They say deaths always come in threes and that’s just what happened to Milan fans in the last few weeks. First it was Zlatan retiring, then Maldini being let go and then finally the death of long time owner Silvio Berlusconi. I picked the picture above because I thought the combination of his funeral procession along with the Ultra groups perfectly illustrated his love of both politics and sport. In both arenas he was loved as well as hated but always respected. There’s plenty of both sides. When he bought Milan in the mid 80s he was exactly what football needed. And when I say football I mean football. Not just Italian football or Milan. World football had never seen anything quite like Berlusconi.
There had certainly never been an owner quite like him. The first celebrity owner. Sure there were characters and headline makers before him, but no one was landing in the middle of training in their private helicopter. He was equal parts Bill Veeck, Jerry Jones and Barnum and Bailey. A true master of innovation and spectacle. For Milan though it quickly became more than spectacle. Success came quickly. Alongside his trusted advisor Adriano Galliani Milan bought wisely and also bought the best.
Legends came and went. Some of the best to ever play the game wore the red and black. Trophies piled up. What remained though was Berlusconi as the face of the operation. As they say, ‘form is temporary, but class is forever’. Berlusconi and his Milan embodied that.
For 30 plus years Milan remained a power in Italian and world football. There were ebbs an flows but the class and quality always remained. The end at Milan wasn’t pretty but of course the end never is. No need to dwell. He did however pull off some magic one last time at Monza. Once again with old friend Galliani. All the way up to Serie A. To do it once was one thing, but twice?
Farewell Silvio.
We will never see another quite like him.
Lisi
PS: Feel free to share your favorite Berlusconi memories in the comments below.
