Cardinale discusses support for Amorim, signings to come, Krösche links and new stadium
AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale has pledged to back Ruben Amorim as head coach, also promising more reinforcements for the squad.
As a reminder, Cardinale hand-picked Amorim as the successor to Massimiliano Allegri at the start of the summer. Support came in the window, with Goncalo Ramos and Diego Moreira becoming the two most expensive signings in the club’s history.
Results so far have been mixed, however. Milan have lost two of three in the Europa League, with the defeats to Benfica and Bournemouth coming without scoring. Their first Serie A defeat came on Sunday versus Bologna, after a worrying second-half collapse.
Nonetheless, there are signs of what things can become under Amorim, who wants to play an intense and proactive style. It is something that Cardinale intends to see through, as he revealed in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Are you happy with the results achieved so far?
“I’m never happy. Let me explain: I’m happy when we win a match, but that doesn’t mean anything. Ask me if I’m happy when I lift a trophy or we win a title. Then I’ll tell you I’m really happy. We still have a lot of work to do, and lately I’ve had injuries that have made me nervous.
“So now I’m nervous and constantly focused on where we can improve. I have a job to do, and I won’t stop until we get what we want. Anyone who knows me and has worked with me knows I’m always dissatisfied until I reach my goal.”
Given the many injuries, do Milan need more players in January?
“We need to continue improving the squad because in the summer I wasn’t able to do everything I wanted. We’re rebuilding the team, and while I like the new arrivals, the ones who stayed, and the names I got rid of, it will probably take a couple more transfer windows to complete everything.
“We’re only a quarter of the way there, and the priority is to build a team that can deal with injuries. If you’re competing in European competitions and playing… Amorim Ball, which is high-tempo football, with quick transitions, where everyone runs between 9 and 11km per game, you have to rotate them.
“That’s why we’ll continue to be aggressive and opportunistic in the January transfer market, and I’ll continue to strengthen our bench. My style is to move decisively and quickly.
“What matters to me is getting what we want, players… that are Milan-worthy. I won’t waste money, but when I set my mind on signing a player, I do everything I can to succeed.”
Will Krösche be AC Milan’s new head of football?
“I’m not close to making an announcement, and I’m in no rush. The choice of sporting director is one of the most important after this summer’s transition, when I fired everyone and took over the club. I’m talking to Krösche and other people, the best in football.
“With a season that ends in May and a transfer window starting in June, I don’t want to rush. I’m directly managing the club now, and I like it, but I can’t do it forever because I have another job. Plus, there are people much more qualified than me.
“However, in May I had to rebuild AC Milan, and only someone like me could do it. Now a sporting director will arrive, but he or she will be a part of a much more complex organisational structure. Someone who will have to work with me.
“We’ll do everything together because I will no longer hand over the keys to a sporting director or sporting director.
Are you satisfied with Amorim so far?
“Yes, and I have complete faith in him. At the end of Top Gun, ‘my’ movie, there’s a great line: ‘I’m not abandoning my wingman’ says Tom Cruise. And I’m not abandoning Ruben. He’s absolutely not in danger. I’ll stay by his side [he repeats it twice, forcefully].
“I won’t make the same mistakes I’ve made in recent years. He’s my coach, and we’ll continue to work together until we can make the leap in quality. You can’t win if you keep switching from one coach to another. I chose Amorim. If I’d made a mistake, I’d admit it, but I don’t think I did.
“He learned a lot from what happened at Manchester United, and I hired him because he explained the mistakes I made there. He has the right culture, he’s a leader, a manager, and a well-prepared coach. There’s a different atmosphere at Milanello than in the last four years. The credit goes to him.
“He’s learning things, and the team needs to find its cohesion, understand How can we rotate players while still scoring lots of goals and winning? For me, a draw is a defeat. A point isn’t the goal of the game: three points are. Only with victories can we close the gap to the top teams.”
Can ‘Amorim Ball’ make AC Milan great again?
“In the days before every game, I call him and ask: ‘How can I help you? What do you need?’ and he reassures me by saying: ‘I’ll take care of it, I’ll take care of it.’ He knows I’m there, but he also knows how to do his job.
“He doesn’t need me breathing down his neck: he has everything under control and is a true professional who helps people grow. He’s managing the boys and training the group well. I don’t think this happened before.
“A lightbulb went off in my head when Ibra asked me a few months ago: ‘What does Milan represent?’ Since then, I think about these words practically every day, in everything we do. I like this group, where everyone supports each other, without power games in the dressing room: everyone is killing themselves to win.
“You can see it just by looking into their eyes. In previous years, I asked myself: ‘Why am I the angriest if we don’t win?’ Now I don’t feel that way anymore: the boys and the staff are as angry as I am.”
Tomorrow will be the first derby since AC Milan’s new era began. What kind of match are you expecting?
“As Amorim says, I look at the derby as a ‘simple’ match. I don’t think that, if we win, we’ll move closer in the standings. We have to do our job, play football, score goals, and improve in everything.”
Are Inter the favourite in the derby?
“I respect Marotta and his club’s organisation, which, even when Inzaghi left, didn’t miss a beat. A bit like Liverpool, who had a record-breaking season with Slot replacing Klopp. That’s what I aspire to for us.
“Inter have every right to be where they are now. They’ve earned it, and I respect them for that. Do I feel the competition with them? Of course! Do they keep me awake at night? Absolutely. The competition is good, and I’m confident we can get to that level.
“It’s only a matter of time before we get better, before we lift that trophy (the Scudetto). It won’t be easy, and nothing will be handed to us. I know very well what’s at stake tomorrow, and I know how strong they are. And I can’t wait for the derby. I can’t wait.”
Can Milan win the Scudetto this year?
“It’s absolutely possible, one hundred percent. And I say this without meaning to sound arrogant. I wake up every morning hoping for a small glimmer of hope, that Inter will start drawing instead of winning and that we’ll start putting together a series of victories.
“Winning is the only thing that matters to me, but let’s take it one game at a time, gaining ground on those ahead of us, day after day.”
So far you have just the Supercoppa Italiana…
“I’m upset about the four years I’ve lost. I want to create a world-class football organisation, with the right people. I have the feeling that AC Milan isn’t working at full capacity yet.
“My desire is to achieve very rapid change, but I know that’s not compatible with football. ‘You’ll have to be patient,’ they tell me. But… I’m not. And so last summer I took on Moreira, after Ramos and Gila. These are deals I made, with the other owners, and I defend them.”
Which footballers impressed you the most?
“It’s a dangerous question, because I have to love all my… ‘sons’. I adore Pulisic; ditto Rabiot, Moreira, Gila, who’s a beast, Hutchinson, Ramos, Maignan who’s our leader… And I could name all my boys.”
Do you like the new San Siro?
“It’s a project we’ve been working on for four years, a priority. The new San Siro is a fundamental step for Italy, a country where building new facilities seemed impossible. We must find a way to bring Serie A back to the level it deserves. Because a stronger Serie A also means a stronger AC Milan.
“The only way to compete with the Premier League is to start transforming our economic profile. I believe a club like AC Milan and its fans deserve an infrastructure of this quality. This stadium is a powerful statement from me and RedBird of how important all of this is to us.
“We’re doing everything we can to get back to the top. The milestone we’ve reached with the stadium is important, but there’s no stadium in the world that, for me, is as important as a derby victory against Inter.”
Are RedBird interested in buying Al Nassr? Would they like to work with Cristiano Ronaldo?
“There have been conversations to evaluate the Al Nassr opportunity, and they’ve contacted me to explore it, but we’re still at a preliminary stage.
“I work a lot in the Middle East: I’d like to meet Ronaldo because I’m curious to understand what he might want to do when he retires and what his future interest in the Saudi club will be. I’ll continue to evaluate the possibilities of a multi-club deal, considering that I already have Toulouse and AC Milan.”
Will AC Milan support Galliani in the race for the FIGC presidency against Malagò?
“I respect both of them. It’s not a question of names, but rather of what they want to do.”
