Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 208

San Siro

Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly known as AC Milan, is one of the most prestigious football clubs representing Italy.

Juventus’s long period of dominance since the 2010s has slightly dimmed their shine, but AC Milan’s 18 FIFA and European titles rank them fourth among all football clubs worldwide, alongside Argentina’s Boca Juniors.

In the Italian Serie A, they have lifted 19 championship trophies, second only to Juventus’s 37, sharing second place with their rival Inter Milan, with whom they share both their home city and stadium.

After a surprise victory in the 2021/22 season, they conceded the title to Juventus in the 2022/23 season. However, in the 2023/24 season, they are fiercely competing for another championship, leading the league.

Under the leadership of coach Stefano Pioli, the team showcases a cohesive and attractive style of football with a solid defense, explosive offense, and a flexible midfield.

However, the foundation of this team, which is striving for its second golden era with an excellent coach and outstanding players following their five league titles in the 1990s, lies in exceptional management.

Silvio Berlusconi, the former club owner and former Italian Prime Minister who led the team to glory with massive investments, sold the club to Chinese owner Li Yonghong in 2017 for a staggering 740 million euros.

However, just one year later, the owner went bankrupt, and the prestigious Italian club fell into the hands of Elliott Management, an American fund that held bonds to finance AC Milan’s acquisition.

A very similar situation to Burnley, which rapidly went bankrupt six months after ALK Capital acquired it, leading to its ownership being transferred to an American fund.

Despite public concerns, Elliott Management gradually took steps to reorganize the club’s finances.

They released veterans who, despite their declining skills, were still receiving high wages. As a result, they were banned from participating in European competitions for two seasons for violating UEFA’s [Union of European Football Associations] Financial Fair Play regulations, but they used that time to rebuild the team around young prospects.

Eventually, AC Milan, under coach Stefano Pioli, who took over in the middle of the 2019/20 season, finished the 2020/21 season in second place and finally won their first league title in 11 seasons in the 2021/22 season.

In the summer of 2022, RedBird Capital, led by Billy Beane, the former general manager of the Oakland Athletics, famous for Moneyball [a strategy of assembling a competitive sports team by acquiring undervalued players], acquired AC Milan for $1.3 billion, continuing their leap forward for the next stage.

That is the home stadium of AC Milan.

Loud cheers echoed through the 80,018-seat San Siro, which their local rivals Inter Milan call Giuseppe Meazza in honor of their club legend.

***

“In Italia Milan! (In Italy, Milan!)”

“In Europa Milan! (In Europe, Milan!)”

“Ovunque Milan! (Milan everywhere!)”

“Per sempre rossoner! (Forever Rossoneri [=red and black]!)”

“Isn’t it wonderful?”

A robust elderly American man smiled as he handed Helena a glass of wine.

“Major League is also very popular, but football has its own unique charm. Especially our team….”

Billy Beane, the legendary general manager who first introduced the concept of Moneyball, which fundamentally changed baseball and sports in general, and currently the chairman of AC Milan’s board, gestured towards the stadium outside the box seats.

“…The passion doesn’t die down for 90 minutes, before and after the game.”

“Wonderful,”

Helena replied with a smile, accepting the wine glass with one hand.

“I would love to show you the atmosphere of Burnley in the second leg at Turf Moor.”

“Of course! I must go!”

The elderly former general manager smiled.

“I’ve heard rumors that it’s a gem of Northwest England. Paolo here is eager to go as well.”

At the words of the chairman of the board, who is effectively acting as the owner, a handsome middle-aged Italian man sitting next to Helena smiled and raised his glass slightly.

Paolo Maldini, a legend of Italy and AC Milan.

He is considered one of the greatest defenders in history, to the extent that one player in Burnley blindly idolizes him. He is also a member of a prestigious football family that has been active in AC Milan for three generations.

Paolo Maldini spent a whopping 25 seasons with AC Milan, lifting 26 trophies as captain, a legend among legends.

His father, Cesare Maldini, was the captain and starting defender for AC Milan, winning four Serie A titles and one European Cup before becoming the coach of AC Milan.

Meanwhile, his son, Daniel Maldini, whose talents are expressed in a slightly different way from his grandfather and father, succeeded in securing a spot as AC Milan’s starting attacking midfielder this season after fierce competition.

Paolo Maldini, who was so dedicated that the club permanently retired his jersey number 3 upon his retirement, became AC Milan’s technical director after retiring, and he has been highly praised for his ability to discover talented players.

“Tommaso is bragging about it, saying it’s the most beautiful football stadium in England. People don’t usually use the word ‘beautiful’ for a football stadium, but after hearing that, I became very curious.”

“Tommaso? Ah, Tommaso Pobega! You’re still in touch with him?”

“Well, occasionally. We just have each other’s contact information.”

Paolo Maldini answered with a slightly bitter smile to Helena’s question.

AC Milan has a deep roster and attracts prospects from all over Italy and Europe, so they cannot scout every promising player. However, missing out on Tommaso Pobega, who proved his talent in Torino before moving to Burnley and blossoming spectacularly, was a regrettable matter for the technical director.

“I remember that! A young guy went on loan to Burnley and then said he wouldn’t return. He threatened to sabotage if he was forced to return. He said he absolutely had to play under Coach Hyungmin Kim.”

Chairman Billy Beane, who had been listening to the conversation, interjected.

“What kind of drugs are you feeding these guys in Burnley that they get so brainwashed? Share the secret with us!”

Everyone laughed at Chairman Billy Beane’s joke.

From the moment they arrived in Milan, the players received a warm welcome, but the Burnley board members, including Helena, who had come to watch the game together, were receiving even more enthusiastic hospitality.

The reason was simple.

RedBird Capital, which aims to build a global football system with the addition of former general manager Billy Beane, openly wants to acquire Burnley, following FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 and AC Milan, a powerhouse in the Italian Serie A.

Burnley has already largely implemented the club they want to create, which is based on young prospects, exerts its power for a long time, and plays attractive football.

Conversely, RedBird Capital, along with Red Bull, is the most promising candidate among Burnley’s potential acquirers at the Cartwright Fund headquarters in New York.

Amidst the weighing of options between the red bull and the red bird by the prestigious family in New York’s financial world, it was only natural to try to win the favor of Burnley’s owner’s agent, who holds the final say.

Of course, there was an unspoken agreement not to have direct discussions about acquisitions or the club until the quarter-finals were over.

“By the way, I heard that you are going to rebuild San Siro. Is it going well?”

At Helena’s question, Chairman Billy Beane sighed deeply, while Paolo Maldini rolled his eyes and muttered a curse.

“Mamma mia! [Italian expression of surprise or dismay] Fucking mess!”

Paolo Maldini gestured apologetically at Helena’s slightly embarrassed expression.

“I’m sorry. I was just so frustrated….”

“No, it’s okay. I can imagine what the situation is like.”

“You do? Those damn government officials… Ah, I’m sorry. My wife keeps nagging me to cut down on swearing, but it’s not easy.”

The sophisticated middle-aged Italian man immediately cursed again, as if he had a lot pent up.

Helena nodded, having heard a lot about the slow, stubborn, and bureaucratic Italian government officials and local autonomous bodies.

“I experienced how bureaucratic it was here when we were acquiring the club, but rebuilding the stadium is no joke.”

Chairman Billy Beane, who had sighed, added.

“It’s easier and faster to negotiate with Inter Milan. Right, Paolo?”

“They know that they can’t leave San Siro as it is either.”

Paolo Maldini replied.

“Actually, we should have pushed it through when Silvio Berlusconi was Prime Minister… I was just a player back then, so I didn’t think much about it, but now…”

Regardless of whether it was a magnificent and historic stadium, Helena could sense that the facilities of the stadium, which was built in 1925 and is almost 100 years old, were deteriorating.

The box seats were naturally refurbished with modern interiors, but the rest of the stadium’s facilities and structure were seriously outdated, even if they were being carefully maintained.

“The most serious problem is the grass.”

Paolo Maldini said, noticing Helena’s gaze as she looked around.

“When the roof was installed, they didn’t consider enough natural light, so the grass on the field dies very quickly. In the end, we have to replace the grass periodically, which is costly, but it also means that we can’t use the stadium for any other purpose at all.”

Considering that stadiums generally generate additional revenue through events such as concerts, it is painful not to be able to generate revenue through a stadium with 80,000 seats in Milan, the center of Italian industry and finance.

“I see. That must be a big headache.”

At Helena’s words, Chairman Billy Beane asked from the side.

“I heard that Burnley succeeded in rebuilding the stadium at a miraculous speed. Can you really share the secret? Aside from everything else, this is really painful for all of us.”

Helena gestured in embarrassment at the two men looking at her with hopeful eyes.

“Stadium construction is done by experts anyway, so I don’t know much about it. My brother coordinated everything, so he would know better. But getting government approval is actually the more important issue, right?”

Helena shrugged at the two people nodding.

“There are only Burnley fans in Burnley, so just…”

“Just…?”

“…We just made them realize that if the stadium reconstruction approval wasn’t granted in a short period of time, they would face the fair judgment of angry voters in a democratic society. Then they really cooperated well, you know?”

They mobilized all Burnley Football Club supporters and sent letter bombs to everyone who could have even a little influence on the building approval in the Burnley area.

Chairman Billy Beane burst into laughter when he heard that story.

“Ah, ah, ahahaha!! Letter bombs! Paolo, can we do something like that?!”

Compared to the chairman who was bursting into laughter, Paolo Maldini’s eyes shone seriously.

“A true Rossoneri [AC Milan fan] would never refuse. We need to start quickly. No, right now!”

The AC Milan technical director, who had been the center of fans’ support even during his playing days, immediately took out his cell phone and started scrolling down to find the phone number of the AC Milan official supporters club president.

The elderly chairman shrugged, watching the young technical director, who was sure to be somewhere in the stadium, take out his cell phone and search.

“But shouldn’t we finish today’s game first before we start handing out letter bombs?”

“We can have them write the letters during halftime. Just a moment…”

Paolo Maldini excused himself and moved to a corner of the box seats, continuing the call with one ear covered, leaving behind the still chuckling chairman and the slightly embarrassed VIP looking at his back.

“[…Manfredi? It’s me, Paolo.]

[…Yeah, it’s urgent. Have the supporters hand out letters and envelopes right now.]

[…What? Have them write exactly what I tell them to write!]

[…Okay, I’ll tell you. If you don’t approve the San Siro reconstruction plan right now, AC Milan supporters will…]”

Huh, I think our letters were much milder?

Do they prefer more direct threats in Italy?

Helena shrugged, slightly puzzled, and turned her gaze back to the stadium.

“Uwaaaaa!!!”

The players lined up in two rows and entered the stadium in an orderly fashion amidst the cheers of the crowd.