Gennaro Gattuso cannot conceive of Milan and Monza President Silvio Berlusconi no longer having a presence in Italian football. ‘He is immortal to me, he can’t be dead.’
The legendary real estate and media mogul made his mark on the world of sport by taking Milan from near bankruptcy in 1986 to the most successful club in history with 29 trophies in 30 years.
He then raised Monza from Serie C to their first ever top flight campaign, but Berlusconi died this morning at the age of 86.
“He was a man of extraordinary charisma. He changed the history of Milan,” former midfielder and coach Gattuso told Tuttomercatoweb.
“All we needed to do was put our boots on, whatever he said really got under your skin. He always had the right words for every situation.
“I’ll be honest, he is immortal to me. It feels impossible that Silvio Berlusconi could be dead. Just 20 days ago he came out of hospital and made that video to his political party, showing incredible strength. No, he can’t be dead.”
Gattuso was a midfielder at Milan from 1999 to 2012, so experienced plenty of the legendary Berlusconi speeches, including his visits to the Milanello training ground where he had his own helicopter pad built.
“Before big games, I would go to his office and he’d say: ‘How are they?’ He was referring to my family, who he knew all by name. Victories were important, but they had to arrive with good performances, he always wanted his Milan to play beautiful football.”
Many coaches who went through Milan – and later Monza – had Berlusconi publicly telling them what decisions to make, including tactical formations like a four-man defence and at least two strikers.
“If he did influence coaches, we never noticed it, he always respected the balance. He was a great President.”