“Too divisive”, no to the stadium named after Berlusconi

Having brought Monza to the Olympus of Italian football after a 110-year history doesn’t count. Or at least it’s not enough, if your first and last name is Silvio Berlusconi. When it comes to him, the left retreats into an ideological approach that often prevents an open debate. Let’s proceed in order. In recent months Martina Sassoli, councilor of the Mixed Group in the Monza parliament and regional councilor in the ranks of “Lombardia Migliore” had presented a motion (signed by all minority colleagues) for naming the Brianteo stadium in Monza to Silvio Berlusconi. A proposal put forward on 12 June last year, on the very day the famous entrepreneur and politician passed away.

But today, after months, the left-wing junta is holding back on this hypothesis. A few days ago the deputy mayor Egidio Longoni, during the television program “Monza, a city of Serie A”, on the hypothesis of naming the stadium, he said: «We have not yet addressed the topic, but a motion has been registered: the point will be to reflect on any ideological barriers. One thing is Silvio Berlusconi entrepreneur who invested in the team and the city. Another is Berlusconi figure politics, divisive in history. Mine is not a judgement, if I talk about him in relation to what he has done for the city, I can only thank him for what he has achieved for the Monzafor that matter stadium and for the Monzello». The script is in every way similar to what we saw for the naming of the Belvedere of Palazzo Lombardia, but with a substantial difference. In this case politics should not weigh since the naming of the Brianteo stadium would evidently be attributed to his merits as president. Under the guidance of him and that of Adriano Galliani, Monza was in fact the protagonist of an impressive ride that took the club from Serie C to Serie A in the space of just four years.

It was September 28, 2018 when the Fininvest purchased 100% of the “Società Sportiva Monza 1912” giving it back the historic name of Associazione Calcio Monza. After a first year of transition, the team dominated the 2019/20 Lega Pro championship, gaining promotion to Serie B 19 years after their last appearance in the cadet series. Then, in the 2022/23 season, for the first time, Monza played in the championship Series Where, among other things, it now plays permanently with excellent results (today it is close to the top ten positions). The motion, presented almost a year ago, should be discussed next week, also because a postponement close to the first anniversary of his death, when the emotional wave is still intense, is certainly not convenient for the council. «The motion concerns exclusively i sporting merits of Silvio Berlusconi (and Adriano Galliani) for our city which are indelible and now historicised. I don’t know how it will end, but certainly a vote against would be an unmistakable political signal purely ideological choice. Also because an abstention by the Democratic Party would be enough for final approval. I believe that even more than Milan, it is Monza that should pay homage to Berlusconi and, moreover, in a period in which there is talk of a possible sale of the club, it would be a doubly important signal”, says Sassoli. Among other things, naming stadiums after great presidents is a rather widespread practice: from the Bologna stadium dedicated to Renato Dall’Ara to the one in Catania which bears the name of Angelo Massimino, up to the Palermo stadium for Renzo Barbera. A “tradition” that unites Italian football but which could stop in Monza.