AC Milan, springboard to the power of the Cavaliere

Almost a whole life in red and black. Silvio Berlusconi, disappeared Monday June 12 at the age of 86, has built a glorious itinerary, in which the AC Milan club has long been its standard. Media magnate, successful businessman, leading politician who reached the top of the Italian State, he began his football adventure in 1986, taking over the Lombard club, to transform it into winning machine in the 90s, and of which he will be the number 1 icon.

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President of the Council of Ministers of Italy three times, the Lombard has always relied on his image as boss of the Rossoneri to carry out his desires for power. With more than four million fans across La Botte, his favorite club gave him significant visibility during his thirty-one years at the helm.

Managing Italy the AC Milan way

At the time when he bought the formation, the latter experienced troubled hours. In financial difficulty since its demotion to the Italian second division following the Totonero scandal – a case relating to rigged bets revealed in the early 1980s – AC Milan has lost its luster. “Silvio Berlusconi did not set his sights on this club by chanceexplains historian Fabien Archambault in the journal Histoire@Politique. Weakened by this scandalthe oldest club in Milan was almost bankrupt, but it belonged above all, with Inter and Juventus, to the restricted circle of big teams draining tifosi across the whole country“.

His rapid successes made him an extolled leader in northern Italy. Serie A champion in 1988 by triumphing over Diego Maradona’s Napoli, then winner of two Champions Leagues in 1989 and 1990, the ACM returns directly to the front of the bill thanks to its legendary coach, Arrigo Sacchi, as well as the recruitment of three flying Dutchmen: Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. “The club’s reputation was positive. It was a team that won and represented Italy to the best of its ability. Berlusconi benefited from this major symbolism in a country where football is a much more structuring element than elsewhere”emphasizes Arnaud Benedetti, professor of the history of political communication at the University of Paris-Sorbonne.

A C1 final lost to Marseille later and while a new European crown was emerging, Silvio Berlusconi decided to enter politics during the 1994 legislative elections, announcing “going down to the field”, while the Italian political class is confronted with cases of corruption. A first metaphor spun with football.

“Forza Italy!” from the stands to the polls

“AC Milan’s sporting success was an important stepping stone for him. In everyone’s eyes, he became a winner. But it should also be noted that he was the owner of a television group that served him a lot”recalls Paolo Tomaselli, Italian sports journalist for the Corriere della Sera. “The victories of Berlusconian Milan, celebrated at will by the channels dependent on its group, Mediaset, have contributed to extending the ramifications of the supporters’ clubscontinues Fabien Archambault. The nuclei of tifosi then constituted the first relays of his new party.

A political formation with the unambiguous name: “Forza Italia!”, which is similar to the songs to the glory of the Italian national team. “The elected members of the party were called the “Azzurri” as the nickname of the players of the Squadra. This double identity was obvious. Berlusconi wanted to lead Italy in the same way as AC Milan: towards success”notes the transalpine journalist.

“Berlusconi was a man of spectacle and entertainment. He was the first in Europe to have invested the codes of business in the political world. He wanted to manage the Italian State as he managed a football club.”

Arnaud Benedetti, professor of the history of political communication

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From his first campaign, football brought him closer to the people and played in their favour. “It’s a universal sport that transcends social classes. There is a unifying symbolic form in football. This explains why politicians like Berlusconi used this lever”. Result in 1994, his party won the elections and he was appointed President of the Council of Ministers.

The biggest stars as ambassadors

Although his first mandate at the head of the country lasts only a few months, Silvio Berlusconi does not hesitate to reuse the same recipe throughout his political life. As an element of soft power, it attracts the biggest stars to Lombardy when its popularity rating requires it. In the summer of 2010, his Milan recruited Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho in particular when the center-right coalition he led was struggling internally.

“It started in 1992 with Gianluigi Lentini. Berlusconi hit hard by bringing him to Milan with the status of the most expensive player in history”, recalls the journalist Paolo Tomaselli. In total, no less than ten Ballon d’Or winners played at San Siro during his presidency. Among them, the Brazilian Ronaldinho and the Ukrainian Andreï Shevchenko, whose transfer rumors feed the country’s daily newspapers a few days before the 2008 legislative elections. “On the electoral level, it is a tool for obvious clientelism, certifies Arnaud Benedetti. He does not make it possible to win an election on its own but it has necessarily had an impact in terms of image”.