Rehab

Last week marked a lot of changes at Milan. With the CAS overturning our European ban, then the shareholders’ meeting confirming the takeover by Elliott as well as changing the board, it marked the beginning of a whole new era for the club. But don’t expect it to be all sunshine and roses. Elliott have made it clear that they are not here for the fans. Their goal is a three year plan to rehabilitate Milan financially, with the goals of returning Milan to its glory as a secondary concept, and then only to support the first. So as fans, we need to be ready for the detox, withdrawals, and all of the other awful things that come with rehab.

It's gonna be hell

Following the successful appeal of our ban, Elliott released this statement:

"Elliott is pleased that we were able to support AC Milan at the CAS and that our intervention was able to achieve a positive result for the club.  Playing in Europe is part of the heritage of AC Milan and to have been excluded would have been a shame. We will now work hard to rebuild the credibility of the club with UEFA and show that we can succeed on the pitch while respecting UEFA FFP rules. Today's legal victory is an important first step in the rehabilitation of AC Milan. This rehabilitation will not be an overnight project, and there is a great deal of hard work ahead which Elliott is ready for".

Former Vicenza president and successful businessman, Scaroni to lead the board of directors

Their plans are quickly taking shape. After putting in Paolo Scaroni as president of the board, they also fired Fassone. Who will replace him as CEO has reportedly been identified, but not announced. The media have linked the job to former Milan director Umberto Gandini. Which would be a nice fit, but he is currently the CEO of Roma, so this could take some time. He is also involved with UEFA, so that could be part of the motivation to bring him in – so he can help us repair our relationship with UEFA.

However another name keeps coming up for the job: Ivan Gazidis. He is currently the CEO of Arsenal. The newest reports in the media are that Milan could actually hire them both – Gandini over the footballing matters and Gazidis over the financial matters. Because, you know, that worked so well with Galliani and Barbara Berlusconi. But this is rehab, and it could be more like being in rehab with a veterinary staff… I mean they’re all doctors, right?

Coming home?

The media is completely certain that Leonardo will be the next technical director of Milan. In fact, they’re reporting he’s already begun working, despite no announcement as of this writing. Not only would his appointment anger the fans after his betrayal of the club, but it calls into question his history as a technical director. He brought in some good players, but overall was not particularly successful. It also again creates two-tier leadership where there should probably be one clear voice. Mirabelli still remains as the sporting director, but there are reports he’ll also be out of a job shortly and a new sporting director hired. Which begs the question: who is in charge of transfers, etc.? Who makes the calls? If it’s not clear to the fans, then is it clear to those in the actual positions?

Leonardo is not a fan favorite

It’s difficult to trust that Elliott are making the right moves for Milan, given they’ve never run a football club before. Whereas they seem to be doing some of their homework and at least selecting people who mean something to Milan, the possibility of two CEOs and splitting the sporting director and technical director roles is alarming, given our history. Let’s hope the reports are false and that they create a structure that can at least rehabilitate us financially and restore some value to the club. And while they will need to achieve a level of sporting success to accomplish their objectives, it may not be with the players and decisions fans want to see. Whatever the choices they make, we know there is still going to be some pain. Kind of like being in rehab.

This post inspired by the music of The Cranberries’ “Salvation”

Our next match is a friendly

AC Milan vs. Manchester United

Wednesday, July 25^th • 8:00pm PDT

at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, CA, USA