Massimiliano Mirabelli, former sporting director of Milan, said Ralf Rangnick will need time, Zvonimir Boban showed courage and slammed Paolo Maldini.
Milan are going through some big changes and the appointment of Ralf Rangnick seems like the next big step in a plan to get the Rossoneri back among the elite of Italian and European football.
But the former director Mirabelli has warned that it will take time for the German to adapt to his San Siro surroundings.
Massimiliano Mirabelli, former sporting director of Milan, said Ralf Rangnick will need time, Zvonimir Boban showed courage and slammed Paolo Maldini.
Milan are going through some big changes and the appointment of Ralf Rangnick seems like the next big step in a plan to get the Rossoneri back among the elite of Italian and European football.
But the former director Mirabelli has warned that it will take time for the German to adapt to his San Siro surroundings.
“Studying languages is not enough. Our football is particular, different, well known” he told Tuttomercatoweb. “In Italy we have the best coaches in the world and the best managers and trainers.
“Such a choice means they will have to give him additional time to get familiar with his new reality. Obviously, Milan by choice wants to continue to fight ever so often for the Europa League and give themselves time before they return to become as big as they once were.
“The ownership is of a high level. With the right time and the right schedule, Milan can do great things.”
Zvonimir Boban has effectively already left Milan after having voiced his disagreement with the conduction of his hierarchy at Milanello in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He has shown he has balls. I liked his interview,” Mirabelli added. “He was not afraid of anything or anyone. I don’t understand others who are silent to defend their place.”
TMW asked Mirabelli if he was referring to Paolo Maldini and the former sporting director replied: “I don’t mention names. But one must have the courage to face certain things.
“You don’t play hide and seek. And Boban, unlike others, has shown courage.”
He also claimed that Maldini had failed the supporters after promising to bring Milan back to the top of Italian football within two years.
He slammed the former left-back and said it was obvious that he wouldn’t manage to do the job without an “internship”.
“Maldini has been with Milan for two years. Boban has just arrived and he had to be given time. I don’t know anyone who has a magic wand.
“But it’s time and work that determine results. When you rate the players, for the ones who enter the pitch at the end of the game, you write “not judgeable”. Here, Boban can’t be judged.
“He said he would bring Milan back to its former glory in two years and this has not happened. They changed [Gennaro] Gattuso for [Marco] Giampaolo, who was then sent away.
“Maldini pays for not having done anything since he stopped playing football, he is not of the trade but it’s not criticism, simply a fact.
“Remember that being a great champion is not enough, because to be a manager you need to know the players and the dynamics of this job. Then you can also go wrong. But Maldini should be asked: ‘What did you do to become a manager?’
“It’s as if a doctor got the job having done the first grade. These are the facts; some may not say them out of awe for a great champion.
“We should say that not having been through an internship as a manager, Maldini is as if he found himself being a doctor in one of the most important hospitals in the world without having attended elementary school.
“Obviously that’s not possible.”