The Milan we are witnesssing today is the Milan he has created. For every euro and lira Berlsuconi has put into the club, Galliani has directed it in the correct direction, always spending prudently (especially recently) and keeping Milan competitive for generations. Galliani is the boss.

Not only has the game changed in the long years Galliani has held the position of sporting director at Milan, but the world around him, the financial state of the country he lives in has deteriorating and the man supporting his ventures has lost credibility, much of his spending power and lost much respect.

Milan can no longer spend extortionate amounts on players, now must be patient, waiting for windows of opportunity in the market and hoping the player accepts the wage that Milan offers, an offer that can easily be beating by oil backed clubs. As Silvio Berlusconi stated: Tevez must chose between prestige and money, something many Milan targets now must decide between. Is this the words of a man who realizes what is happening to his Milan legacy of simply a ploy to lure Tevez to the club?

A good example of Milan's newfound prudency is portrayed by our pursuit of Ricardo Montolivo and a comparison with Maneul Rui Costa. Fatih Terim was bought to Milan and he required a midfielder. Who else but the man who he praised time and time again while manager of Fiorentina? Rui Costa was subsequently brought to Milan for upwards of 30m pounds, despite approaching his 30's and Fiorentina not being in an extraordinary strong financial position at the time. 10 years on, Milan again need a creative, mobile midfielder and again the target is a Viola player. This time, though, Milan look to aquire the player on a free transfer or for less than 10m euro's this window. The chance of missing out on him is very real.

So I must ask, does the chase of googly-eyed Montolivo show that Milan have adapted to their weakened state and lack of power in the market? Is Galliani really trying to guide Milan into a state of self sufficiency in preparation for FFP by buying quality players? Is this just an out of the ordinary case and will Galliani continue by his "talented or not" purchasing policy?

I have reason to believe that Galliani has not adapted, despite the recent purchases of young talents El Shaarawy and Valoti (11/12), Paloschi and Didac (10/11), Abate and Adiyiah (09/10) and so on. Sure investment has been made into youth, but the lack of patience with them and the clubs poor efforts into assisting the development of youth shows a struggle to mirror what clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United have managed to do with their youth. El Shaarawy should have been loaned out at the same time Paloschi was, Didac was mismanaged (lack of faith from Allegri, loaned back to Spain when needed to develop in Italy, learn Italian game), Adiyiah was overrated from the start and now leaves Milan with only a bitter memory of a missed opportunity left.

The poor choices on where to send many of our Primavera talents compounds our clubs's, led by Galliani, ineptness in knowing how to spot, acquire and develop young talents, something pivotal to the future success of clubs during the imminent implementation of FFP. Merkel leaving on a co-ownership instead of a loan, Didac moving back to Spain, Fosatti moving to Latina Calcio (!!), Albertazzi to Getafe where he is yet to get a single minute in the league and the infamous case of Yoann Gourcuff are all prime examples of a club stuck in a past time, compounding stereotypes of Italy and its cultural reluctance to adaptation, proven again by Galliani.

Galliani has not adapted to the heightened worth of youth, shown an incompetence to deciding where they should be loaned out to and making the wrong decisions on when to show faith and splash money and when to give up and sell a player. The case can be made that even the largely praised Sir Alex has also made many poor decisions, but his successes cover up his mistakes, unlike Galliani's. Uncle Fester needs to improve in this aspect.

The part about Galliani that has surprised me most is his emergance as one of the hardest bargainers among sporting directors of big clubs and his ability to constantly complete amazing coups. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, purchased for 70-80m euro's the season before (depending on an individuals valuation of Eto'o (20m by Barca's books), was brought to Milan on a reduced wage for only 25m euro's. Marco Borriello, a striker who's last season at Milan showed he is not a player fit to play in a big club was sold to Roma for 10m euro's. Now Juventus have an option to purchase him for only 7.5m euro's. Nocerino and Aquilani, Cassano and van Bommel, Thiago Silva and Pato have all shown that players should not be judged on their transfer price and the amounts spent on them were more than worth the price.

In this new dawn of self-sufficiency with a reduced reliability on club owners, we can rely on Galliani to continue the coups, but he must improve on his management of youth if the club is to remain competitive on all fronts. Better destinations must be found for our prospects, old guard departures must be replaced with younger players and an overall higher faith must be shown to youth but I believe we are on the right track. Milan is in good hands.

Thoughts?

Excellent post.

I believe that Galliani is doing what is required from him in the youth department,he is not a coach hence it is not his job to play the youth. His job is to bring in good and decent youthful players,and he is doing just that.

I also believe that Galliani is the best at what he does. I can assure you that no CEO of any club can bring in the players Galliani brings in with the same amount of money.

In other words,I believe that Galliani has adapted. I'll explain more later.

Great post.

I dream of the Milan with Merkel, Strasser, El Shaarawy and Didac in the team at once. Hopefully we're heading in that direction.

Forza Rossoneri wrote:Great post.

I dream of the Milan with Merkel, Strasser, El Shaarawy and Didac in the team at once. Hopefully we're heading in that direction.

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