On December 15, AC Milan celebrated their 125th anniversary before and during their home match against Genoa. Things, however, didn't quite go as planned and the side coached by Portuguese manager Paulo Fonseca only drew 0-0, leaving the pitch while the fans were expressing their disappointment with chants and whistles.
After the game, outside the stadium, some of the AC Milan ultras reunited to display banners protesting against American businessman Gerry Cardinale and singing, "We are not Americans," calling Cardinale to sell the club. The day after, on December 16, AC Milan officially celebrated their anniversary and the same scene happened outside of the place were the celebrations were happening. Most of the players were whistled, few were cheered, while club directors chose to use a secondary exit to avoid the fans.
📢⚠️ | And so the protests continue tonight:
— Milan Xtra (@MilanXtra) December 16, 2024
“Incapable directors, a club without ambition. You are not up to the level of our history. Players without desire and dignity, you are the mirror of this ownership." 🤬
📽: @LucaManinetti
#⃣ | #MilanGenoa 0-0pic.twitter.com/bQtUZZc9D2
It's difficult to explain how this happened, considering that Cardinale and RedBird Capital Partners acquired the club from the American fund Elliott in June 2022, a few days after the Rossoneri won their 19th Scudetto, at the end of an exciting run and comeback against Inter, their city rivals.
One critical decision gone wrong
The first season in charge wasn't an easy one for the new owners. AC Milan ended up fourth in the Serie A table, 20 points behind Napoli and also lost the UEFA Champions League's semifinals against Simone Inzaghi's Inter. It looked like a key moment for the club, heading to the new season, as the Rossoneri decided to make one big and unexpected change: Paolo Maldini, the club icon and technical director, parted ways with the club he played for during his whole career.
That decision created instability, as Maldini was considered a crucial figure not only for the fans, but also for the players, as some of them came to the club thanks to the former captain, including star winger Rafael Leao and left-back Theo Hernandez, just to name a few. On the other hand, Cardinale decided to give more power to manager Stefano Pioli, who brought the Scudetto back to the club in 2022, eleven years after the last one.
Ibrahimovic's comeback
However, it looked quiet obvious that Pioli alone couldn't fill the gaps Maldini and his sport director Ricky Massara left in June 2023. Despite the presence of CEO Giorgio Furlani, who replaced former Arsenal man Ivan Gazidis in December 2022, the club needed another kind of presence, both for the fans and to help inside the club. Cardinale thought that club legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be the right person for the job and the former Swedish striker officially became a RedBird advisor in December 2023, making his third comeback at the club, the first one since he retired from professional soccer.
After the initial months where the former striker worked in the shadows, trying to understand where he could be more useful for his beloved fans and the club, Ibrahimovic seemed to take more the control in the summer 2024, when the Rossoneri decided to part ways with Pioli after five successful years.
Another unpopular decision
While firing Pioli wasn't an unpopular decision, considering that the fanbase and the whole environment looked ready for a change, the decision making process that led to the appointment of Paulo Fonseca wasn't widely supported. While managers like Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri or Roberto De Zerbi were on the market, the club opted to appoint an International coach.
The first option was former Real Madrid Julien Lopetegui, but after the reports emerged the fans started to protest against the decision and the potential new coach. Only a few days later, former Lille and AS Roma Fonseca became the new AC Milan manager, a decision that left many fans doubtful considering the options that were still available on the market.
This is the scenario that needs to be considered when we see this team on the pitch. The Cardinale ownership made some risky decisions with Maldini and Fonseca, while they also decided to give power at the club to Ibrahimovic, who just started his off the pitch experience.
Sometimes these risky decisions can be right, but as of today all of these don't seem to have fixed the issues of AC Milan, and the Rossoneri fans demand a change as soon as possible. While the club is currently sitting in the eight place and already out of the Serie A title race before Christmas, Cardinale has no more time to make wrong decisions.
Something similar happened to the Friedkin family in Rome, as the owners lost the touch with the fanbase after some wrong decisions, such as the sacking of Daniele De Rossi, and are now facing a serious backlash from the Giallorossi fans. Cardinale is not at that stage yet, but there is no more time to lose.
