In its total disregard of time, the AC Milan of Berlusconi and Galliani, the day after Inter’s treble, took on Ibra and Robinho to put a final point on the black and blue hegemony. Today, after two years like these, an ownership truly interested in the pitch would do something truly crazy to start in 2024/25 with a single objective, to win. Instead we are on April 20th and no one has made a decision on the coach because Ibra wants Conte, Furlani wants to keep Pioli, Moncada is pushing for Farioli and D’Ottavio contacts Italiano, this is news, they are not fantasies. In this context, how is it possible to play football? In the meantime, Cardinale will soon realize that in Italy things are not going the way one imagines, indeed, the stadium issue and investigations by the prosecutor’s office (on call) are there to prove it, there will be continuous opposition. The Milan project either quickly takes a certain path on the pitch, or economically and off the pitch it will quickly run aground. The football fan is not an NBA or MLS fan, he wants to win, he doesn’t care about going to the stadium to eat chicken wings with Tabasco, shouting “defense, defense” in garbage time. In Italy if you want to generate cash you must first win on the field, or at least be competitive. From the championship, to the Italian cup, from the Champions League to the Europa League. The positive economic results of the last two years are the result of the championship won and the fans’ illusion of being able to be competitive again after years of a half-empty stadium and sporting disappointments. But let’s wait to see the second star celebrated in our faces by those over there and then we’ll see what will happen if there aren’t strong changes during the summer. It’s up to you Mr. Cardinale. Do you know what I mean?
The necessary comment also goes to the players who are always the “smartest” part of football, they always have a lightning rod which is the coach. The problem is that the lightning rod here has now come to an end. This year or next he won’t be here anymore, so I pray (I hope but I’m deluding myself) that a nice hammer arrives on the bench who will drive them crazy during the week and during the matches, so we’ll see carefully who is worthy of going under the Curva or who instead deserves to leave Milanello with his head down. Too many failed exams, especially by certain “senators” who are lions on social media and then on the field are little lambs who get eaten by any Celik. Seeing Matteo Gabbia alone suffer due to the progress of the matches is disheartening and is proof that it is not a band that makes the leader or gives character. These guys don’t have strength or maybe they do and they just need to be made to blossom, but I warn Elliott that during the transfer market with the algorithm you can’t buy experience, determination and dignity, they are not for sale. When and if they are for sale, they are only thanks to certain players, who however must be paid well but who then bring you results. If there was humility in Furlani & C they could simply look at the recent history of Milan. Investment in Ibra in 2020 and what he brought in terms of sport, experience and work culture. But humility is not in Casa Milan, in Casa Milan there is only the income statement. Go and play on Wall Street because only there can you be a champion.
GO MILAN
Johnson
Tags: Milan Elliott Furlani plays stock market pitch
