This is what we call a very rapid fall. A year ago, the Milanese management decided to extend their coach, Stefano Pioli, until June 2025. A great architect of the Scudetto in 2022 and the return to the semi-final of the Champions League in 2023, the native of Parma does not He certainly didn’t expect to see his Rossonero kingdom collapse so quickly. As of December 2023, the Italian tactician is more than ever in the hot seat due to a disappointing start to the season, marked by a poor 3rd place in Serie A (far behind Inter and Juventus) and an elimination in the group stages of C1. The meetings have been linked within the club since the draw (2-2) against Salernitana and if he should stay a little longer at the head of the Lombard club, his departure from AC Milan next summer is no longer in doubt internally. Several names like Antonio Conte, Roberto De Zerbi, Vincenzo Italiano and Thiago Motta are already circulating in the Italian press. But behind this crisis, a man, recently returned to Milan, will have his say and it is none other than Zlatan Ibrahimović.
If AC Milan fought for a long time to convince him of a return to the Diavola organization chart, Zlatan Ibrahimovic probably would not have imagined finding himself so quickly in a similar sporting storm – even in the worst of his scenarios. On December 11, the Rossoneri announced, via a large press release, the formalization of the Swede’s taking up duties in the Milan offices: “RedBird Capital Partners today announced the appointment of Zlatan Ibrahimović as Operating Partner for its portfolio of investments in the sports, media and entertainment sectors. In this capacity, he will also be principal advisor to the shareholders and management of AC Milan., we could read. Less than 15 days later, the former Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona striker must already cope with the first sporting crisis by being directly involved in the major sporting choices to come.
A huge weight on the future!
In a very short time, Zlatan Ibrahimović went from the euphoria of a third term with the Rossoneri, this time in new forms, to a state of obvious crisis and decidedly complicated to manage. From what we can see from his first days in the office, the Swede deliberately kept a low profile. Which was also appreciated by the Lombard club. No trip to Newcastle so as not to put more pressure on the team, a necessary crisis meeting organized in Milanello to officially present himself in his new costume and then his first appearance in an official match in Salerno next to Giorgio Furlani… In recent days, it is logical that Zlatan immediately found himself in the storm involving the future of Stefano Pioli. It is difficult to know exactly to what extent he was a decision-maker in the phase of reflection which crossed the heart of the club on Saturday on the fate of the coach. But according to information from the Gazzetta dello Sportit could be that the Swedish legend gave the advice not to make drastic decisions in order to give room for maneuver to a coach he knows perfectly.
Generally speaking, the predominant feeling among the Rossoneri is that Ibra’s opinion will have a certain weight in the eyes of the owners and in particular Gerry Cardinale. As a reminder, it does not have a deliberative role, but only consultative. A consultant, expressly sought by the new Milanese management, who will influence a lot internally, but will not be able to decide. The situation is therefore delicate also for Zlatan who must act at the request of an ownership and a management which have not officially appointed him sporting director or president. The 42-year-old Swede must study and understand this new multifunctional role. Usually, in times of crisis, Zlatan Ibrahimović would have found the right words to unite his teammates, would have scored numerous goals to set an example and would have made a series of media outings in the mixed zone or in a press conference after the contested matches. But today, he is no longer a player. In this sense, he will therefore have to observe a lot, because the club intends to involve him in practically all areas as an “Operating Partner”. Zlatan probably didn’t imagine that his return would be so turbulent…
General classification Serie A
|
#
|
Team
|
Pts
|
J
|
DIF
|
G
|
NOT
|
D
|
BP
|
B.C.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
|
44 |
17 |
34 |
14 |
2 |
1 |
41 |
7 |
|
2 |
|
40 |
17 |
15 |
12 |
4 |
1 |
26 |
11 |
|
3 |
|
33 |
17 |
11 |
10 |
3 |
4 |
31 |
20 |
|
4 |
|
31 |
17 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
2 |
21 |
12 |
|
5 |
|
30 |
17 |
8 |
9 |
3 |
5 |
26 |
18 |
See the full ranking
