How many lives? Three, at least. And all as protagonists. Yet, if you say «Gattai», the conditioned reflex is «Tomba». Or rather: «The voice of Tomba» (a bit like they say about Sonego: «The brain of the Deaf”). There is still an active page on Facebook: «Adoratori di Bruno Gattai». They are the orphans of his commentary – first on Telemontecarlo, then on Mediaset – who were the chorus of the blessed years of the national Albertone (Calgary 1988, Sanremo also stopped: «He has to give up, he has to give up… He’s in the legend!»). But that, indeed, was it a life. Today the zeitgeist blows on one of the most beautiful and immense terraces in Milan, the top floor of the «Pedersoli-Gattai» studio: the aristocracy of legal offices.
What a parable.
«Telecasts made me popular, but it was the thing that gave me the least satisfaction: it’s the thing that always came easiest to me».
Which one does he put in his head?
“The profession. Today in private equity I am considered perhaps the best lawyer in Italy.”
He has not lost his frankness.
“But I also went through crazy messes.”
That is to say?
«In 2012 I led the Italian office of Dewey Ballantine, which in ten years I had grown from 10 to 105 lawyers. Large American corporation: failed. It was the “Lehman Brothers” of law firms. I suddenly found myself with nothing, risking losing even my personal assets. I gathered the twenty people who were closest to me and set off again as “Gattai, Minoli and partners”. After ten years we were once again 150. And last year we merged with Pedersoli. We followed the sale of the building in Via Montenapoleone to Kering for 1.3 billion euros: the highest transaction in Europe for a single asset.”
I can’t imagine the commission…
«You don’t even look much. Legal advisors earn less than financial advisors, unfortunately. But I have done bigger operations.”
Guy?
«The acquisition of Recordati by an English fund. While I was working on it I said to myself: if I close it I’ll buy a Ferrari.”
AND?
«I bought a Portofino. It was also my 60th birthday. The only whim of my life.”
The latest commentary?
«I closed in 2000, after four Olympics».
How did it begin?
“I have to start with my first life.”
The skier.
«Yes, I started very early, because my sister suffered from asthma and my family moved to Cortina in the winter. At 8 years old I won the Mickey Mouse trophy, which was a serious thing back then. Then all the category championships, up to the absolute downhill championships at 19 years old.”
He could have become a champion.
«I wasn’t a phenomenon, but I was going strong. Too. My father was president of the Federation at the time: I wanted to demonstrate that I had no advantages of any kind. But I fell many times.”
His father Arrigo Gattai. Who became president of CONI.
«He was the eldest son of a patriarchal fascist family. He was very close to Angelo Moratti: he met him at the barber, the legendary Gino. And he became his trusted man: it was dad who went to pick up Helenio Herrera in Barcelona. On the other hand, I have a photo of myself, as a child, on Guarnieri’s lap.”
What memories do you have of him?
«Complicated, demanding. But when I skied he was always there, he was waiting for me at the finish line with his boots on. Or he went up on foot, along the slopes: he looked for me with his gaze. Every time I had to make an important choice in my life, I wanted to talk to him first.”
He died in 2012.
«He couldn’t see what I managed to build. I would like to talk to him. I miss my dad so much. I get emotional…”. (we stop, Gattai sheds a tear and dries his eyes).
And was that position to the right of his father never a problem?
“But no, he was so smart. He knew how to change. Even with me, who have always been more left-wing. I went to high school in the hottest years. Daniele Laus, one of Tobagi’s murderers, was my classmate at Beccaria.”
We were talking about commentary: how it started.
«After yet another fall I stopped. Leaving was a shock. It was Enrico Crespi, former journalist of There Night who collaborated with Telemontecarlo who asked me to give him a hand. I was 25 years old. I started with the Sarajevo Olympics.”
He never stopped.
«I had the ass that Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni were born».
Tomb, indeed.
«At the beginning the relationship was complicated, I criticized his choice to focus only on Giant Slalom and Slalom. But he was right. At the time I didn’t hang out with him much, I didn’t want to be seen as the ass licker on duty. Today we have a beautiful relationship.”
Do you feel?
«Call me, we write to each other. She constantly sends me videos of my old commentary. Look…”.
Gattai takes out his cell phone, opens WhatsApp and scrolls through the exchanges with Tomba: they are all little hearts and emoticons. A vocal from Alberto to Bruno: «Great popes, a bratty hug! I’ll wait for you at the club!”.
How is Tomba today?
«Good, he has invested in several real estate properties. And he manages them around the world. Then every now and then he does a little appearance. I think his great regret is that he was unable to start a family.”
Aldo Grasso in the Corriere praised the style of his commentary, while he was merciless towards Rai’s competitor at the time, Furio Focolari (“The snow was only seen on a few rare Sundays on Terminillo”).
«But poor Furio didn’t even ski badly. We were friends. He suffered, but he didn’t show it.”
Why did he stop?
«In the end I led a hellish life: I worked until Friday night, then I took the car and ran away up the mountains to do commentary. I have a photo of me hitting the slopes with my daughter on my shoulders. Then when I returned to the studio the clients told me: “But you’re the one who skis”. I had to overcome prejudices.”
And do you still watch skiing?
«Not much, it bores me. It’s all the same.”
Goggia or Brignone?
«Sofia has two gigantic a…s. I’m quite a friend of Brignone, his dad trained my son Luca.”
And what kind of father are you?
«I have five children, from two marriages. They’re all great guys. Two of them, because they are good, work in my studio.”
Is it true that you often get angry?
«I’m competitive, I get pissed off. But with maturity this side has softened.”
Who disappointed her?
“Customers come and go.”
But in particular?
«I assisted Donatella Versace for 10 years. After she managed to get Blackstone into the capital, the relationship broke down. Management probably tried to get me out. But I had grown fond of her.”
Who did he bond with instead?
«I consider Guido Barilla a brother. I would entrust my entire family to him.”
In two years there will be the Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Won’t she miss being in the cabin?
“It’s a closed chapter, I have no regrets.”
