“It is said that to win you have to spend a lot of money, but why? I say you should be smarter than others and don’t waste your money. I believe in the Moneyball method». Like it or not, this is Gerry Cardinale’s precise vision. Little Italian, very American. RedBird’s number one has been clear since the day he took the helm of Milan a year ago: a winning management model must necessarily encompass every area, from marketing to communications, up to and including the sports sector. Two keywords: sustainability of accounting and collegiality of decisions. A vision, indeed visionperfectly made in the USA.
At the root of everything are the big dataie statistics, the study of numbers, but in its most modern and evolved version. In the United States they have long been convinced of this: numbers can show whether an athlete is strong and especially whether he is suitable (or not) for a team. Even in Italy, the clubs are now all equipped with data analysts, data scientists, performance analysts, figures who study data to make the right decisions in the medical field, in athletics training, in marketing and now increasingly also in the transfer market.
A method that has marked a turning point in baseball for some time, just as the film tells Money balls with Brad Pitt in 2011, but who is also becoming increasingly popular in football. And that Milan could integrate into its already effective scouting system led by Geoffrey Moncada. Maldini and Massara would not be replaced: one more cardinal would be present, the market would go to the CEO Giorgio Furlani.
Cardinale is convinced of this: it is also the right path for his Milan. The first to know that this is an unprecedented model in our country is Cardinale himself, who, however, is deeply convinced of how his governing body can be a driving force for the entire Italian football system. The business plan of the Philadelphia man is clear: to turn the club into a media company. To him, sports clubs are “culture businesses”: they deal with TV rights, ticket sales, create social content, follow all those sports-fashion-music-entertainment connections that come naturally to young people. Of course they also have to have their own stadium.
Back on the transfer market urgency number one given the need to strengthen the team after too many ups and downs this season, what matters is not wasting time. Because there are fewer than you might think, since the next championship will start in just over two months.
Reserve goalkeeper Sportiello and midfielder Kamada are on their way. Anyway. Free, both. But there are several outstanding files on the table: the redemption of Brahim Diaz from Real Madrid, the renewal of goalkeeper Maignan now courted by half Europe, the Premier League in charge, the purchase of a far-sighted striker to work alongside Giroud. The new Milan, the one who goes onto the field with the ball, must now be built.
Source: Corriere
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