Berlusconi and Milan: history of epic triumphs (and some searing defeats)

Silvio Berlusconi goodbye: the most successful AC Milan president has died

The name of Silvio Berlusconi will remain forever in the history of world football.

“Milan are the team with the most titles in the world, and I am the president who has won the most trophies. Santiago Bernabeu won half of them and they even named a stadium after him”, Silvio loved to recall.

It all started on a cold winter day: it was the February 20, 1986in Milan people wore coats, but the hearts of the Rossoneri fans suddenly warmed up when newspapers and agencies of the time broke the news: “Silvio Berlusconi is the new owner of AC Milan”.

The beginning of a new era for the Rossoneri and for world football.

When Silvio Berlusconi saved AC Milan from bankruptcy…

They weren’t easy years for the Rossoneri Old Devil before the arrival of Silvio Berlusconi. Milan carried on his own jersey the star of the 10 championships won in its history (at the time third behind Juventus already with two stars on the black and white jersey and the cousins ​​of Inter with 12), but he came from two relegations to Serie B and was navigating the middle-high ranking positions in the Italian championship. In Italy it was a success when the great historical rivals were fighting (the 2-1 against Inter in a comeback with a goal from Mark Hateley or the 3-2 against Juventus in the ’84-85 championship are unforgettable), in Europe it was already an achievement to be able to spend a couple of rounds in Coppa Uefa as happened in 1985/86 (eliminated Auxerre and Lokomotiv Leipzig, but were then thrown out by Belgian side Waregem).

Then Silvio Berlusconi arrived, ideally riding a white steed as in the most beautiful fairy tales, he saved Milan from bankruptcy by resurrecting it from its ashes like the Arab Phoenix.

Berlusconi and Sacchi’s Milan: the football revolution

From there it was a story of triumphs and glory for Milan. Buying star players like Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard together with Carletto Ancelotti (summer 1987, a year before they had been taken Donadoni – snatched from Gianni Agnelli’s Juventus – and Daniele Massaro) who brought a team full of made in Italy talent (Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti, Filippo, Galli, Billy Costacurta, the very young Paolo Maldini) to make the leap in quality. On the bench? An emerging coach like Arrigo Sacchi taken from Parma then in Serie B: the coach from Fusignano had beaten Milan in the Coppa Italia with a goal from Fontolan, catching Silvio’s attention for his modern game. It was the beginning of the revolution. Goodbye bolt and Italian counter-attacks, the era of total football was beginning.

Berlusconi and Sacchi’s Milan: the Scudetto against Maradona’s Napoli and the epic Champions Cups

The first AC Milan championship – snatched from Maradona’s Napoli with an epic 2-3 draw at San Paolo on 1 May 1988 (goal by Pietro Paolo Virdis, Ruud Gullit and his iconic braids and icing on the cake by Marco Van Basten) it was pure adrenaline for the support Red-black. Like the parade at San Siro by Berlusconi, Sacchi and the whole team on the night of the triumph, returning from Como (1-1 which gave the mathematical victory in the last round of the championship). Just the beginning. One year after the first European Cup, a ray of light pierced the fog of Belgrade (match suspended against a Red Star who owns the pitch at 60th on 1-0 – signed by Savicevic – and repeat of the match the next day with the round going to penalties after an afternoon of suffering and real fear after Donadoni took a blow to the head risking dying) and arrived by demolishing the myth of Real Madrid (5-0 at San Siro) first and then Steaua Bucharest (4-0 in the final in a Camp Nou in Barcelona invaded by 80,000 Rossoneri fans, perhaps the largest exodus in the history of football). And again: the Intercontinental Cup in the Italian night (played in Japan) with commentary (slightly deferred, live coverage could not be done) on Canale 5: Milan-Nacional Medellin 1-0, goal by Chicco Evani from a free-kick in the 119th minute that mocked René Higuita.

The second Champions Cup was signed by Frank Rijkaard with Van Basten’s assist: 1-0 in a difficult but controlled match against Benfica after an even more painful semi-final against Bayern Munich, with a famous goal from a lob in extra time by Stefano Borgonova which gave the Rossoneri the deserved qualification (a 2-1 for the Bavarians with Aumann who saved everything after Van Basten’s 1-0 at San Siro). Is exactly Rijkaard 6 months later he signed a brace in the Intercontinental Cup, with the triumph of Milan this time by destroying the Paraguayans ofOlimpia Asuncion (Giovannino Stroppa also scored 3-0).

Berlusconi and Milan (by Capello): the defeats against Marseille and Ajax. The 4-0 against Barcelona signed by Dejan Savicevic

And you could write books and books about it Silvio Berlusconi’s Milan history at Milan, full of incredible triumphs and with some searing defeats. The dark night of Marseilles (March 20, 1991), with the lights of the Velodrome going out a few minutes from the end of the second leg match of the quarter-finals (1-0 to the hosts who had made it 1-1 at San Siro), Adriano Galliani who tells the team to leave but then the match will not be repeated (Instead, the Uefa disqualification came to Milan for one year from European competitions).

Or the lost finals: from the one in 1993 again against Marseille (1-0 goal by Basile Boli from a corner kick that wasn’t even thereMilan had won all the games on the way to Munich) and with a battered Marco Van Basten on the field (the sore ankle of the Swan of Utrecht which then in 1995 forced him to retire at the age of only 28) or two years later in Vienna against Ajax, punished by a goal from Patrick Kluivert in the 85th minute in a night without Dejan Savicevic injured. With the Genius (one of Berlusconi’s favorite players) on the pitch it would almost certainly have been another story, him than twelve months earlier he canceled Romario and Bebeto’s Barcelona from the field (4-0 brace from Massaro, sensational lob from the AC Milan player who overtook Zubizzarreta and final poker from Desailly) despite the absences due to disqualification of Franco Baresi and Billy Costacurta.

Berlusconi and the Milan of Fabio Capello’s invincibles

Three bitter-sweet finals with Fabio Capello on the bench. Pieris’ coach had taken over Arrigo Sacchi’s legacy after a parenthesis as a ferryman in 1986 in place of the sacked Nils Liedholm – with qualification for the UEFA Cup in the play-off against Sampdoria by Vialli and Mancini: 1-0 goal by Massaro with a header in extra time – managing to win 4 championships in 5 years with what would later be defined the Milan of the invincibles with 58 Serie A matches without knowing defeat: from 26 May 1991 to 21 March 1993, interrupted by a free kick in the 58th minute by Tino Asprilla (Milan-Parma 0-1). The team that almost nobody managed to score (929 minutes without conceding a goal in 1994, beat Zoff, then Buffon and Juventus would overtake him).

Berlusconi and Milan: from Zaccheroni’s Scudetto to world triumphs with Carlo Ancelotti on the bench (and the cursed night in Istanbul with LIverpool)

And then Milan’s Scudetto comeback with Alberto Zaccheroni on the bench: seven points recovered from Cragnotti’s very strong Lazio (with star players such as Vieri, Salas and Nedved, Nesta, Mihajlovic) in the last seven games of 1998/99. A parenthesis in years not full of successes. The harvest would resume with Carletto Ancelotti on the bench: the 2003 Champions League by eliminating Inter in the semifinals and defeating Juventus in the Manchester final on penalties with Shevchenko beating Buffon and making the Rossoneri hearts beat. Then the Scudetto the following year won after a head-to-head with Roma. Curse of Istanbul: Year 2005that incredible final lost on penalties against Liverpool after leading 3-0 and with those 6 minutes of madness that changed the fate of the Cup. And the revenge of two years later when, on 23 May in Athens, Inzaghi and Kaka knocked down the Reds.

An incredible cycle signed by a team that seemed like a world dream team: from Maldini and Nesta to Seedorf and Pirlo, Ringhio Gattuso, Rui Costa and Kakà, Pippo Inzaghi and Shevchenko.

Berlusconi and Milan, the last championship with Ibrahimovic and Max Allegri

Silvio Berlusconi’s last triumph with Milan was the 2011 Scudetto with Max Allegri on the bench and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the pitch (the coup from Condor Galliani who took him from Barcelona in the last days of August 2010 after a market canvas woven masterfully for months by the ex CEO of Milan), won against Inter coached by Leonardo (and then also beaten in the Italian Super Cup). The last victory instead against Juventus was the Super Cup in December 2016 in Doha against Juventus (Montella coach and the very talented Donnarumma protagonist on penalties) Then the sale to Li Yonghong (13 April 2017) with 8 Italian championships won, 1 Italian Cup, 7 Italian Super Cups, 5 UEFA Champions Leagues, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 5 UEFA Super Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup, a total of 29 official trophies in 31 years.

Berlusconi and Monza: the historic promotion to Serie A

Silvio Berlusconi’s return to football (with Adriano Galliani) was also a winner: on September 28, 2018 he became the owner of Monzataken in Serie C, taken in 2020 to Serie B and in 2022 to Serie A. This year with Palladino on the bench a good championship ended in 11th place with victories and good football…

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