Yahoo Sports GdS: Trophy No.1 after €825m investment – RedBird and Cardinale taste Milan glory
Last night was very special for many reasons, with AC Milan coming from two goals behind to beat their city rivals Inter and lift a trophy, the 50th in their history.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, it was also the first trophy of the RedBird Capital era. In the 125 years of history of Milan, 23 owners have alternated at the helm of the club and Gerry Cardinale is the latest on the list.
The most successful and longest-serving was Silvio Berlusconi, who in the 31 years of his management celebrated 29 trophies. The last? The 2016 Supercoppa Italiana in Doha, in the final against Juventus.
Among the other presidents or owners who have won the most are Andrea Rizzoli – under whose guidance Milan won four league titles and its first European Cup – and Franco Carraro, also winner of a European Cup and the first Intercontinental Cup.
Elliott Management brought the last trophy and now Cardinale has also entered his name in the history book of the Rossoneri, having recently refinanced the vendor loan (now €489m remain to be paid) until July 2028.
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His investment so far has been €825m: €600m plus €55m in capital payments plus the partial repayment of the €170m vendor loan at the end of December. He intends to continue and win again. In short, he hopes that the trophy raised in Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Al-Nassr’s stadium will be a starting point.
It might not be the only trophy this season, in which Milan expect to gain direct access to the Champions League round of 16 as early as this January and to reach the end of the Coppa Italia in addition to at least fourth place in the table.
Cardinale was not at Al-Awwal Park last night, where his closeness to the team was made felt through a message relayed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The owner followed the match on TV from the United States, as always happens despite the time difference.
The Supercoppa – awarded by Lega president Enzo Simonelli and lifted by the Rossoneri – allows him to forget a disappointing start to the season in terms of results and allows the club to reach Inter on eight Super Cups.
For the owner of Milan, who like all Milan fans had suffered a lot for the streak of derbies lost in a row, this is the second consecutive derby won, after the one in September in the league. The gap in the Serie A standings compared to Inzaghi’s team remains, but there is more to be positive about now.
Inter had closed the gap to 49-46 in terms of trophies, but the Diavolo have extended it again by claiming their 50th piece of silverware. The titles are as follows: 19 league titles, five Italian Cups, eight Supercoppa Italiani, seven Champions Leagues/European Cups, five European Super Cups, two Cup Winners’ Cups, three Intercontinental Cups and one Club World Cup.
The next goal is to sew a second star on the chest, which Inter has already put on their shirts: the hunt has been postponed to next season, but Cardinale will try again. The American ownership hopes to experience other nights like the one in Riyadh.
