AC Milan and Silvio Berlusconi are forever linked together. The colorful futs boss made another ascent to the top of futs in the 2020s.
Died of illness at the age of 86 Silvio Berlusconi was known as a politician, businessman and keen football player.
The story on the side of the king’s sport began in 1986, when he bought AC Milan and announced that he would bring the club back to its glory.
The promise was fulfilled in a way that Berlusconi himself hardly dared to dream of. It was made possible by a bold choice of coach, when he put the red and blacks at the helm Arrigo Sacchini.
Despite his insignificant playing career, Sacchi achieved legendary fame above all by creating a revolutionary way of playing for Milan – and of course by leading the team to two European Cup victories and one Serie A title.
The Italian championship that came in the first season remained indelibly in Berlusconi’s memory.
– According to Fifa, Arrigo Sacchin’s Milan played the most beautiful football in history. It’s really hard to say, but it was really inspiring to see the team play so incomparably. I am glad that my father, who took me by the hand as a child to rejoice and suffer for Milan, was still alive to see it.
Silvio Berlusconi managed to reach the Champions League trophy in 2007, after AC Milan had beaten Liverpool in the final. PDO
The choice of the sports director also hit the button. For Sacchi by Marco Van Basten and by Frank Rijkaard acquired similar tools in the role of CEO Adriano Galliani.
Success continued after Sacchi Fabio Capello and in the 21st century Carlo Ancelotti under.
Berlusconi knew how to shamelessly take credit for the Milanese club’s trophy cabinet full of trophies.
– Let’s talk about Sacchi, by Alberto Zaccheroni and Ancelotti’s Milan, but never Berlusconi’s Milan. Yet for 18 years I have been the one who chooses the team, makes the rules and buys the players. It’s like I don’t exist, he said in 2004.
Berlusconi’s era at AC Milan ended in 2017, when he sold the club after 31 years to a Chinese investor group for a purchase price of 740 million euros.
The second coming
Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani formed a power duo at AC Milan and Monza. EPA/AOP
Only a year later, the couple Berlusconi and Galliani began to build a new football story on the outskirts of Milan in Monza, where the history of the sport was thin.
The three million euro deal was proof of the business acumen of the long-time businessman, because only four years later the club had found its way to Serie A for the first time ever.
Of course, Berlusconi was responsible for making the proper investments in the club to make the trick possible. The players were familiar with experienced Serie A players.
A busload of cheerleaders
The updated gigolo became known, especially in the political fields, for the fact that he shot out loud what he spit in his mouth. Statements were often frowned upon due to their incorrectness.
In December 2022, Berlusconi will motivate the Monza players at a Christmas dinner in his familiar style.
– If you beat big teams like Juventus or Milan, I’ll send a busload of prostitutes to the dressing room, he mumbled and made his audience laugh.
A month later, Monza traveled to Turin and beat Juventus 2–0.
In any case, it is not publicly known whether Berlusconi redeemed his promise.
Monza finished 11th in Serie A last season.