Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kicks the ball upfield against Juve in the Super Cup.

Last month’s Italian Super Cup triumph at the expense of Juventus marked Milan’s first silverware since beating city neighbours Inter 2-1 in the same competition, in Beijing, five years ago.

Many are now predicting that this success could trigger a new era for the Rossoneri.

Between August 2011 and December 2016, they endured five trophyless years as Milan went through several coaching chan-ges… Massimiliano Allegri, Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Cristian Brocchi before Vincenzo Montella was hired last summer on a two-year contract worth €2.3 million annually.

During the same period, it seemed unclear for many who was calling the shots at the club.

The wily Adriano Galliani was still the board supremo, a position he had occupied since Silvio Berlusconi took over the reins more than 30 years ago.

However, his influence seemed to have diminished after he was made to share his role with Berlusconi’s daughter Barbara.

In effect, for the past three years Milan had two CEOs – Galliani remained responsible for the sporting area whereas Barbara Berlusconi took over the other areas of the club’s activities.

Nonetheless, results on the field of play were hardly convincing ever since the club’s 18th Scudetto in 2011. After that Milan finished second in 2011/12, third in 2012/13, eighth in 2013/14, hit rock bottom in 2014/15 when they slipped to 10th place, and seventh last term.

As the years rolled by, it became evident that Silvio Berlusconi was devoting less and less of his time to the club and was unwilling to invest more money to restore some of Milan’s lost pride.

Club ownership

The news last August that Fininvest, the holding company controlled by Berlusconi, had signed a preliminary agreement with a group of Chinese investors to sell 99.93 per cent stake in the club came as no surprise.

Milan were valued at €740m including debt of €220m.

That agreement brought the curtains down on Berlusconi’s stewardship of Milan and it also provided a much-needed change at the club.

In the close season transfer window, Milan’s main signing was Gianluca Lapadula – €9m from Pescara.

Aside from the 2015-16 Serie B top scorer, Milan brought back to base central defender Gabriel Paletta from Atalanta and Spanish playmaker Suso from Genoa.

Jose Sosa (Besiktas) and Mario Pasalic (on loan from Chelsea) were the club’s other major signings.

In contrast to Inter, themselves the subject of a change in ownership, Milan had quite a low-profile transfer market which induced the supporters not to raise their expectations.

However, as the first round of the Serie A campaign comes to an end this weekend, Milan have shown they’re worthy challengers of a top-three finish.

At present, the seven-times European champions are fifth with 33 points, two adrift of third-placed Napoli but with a winnable away game against Bologna in hand (postponed to February 8 due to the Super Cup match).

Victory over Juve and a genuine quest for a high placing in Serie A, along with the arrival of new owners, are all good reasons for the fans to hope for a better future.

Perhaps, more importantly, Milan have some of the best up-and-coming Italian players at the moment.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, 17, is the heir-apparent of long-time national team goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as defenders Mattia De Sciglio and Alessio Romagnoli are already regular internationals.

In midfield, Milan can count on Manuel Locatelli, Giacomo Bonaventura, Andrea Bertolacci, Davide Calabria and the gifted Suso.

In defence and midfield, Montella has a number of experienced players like Paletta, team captain Riccardo Montolivo and Juraj Kucka to rely on.

Milan, however, lack a deadly finisher up front, someone who penetrate the opponents’ defensive lines.

Luiz Adriano, who has barely featured for the team since Montella took over, is expected to join Spartak Moscow this month. The Brazilian striker is under contract for another three-and-a-half years, so if the deal goes through Milan could save up to €30m in salary and other bonuses.

Colombia international Carlos Bacca has rarely justified the €30m Milan paid Sevilla to acquire his services in July 2015.

M’baye Niang started the season on a high but lately his performances have left much to be desired and as a matter of fact he was not utilised by Montella in the Super Cup against Juventus.

But Milan have all cards in place to get back on track and start winning titles. The coach, players and set-up are all there.

One expects the new owners will now inject the necessary capital to keep the club’s best players and make sure enough funds are available for the transfer market.