AC Monza released a lengthy letter hailing ‘generous, passionate, brilliant, winning and visionary’ President Silvio Berlusconi, who took the club to their first ever Serie A campaign.
The former Milan patron passed away this morning at the age of 86 and tributes have been pouring in for the titan of Italian culture over four decades.
After selling Milan, he invested some of that money into purchasing Monza in Serie C and helped them become a reality on the Calcio stage, climbing to the top flight for the first time in their history.
“A generous and passionate President, a brilliant, winning and visionary man. This and much more was Silvio Berlusconi,” read the open letter published on the club website.
“All that he did in his life, he did with passion, with the same ambition that brought him to have success in every sector that he participated in.
“Silvio Berlusconi lived four lives, as Adriano Galliani always said, who was alongside him throughout those lives as friend and faithful collaborator.
“Real estate, television, politics and football. In these chapters, he wrote the history of Italy and more, starting from missions that seemed impossible and instead all came true.
“In 1977 he was named Cavaliere del Lavoro thanks to his brilliant real estate activities. From then on, for many, he will always be known as Il Cavaliere.
“He was the politician who remained for the longest time as Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, a role he held four times.
“Then there was football, his great passion. In 1986 he became President of Milan, with whom he won everything: 29 titles in 31 years dominating in Italy, in Europe and in the world.
“In September 2018 he dived in with the same passion to a new football adventure, purchasing Monza. ‘Those who believe will battle, those who believe overcome all obstacles, those who believe will win.’
“It was a slogan that became his greatest lesson left to players and employees of the big Biancorossa family in these almost five years. Words that echo all around the U-Power Stadium and the Luigi Berlusconi-Monzello training ground, two gems that were completely renovated during his tenure and thanks to which the club became a Serie A side to all effects.
“When Berlusconi bought Monza, the club had not been in Serie B for 19 years and had never been to Serie A. ‘It will be romantic,’ sung the fans as they dreamed of something that seemed impossible. But believing, working with passion, effort and enthusiasm, Berlusconi’s Monza went from Serie C to Serie A, giving its fans unforgettable emotions like the incredible night in Pisa or the first victory in the top flight against Juventus.
“Speeches in the locker room, dinners in Villa Gernetto or weekly visits to Monzello: the charge that Silvio Berlusconi brought to his players was always an inexorable motor of enthusiasm and confidence.
“The push that made the great dream of Serie A possible in the words of Adriano Galliani, who despite all the years of friendship, since that November 1 1979 has never been able to not call him Sir. For immense respect, almost for devotion.
“The younger players were always stunned by the humility and openness that the President showed towards every member of the squad. Between a joke and an anecdote, Berlusconi always wanted to know everything about his lads, surprising them at times with how much he knew about them all.
“He distributed notes with advice and rules to follow, not just on the field but off it too, because Berlusconi always founded his success on the values of respect and fair play. Win, but with style.
“With the same enthusiasm that he had when watching victorious Champions League Finals, he followed Monza in Serie C away fixtures and never missed a game on television when political commitments meant he couldn’t be at the stadium.
“After every objective was achieved, he immediately set out a new one. Because his strength was never stopping, always dreaming and chasing new targets. For Monza and all the people of this town, he was the man of dreams.
“Thank you, President, it was all very romantic.”