A team-company, pharaonic acquisition campaigns, the "good game" to build successes and sell entertainment : this is the philosophy with which Silvio Berlusconi has intertwined his entrepreneurial and political affairs with those of football since 1986 , first for 31 years at the helm of Milan , with victories in Italy, in Europe and in the world, then from 2018 as owner of Monza, protagonist of the climb from Serie C to A.
Always with his trusted friend and right-hand man Adriano Galliani by his side, even in his last time at the stadium, on 26 August 2022, at the beginning of the Brianza adventure in the top category.
The purchase of Monza comes just over a year after the sale of the Rossoneri club , his football creature, to the mysterious Chinese Li Yonghong, epilogue of the era of the " most successful president in the history of football", as Berlusconi himself liked to call himself .
A controversial conclusion, eight months after the preliminary contract, after two postponements because the Chinese did not have all the necessary funds. Not exactly in line with the glories of the Rossoneri history of the entrepreneur who is recognized as having revolutionized the world of football, since he took over the company on the verge of bankruptcy from Giussy Farina on 20 February 1986. At the time there was talk of political interference, of mugging the property developer Giuseppe Cabassi or the oilman Dino Armani who allegedly offered more than Berlusconi's 15 billion lire.
A save, "a matter of the heart" has always said the Cavaliere (denying a previous interest in Inter) who in 30 years has spent over one billion euros for Milan and won 29 trophies, scoring a 'pre' and a 'post' in Italian football, as he had done with TV and as he would have done with politics. Berlusconi introduces the idea of football as a show.
At the first meeting he lands with the team in a helicopter at the Arena with the Cavalcade of the Valkyries , asks for reinforced jerseys like in football to intimidate the opponents, and is satisfied with the acrylic ones, with more television colours. On the stage of the Manzoni theater he became president on 24 March 1986, set aside the Rossoneri icon Gianni Rivera and organized the club as well as its advertising and TV companies, with a marketing division, a novelty for Serie A. Winning while having fun is the mission. "We must become the most successful club in the world" he announced in the summer of 1987 at a convention at the Pomerio castle. Skeptics will reconsider.
There will be dramatic moments, the night in Marseille, the final in Istanbul, up to Calciopoli . Among the glorious ones, the first comeback Scudetto over Napoli in 1988, the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo in 1989, the Champions Cup won over Barcelona in 1994 while the first Berlusconi government obtained confidence or the Champions League final with Juventus in 2003. For the Cavaliere, the coach is above all a motivator. Immediately think of the basketball coach of Milan, Dan Peterson. He chooses Arrigo Sacchi (1987-91), who had eliminated Milan from the Italian cup with a B team, Parma. Also thanks to the Dutch Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten, intuition pays off, like the promotion from Polisportiva Mediolanum (project archived after 5 years) to the bench of another homo novus, Fabio Capello, between '91 and '96.
While football lands on the Mediaset networks and the patron descends into politics, entrusting the club to Ramaccioni, Braida and above all to CEO Galliani. Between TV, power and football the boundaries blur. The blue coach Zoff "torpedoed" from Palazzo Chigi in 2000 and in 2001 he sacked Zaccheroni from Milan who in 1998 obtained the Scudetto in his first year but challenged the dogma of the three-man defence: he became the third of the 4 exonerated in the first 15 years of the was Berlusconi (after Liedholm and Tabarez, before Terim). Four defenders, a half striker and two strikers, ordered the president. Ancelotti (2001-09) won everything with 4-3-2-1 and left when Berlusconi gave him blames the lost championship.
Leonardo also leaves after a year, due to "incompatibility" with the Rossoneri's n.1, who claims the "17 consecutive passes" of his Edilnord, suggests formations and makes vitriolic jokes. Allegri (scudetto 2011 and Italian Super Cup 2012) is the first of the three exonerated since 2014, in addition to newcomers Seedorf and Inzaghi. The feeling is poor with Mihajlovic and Montella, the last to win a title, the Italian Super Cup against Juventus. It is no longer the Milan of crazy spending (the 64 billion lire for Lentini in '92 or the 31 million euros for Nesta in 2002), of the historic captains Baresi and Maldini, and of the golden balls, from Van Basten to Weah, from Papin to Baggio, from Shevchenko to Ronaldinho, a purchase heralded by the FI leader before the 2008 elections.
The latest Rossoneri Ballon d'Or is Kakà, his sale in 2009 marks the turning point : until then Berlusconi always makes up, then it becomes impossible to resist the temptations. Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva leave, while friction between Barbara Berlusconi and Galliani begins in the club. In 2013, the president also appointed his daughter as vice president, the two-headed Milan was born, which can no longer depend on Fininvest. Barbara builds Casa Milan and focuses on her own stadium but the project stalls (Il Cavaliere has always been against the demolition of the San Siro), while partners are being sought, especially in the East. The negotiation with Bee Taechaubol does not take off, the one with the Chinese is convoluted, between consortia that fall apart and deposits from the Virgin Islands, to postpone the closing twice, bypassing the limits on the export of capital imposed by Beijing. Berlusconi's lawyer, Ghedini, also goes to the prosecutor's office to demonstrate to the magistrates the lawful origin of the funds.
In the end, Li needs a 303 million euro bridging loan from Elliott, which will take over from the Chinese defaulter within a few months. It is no longer the Milan of dreams, but in 2022 they win the Scudetto while Monza lands in Serie A, where Berlusconi can finally see (but only on TV) the derby between his "two loves".
(Unioneonline/vl)