Zvonimir Boban has given his thoughts on some of the decisions AC Milan have made, including the return of Massimiliano Allegri.
Boban is usually box office when it comes to Milan, and that’s after the interview that got him fired a few years ago. Recently he went on Andrea Longoni’s podcast and tore into the ownership, for the ‘shameful’ sacking of Paolo Maldini among other things.
This caused Milan’s president Paolo Scaroni to hit back in a rather flippant want, and it seems as though the Croatian is looking to upset Milan further. A report from his homeland claimed that he tried to convince Luka Modric to go to Dinamo Zagreb and forget the idea of joining the Rossoneri.
Boban speaks again
Speaking at the Sky Inclusion Days event, Boban was asked some questions about Milan on the stage of the Teatro Dal Verme in Milano, in the company of Sky Sport director Federico Ferri. His comments were relayed by MilanNews.
Can Massimiliano Allegri make up for some of the problems we saw at Milan last season?
“I think at least they have understood how much was wrong, how much incompetence there was, how much presumption of being able to live a company like a business and not like a Club, which it must be because Milan must be a club. Then afterwards it is also a company.
“But this is difficult to make people who are not in football understand, it is not easy. Now it is understood, the right sporting director has arrived [Igli Tare], and he is a very good sporting director, at least in my opinion.
“He is someone who understands football, he achieved many good results with Lazio, someone who thinks about every detail, who works 24 hours a day, who will be close to the team, who will understand the moments, when to intervene with the players and with the coach.
“That figure is useful. Obviously when you look at it from the point of view of a businessman, who has not been in football, he says: ‘But I have scouting, I choose players, the coach, but what use is the director to me if I already have someone who does this job for me?’.
“And this was a very serious mistake for me, because obviously no one has done that job there and it has been sorely missed. Already having understood it after not wanting to take it, already means that it is implemented responsibly, and that is right.
“This is the right path, and I hope that Allegri can, together with Milan, return to where Milan must return, to win not the Coppa Italia or the Supercoppa, but league titles and the Champions League. Obviously it doesn’t happen just like this, in three months, but I believe that next year we can build a lot.
“Now let’s see what the market will be like, how Milan will make the team, who will leave, who will come, to be able to judge it better. This is certainly not the path. I hope they change it, I believe that the club is also changing for the better and I hope that Milan returns to the levels that they deserve.”
Is there a lot missing in terms of players to bring Milan back to the levels they deserve?
“It depends on who stays. If you sell Reijnders, it seems that this is the intention, but selling the best doesn’t mean you build. And then we’re back to the company and not the club. This is certainly not the way to build the best possible Milan, that’s the point.
“But when we look at Milan’s squad from last year I always found a lot of problems in defence. In midfield and in attack Milan were strong, then they also bought Gimenez who struggled for a thousand reasons.
“He’s not a phenomenon but he’s a player who should do well and if the team does well he’ll score his goals, he’s always scored them and will. So in my opinion it’s a good signing, not the best but a good signing.
“You have Fofana who is an excellent player. You have speed like no other team in Italy, between Leao, Pulisic and Reijnders who is amazing. So Milan has enormous potential. They need to fix the defense a bit because in my opinion this is Milan’s big problem.”
Luka Modric seems to be going there…
“Luka Modric is in Miami one day, in Saudi Arabia the next, at Dinamo the third day, Catania the fourth, Milan the fifth (laughs). Now, until he decides, there is no need to even comment.
“After so many years at Real Madrid it is certain that he needs time to make his decision, once he makes it he will comment on it because it makes no sense. Obviously he is whole and can still give great football to any team he goes to.”
