MILAN - Nerazzurri CEO Michael Bolingbroke
took the media's questions after the shareholders' meeting this
morning: "Frank de Boer only came in a short time before the start of
the season and that's never easy for any coach. The management and
owners are 100% with Frank because we believe in him and we know he
doesn't have an easy job on his hands. He'll have a good chance to
really work with the team during the international break.
"A
number of agents contact us to put forward coaches or managers. We
haven't been in touch with anyone - we began the season with a plan and
that hasn't changed. Having to start again not long before the opening
weekend of the season was a calculated risk albeit the decision was in
the club's best interests. We believe Roberto Mancini did an excellent
job - he left the club in a much higher league position than the one he
found it in - and we parted ways on very amicable terms.
"We
don't want to endorse any specific candidates at Lega Calcio and we'll
assess them over time. If you ask me, the candidate should be someone
who's able to grasp the current dynamics of football both in Italy and
around the world. In order to get more people watching Serie A, we must
draw inspiration from the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga, which
are all changing a lot. Digital technology is changing football for
consumers and our candidate needs to realise that.
Financial Fair
Play requires us to break even, as UEFA defines it. We're on track to
do so but it won't be easy. However, it is part of our settlement
agreement and I believe we'll get there. We're working on having a
Chinese tour for the next five years. Moreover, the owners are based in
Nanjing, so it makes sense to open an office over there."
Suning vice president and Inter board member Yang Yang also
attended the press conference. Here's what he had to say: "Erick Thohir
is a partner of ours in Southeast Asia and is very well known in our
sector. We plan to expand our business but Erick focuses 100% on the
team and we're in constant touch with management. The targets from a
year ago haven't changed and we're also working very closely on the
footballing side.
"It's good to have two top clubs in different
leagues, as it means we can find common ground but any transfer must be
in the team's best interests. Some players have the potential to move
from China to Italy. Suning are here to fully support Inter's
development. We will invest over the long term to support Inter on and
off the pitch and we must keep an eye on our FFP commitments. We need to
do our best so the club can generate revenue, for instance by finding
sponsors in China.
"We have lots of Italians like Piero Ausilio,
Alessandro Antonello and then there's Javier Zanetti who has been at the
club for many years. It's very important to have the right governance
to run a club like Inter and, as majority shareholders, we are very
pleased with the club's internal structure. Certain members of the board
talk to Mr Moratti and his role as a consultant is very important.
We're 100% behind the coaching staff and aware they're facing a tough
time but we must all work together.
"As for whether De Boer has
struggled more than we expected, as we've said, Suning have made a
long-term investment. Sport is one of the areas our group operates in
and we only became majority shareholders four months ago - it takes
time. We chose Inter for our European investment because we strongly
believe that this the right club, one with great tradition. It's only
natural you face difficulties but everything is in place to improve our
results and achieve our targets.
"Both Suning and Inter believe
we have the right structure in place to achieve our targets. We
constantly work together and our dialogue and communication are
excellent. We have people working here at the Milan offices and this
line of communication is working well. The core of Suning, as Steven
Zhang said, is here. Our chairman Jindong Zhang has watched every match
so far, including those late at night."
