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| | Friday 18 April, 2008 | | Blog: Un-Presidented | | Silvio Berlusconi won the Italian general election on Monday, but how will his third stint in power affect Milan? James Horncastle investigates |  |  | | Il Cavaliere has, to use his words, derived from the lexicon of football, ‘taken to the field’ once more and is already ‘planning for next season’. One could be excused for thinking that Silvio Berlusconi was talking about the club over which he presides, Milan, not the country that, after winning a majority in the Italian elections, he will lead for a third time.
Italians will be hoping that they and not just Rossoneri fans will receive Silvio’s undivided attention over the next five years. Milanisti will feel hard done by if Berlusconi doesn’t concentrate on the team’s affairs, after all 23 per cent of Italy’s football supporters follow the Diavolo, a body of people not quite big enough to rubber stamp a government but certainly a grouping with the wherewithal to swing a vote or two.
Milan season ticket holders are rightly concerned given the decline in success at the club since Berlusconi’s entry into politics. Between 1986, when the 71-year-old took control of the Rossoneri, and 1994, when Berlusconi entered the political arena, Milan won four Scudetti, three European Cups, two Intercontinental trophies, three European Super Cups and four Italian Super Cups, a total of 16 major honours in eight seasons, averaging two trophies every year. Over the last 14 seasons the Diavolo have become the most decorated club in the world but have ‘only’ won 10 titles, an average of 0.7 per annum, a rate, coincidentally, mirroring the slowdown of the Italian economy.
Has Silvio taken his eye off the ball? When Berlusconi takes office in the next 10 days or so, he is expected to step down from the Milan presidency and hand over the reins to Adriano Galliani. The media magnate faces a difficult first few months as Italian Prime Minister given the scale of the problems in Campania and the state of the economy. Il Cavaliere’s image consultants will not want him spending millions and millions of Euros on Milan when inflation has reached 5.2 per cent, Alitalia, the country’s airline, is failing and food staples like bread, pasta and milk are more expensive than ever.
What I find worrying is that Milan are in a lot more trouble now than they were when Berlusconi first came to prominence as a politician. In 1994 legends like Paolo Maldini and Zvonimir Boban were only 25, Demetrio Albertini 23, and Billy Costacurta 28. Moreover, the club’s transfer policy has changed direction from Berlusconi’s initial predilection for young talent like Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard to gambling on older, injury-prone players like Ronaldo. This trend looks set to continue despite the signing of Alexandre Pato. Just look at who the Rossoneri are linked with this summer – Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko.
Silvio has been able to help Milan while in power but not by opening his wallet. Berlusconi’s last government passed a law that helped bail the Rossoneri and other clubs out of financial difficulties while TV money from his own company and Galliani’s tenure as President of the League also helped keep the Diavolo afloat. Saying all this, I don’t expect a complete scaling back of Milan’s operations. Aesthetics, more than ethics, have been crucial to Berlusconi’s success over the years and the presence of a beautiful and winning football team in his portfolio is vital to his credentials as the right man to run Italy.
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