Zlatan Ibrahimovic is confirmed as having “a lot of influence” by Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani, but Stefano Pioli, the coach under criticism, is not confirmed.
After a 3-3 tie with Sassuolo and in preparation for Thursday’s Europa League quarterfinal matchup with Roma, Furlani spoke with DAZN on Monday night about the state of affairs in the Rossoneri camp.
“We hope this team steps up and puts in a great performance on Thursday. They can play a lot better than they did last week,” he stated.
Coach Pioli’s career may depend on their ability to overcome their 1-0 first-leg loss and advance in the Europa League.
The coach has a propensity to be in the limelight all the time. Ever since the season began, there have been those who are eager to air their grievances following any non-winning game.
“We want to close the campaign strong, and he has performed well this season. We are fortunate to have Pioli on board, as he is a lovely person.A coach should be evaluated over the course of the entire season rather than just one game. We’re not sure how the season will conclude, but we have hope.
How does Furlani assess the season thus far, since they are currently positioned to finish second behind rivals Inter?
“It’s too soon to say. With 12 more points than we had the previous season, we are performing better. It’s unfortunate that we were eliminated from the Champions League, but it was a challenging group. We always attempt to win first.
It is our responsibility to provide the coach with the most competitive team in order to meet predetermined goals. Milan always wants to win, but we aren’t able to do it each year. We regret not making the Champions League, but we’ll work hard to improve next year.
It was previously believed that Special Advisor Ibrahimovic was tasked with determining Pioli’s status and maybe identifying a successor.
Even while the former striker does play a significant role, Furlani insists that is not the power structure within the Milan camp.
“Zlatan has received a lot of attention. It is RedBird and Gerry Cardinale who exercise leadership and make the ultimate decisions. There is a team that functions under him.
“Zlatan is demonstrating that he is a champion both on and off the field. He makes several contributions. Zlatan, Geoff Moncada, D’Ottavio, and moi are the athletes. Each of us has our specialties.
There are other domains, such as the stadium, in which Paolo Scaroni has a significant role. Cardinale is in charge. Ibra does have a significant impact on the sports world.
Naturally, authorities are looking into the transfer of Milan to RedBird, and they believe Elliott Management is still in charge of the team.
“That notion is untrue. The facts are straightforward: we have nothing to conceal and are willing to cooperate with the authorities, but they are free to conduct any investigation they see fit.