It is worth wondering whether Gerry Cardinale could’ve handled the split with Paolo Maldini any worse. When taking over a club with such history, the very last thing you do is unceremoniously sack the club icon who has just publicly asked for more investment to step up to the next level.
To call this a public relations disaster would be an understatement and it feels like none of the lessons were learned from the last time Milan had an epic power struggle behind the scenes. Back then, Maldini and Zvonimir Boban stood up to Ivan Gazidis and Giorgio Furlani to stop the toppling of Stefano Pioli to bring in Ralf Rangnick. This time, Furlani had another swing of the axe and his blade connected.
It was bad enough when it seemed as if Maldini and Frederic Massara had simply decided to walk away due to the differing visions, but the idea they were outright fired is just unfathomable. It doesn’t matter if Maldini was planning to spend €100m on another Charles De Ketelaere, there was no reason to trample all over an icon. They should’ve accepted this was not going to work and find a way to break the news gently with a joint statement. This is more like a coup that happened so swiftly that nobody even had time to protest, it was all over.
Putting aside the inevitable and understandable backlash from the fans, or the total lack of wisdom in throwing all these plans out the window after winning an unexpected Scudetto and reaching the Champions League semi-finals, this is like throwing a grenade into the middle of the squad. To lose Maldini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic within 24 hours is the kind of trauma this team could’ve avoided.
Maldini did not just represent the history of the club for fans of Milan, but for anyone who loves football. Only a few weeks ago, we saw pundits including Thierry Henry practically swoon on CBS when Maldini spoke to them. Theo Hernandez, Sandro Tonali and many others all said one of the most important things when choosing the Rossoneri was getting to meet with Maldini, who provided that necessary bridge between the old glories of the club that won it all and the current iteration that is trying to find its place in the football world.
This was a player who during his time on the pitch was appreciated by everyone. Most players have ‘haters’ who think them arrogant or over-rated, too tied to one club, but Maldini always seemed to transcend that. He commanded universal respect from multiple generations of fans, players and journalists.
He was an ever-present figure on the touchline during training sessions, giving advice to the players because they knew he had been through it all before a million times, at the very highest level of the sport. His father was captain, lifting the European Cup before him. His son is returning from the loan period at Spezia, the third generation of Maldini in the Rossoneri jersey, assuming of course they let him back in now. They might’ve changed the locks to the family home.
For the older supporters, seeing Adriano Galliani and Silvio Berlusconi taking Monza not only to Serie A, but to a creditable mid-table position just increases the sense of detachment from what the modern Milan is supposed to be.
The foreign owners who took over Italian clubs had been wise to retain some connections on the ground, but Cardinale and RedBird seem eager to treat this like a Premier League venture, nothing more than a brand to be exploited and exported. We’ve seen just how much the fans of Manchester United and Liverpool have learned to despise that soulless approach, now it’s coming to Serie A.
Twitter: @SusyCampanale