What he sowed in politics and entrepreneurship remains, but in the world of football…
Exactly one year after the death of the Knight, the press and TV are wondering how much Italy misses Berlusconi. Or reversing the question of what remains of his legacy. The answer is easy for two of the fields where Silvio Nazionale excelled. Entrepreneurship and politics. The recent European elections have demonstrated how his figure is still present. Forza Italia, considered doomed until a few weeks ago, has passed its most difficult test. The moderate area he “created” (combining liberal, secular and Catholic values) remains an essential alternative to the left.
With regard to Berlusconi’s entrepreneurship remains, even today, an absolute point of reference. That winning mix of optimism and intuitions seasoned with extraordinary vitality is still a winning example. Not to mention that the companies he founded or acquired continue to enjoy excellent health.
THE HEAVY ABSENCE IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
Where the Knight’s absence is undoubtedly felt is the world of football. An environment where for over thirty years Berlusconi was an absolute protagonist on a global level. Here his example cannot be equaled. The numbers speak. President of Milan for 31 years (11375 days) he has an incredible list of successes under his belt: 29 trophies won including 8 league titles and 5 Champions League titles. An adventure that began in 1986 and continued until 2017. Years full of great champions purchased without sparing expense. However, champions have become phenomena with the Rossoneri shirt. Think of the Dutch trio (Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard) as well as the Italians Donadoni and Ancelotti or the Slavs Boban and Savicevic to name a few…
Thirty years of victories signed with coaches he (almost) invented like Sacchi, Capello, Ancelotti. But Berlusconi’s football adventure does not end at the Rossoneri because in 2018 he launches into another sensational undertaking. He bought Monza in Serie C and in just four years brought it to Serie A for the first time in its history.
President Berlusconi is a figure who has not only characterized the Rossoneri’s history but also has the collective imagination of all Italian fans by “invading” newspaper pages and television broadcasts with withering jokes, sensational announcements and white-hot controversies. All in the name of entertainment on and off the pitch. Like the (unsolicited) advice to his coaches on how to make the team play.
A UNICUM IN THE WORLD OF BALL
In the world of football his example remains unique. A football that in the last decade has witnessed the disappearance of great Presidents and Great Families replaced by sovereign funds and foreign investors who in just a few years have taken over a large part of our football without improving it. A result of Italy’s economic and international impoverishment. That decline that Berlusconi has tried to counteract as a politician for over twenty years, both as Prime Minister and as leader of the opposition.
Well, if there is a sector where Berlusconi’s intuitions and innovative ideas are completely missing today, it is football. National and international. A ball devoured by a business without limits and boundaries, which multiplies matches and tournaments by sacrificing entertainment and entertainment “beautiful game” of which the Knight was the most fervent supporter.
