“I don’t feel alone” – Corriere.it

«It is not fair to speak of year zero, it is the 124th in the history of Milan. It is the evolution that began five years ago and in the wake of which we will continue to improve the club and its results». CEO Giorgio Furlani in the heat of Milanello, while the ultras wave their flags (and invoke a more competitive team with a banner: «Every department needs to be strengthened, we close every transfer target») and Origins score the first goal of the season, indicate the route. «The objectives are the same as always, to be competitive in Italy and in Europe. We focus only on the transfer market but the effort is the growth of the club in various forms ».

«Tonali serious loss, he will be replaced»

Works in progress. The results of the summer Copernican revolution culminating in the farewells of Ibrahimovic, of the Maldini-Massara couple, and finally of Tonali, are uncertain. «Tonali is a serious loss, he will have to be replaced. I feel like the architect of a house which, despite having a solid structure, needs modernization in some rooms» he confesses Stefano Pioli on his first day of work, in his fifth season in Milan. The farewells of the managers of the technical area («to which I will always be grateful, because if I’m here it’s thanks to them» specifies the coach) have in fact made Pioli responsible, placing him at the center of the project, and crushed by new expectations. With the calm tone that distinguishes him, however, the coach specifies a couple of non-trivial concepts. The first is to eliminate the idea that he is the manager of the summer transfer market. «Even before I was asked if a number 10 or a 7 was more needed, just like now. But it must be clear that it’s not me who carries out the negotiations or takes care of the purely economic aspects. While I respect my players, some corrections will need to be made.”

On Maldini’s farewell: «There was no shortage of discussions with him»

The second point is the relationship with Maldini, with whom he does not hide that he had some reason for conflict. «It’s not that I feel alone anymore after Paolo’s farewell. I had a relationship of trust and respect with him even if there was no shortage of discussions». To cut the umbilical cord with the family that has linked its history to that of the Devil, yesterday the news arrived of the official transfer of Daniel to Empoli on loan with the right of redemption. Pioli therefore does not seem to feel nostalgia for Maldini, at the time a buffer between the team and the club. «He was the protagonist but it is the club that gives continuity to the path. Players know where they are, what shirt they’re wearing and what they represent.” Rather, it is another name that recurs frequently in Pioli’s first public chat of the year. “We have lost Zlatan, so buying a striker is a necessity” he says at the start before continuing: «We have a new challenge ahead of us, we have to prove that we are successful even without Ibra».

Cardinal: «I want to win everything»

Finally there is the hope of being able to continue to enjoy the support of the Swede in the future. «He knows that he can come to Milanello when he wants. I don’t know if he wants to play the role of club manager because I think he doesn’t have clear ideas about the future yet and I don’t know what plans the club has.”. In short, a page has turned, in the names but also in the programs. It is no coincidence that the first training match of the Diavolo season the team was deployed with the 4-3-3. Gerry Cardinale spoke yesterday with Pioli for his best wishes in view of the new season. «I want to win everything» said the Redbird number. But the manager would feel safer if the team had as clear a shape as possible for the American tour which will start on July 21st.