Football Italia
·23 de setembro de 2024
Football Italia
·23 de setembro de 2024
Milan owner Gerry Cardinale insists he wants to contribute to Serie A’s growth, but he won’t send a message to Rossoneri fans ‘until we win.’
The Rossoneri owner was among the guests of the Giornata dello Sport Italiano nel Mondo in New York, an event attended by other Italian sports personalities, such as NBA player Danilo Gallinari, Serie A legend Alessandro Del Piero, co-Atalanta owner Stephen Pagliuca, and Alejandro Cano, Managing Director and Co-Head Europe for Global Opportunities of Inter owners Oaktree.
As reported by Calcio&Finanza, Cardinale touched on many issues, not only related to Milan, the Serie A club that he acquired in 2022.
“I wear more than a hat when I look at Serie A and Milan. I am a Milan fan and an Italy and Serie A fan. Regarding Serie A, the concept of Made in Italy emerged, suggesting that it is of the highest quality worldwide. You think about Ferrari, Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli,” said Cardinale.
“Therefore, we should look at Serie A in the same way. The world has changed, and when we think about the highest quality in football, we think about the Premier League. One of the things I want to do as the Milan chief is to work with all the members of the Serie A system to bring Italian football back to what it was in terms of European and global quality. I see Serie A as one of Italy’s best exports.
“We can’t change if we don’t innovate and change the paradigm of European football, which seems to imply that you have to spend all necessary to win as if there were a direct connection between spending and winning.
“It’s not about spending like a Middle Eastern government, which will never be done. It’s about spending intelligently and innovatively. What I do for a living in the USA, investing in sports, is always a public-private partnership. You need municipalities and governments. It’s about common goods that you must offer to your community.”
Cardinale has been criticized by Rossoneri fans in the past, but he has guaranteed that he’ll work to bring a trophy back to the Red and Black side of San Siro.
“I’ve never seen anything similar. In America, those who buy the teams own them. In Italy, I think that fans believe they own the club, so we have work to do to satisfy this concept,” he said.
“What I am trying to do, and I am not receiving much help from the Italian ecosystem, is a partnership between all those who participate in the value chain: fans, local and national governments and the capital to build infrastructures. We have the Euros coming up in 2032 and we are trying to build a stadium in Milan.
“With this, there would be a wave of improvement for the whole Serie A, making it more competitive. This way, Italy will be able to fulfil its potential. It looks like my message to the fans isn’t going through, so I’d say that I won’t send any messages until we win. I understand that it’s the only thing they care about. I will do, and we will do our best to win, but we must win intelligently. If we do so, we’ll last in time and contribute to the whole system’s growth, which I believe is one of our duties.”
Milan beat city rivals Inter on Sunday night, ending a six-game losing streak against the Nerazzurri.