Adriano Galliani, the former AC Milan CEO and current Monza executive, reminisced about his 45-year relationship with Silvio Berlusconi on the eve of the Monza-Milan match. Speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport, he recounted how his story began on November 1, 1979, when Berlusconi invited Galliani to dinner at his home in Arcore.
“I was an entrepreneur, running my company Elettronica Industriale,” Galliani recalled. “My secretary informed me that Silvio Berlusconi, whom I didn’t know, had invited me to dinner. I told her to accept immediately. I was almost in Siena when I turned the car around and went back to Brianza.”
That evening marked the beginning of a friendship and a series of entrepreneurial and sporting successes. Galliani reflected, “He will remain the person who changed my life, my mentor. He was kind and generous.” He added, “The greatest victory has been making him fall in love with Monza.”
When asked about the reason for the invitation, Galliani explained, “I showed up with one of my partners, Aurelio Cazzaniga, another mentor for me, and Fedele Confalonieri was also present. With incredible clarity, Berlusconi told me he had plans to create three national television networks. He asked if my company could help with this project. I said yes. Without knowing anything about my company, he offered to buy 50% of Elettronica Industriale: ‘You name the price.’ That handshake started our adventure.”
Galliani praised Berlusconi’s motivational skills, saying, “He had an incredible ability to motivate you. When I visited him at Arcore, I would walk in and fly out.” He humorously compared him to Pep Guardiola: “He was the Guardiola of entrepreneurs—actually much better than Pep.”
Regarding Berlusconi’s football allegiance, Galliani confirmed, “He was a Milan fan! During that dinner, he recited Milan’s lineups from the 1960s; we talked about Gre-No-Li.” He added that Berlusconi’s interest in Milan was evident early on: “In 1981, during the Mundialito for Clubs held in Milan, he paid Johan Cruyff’s salary to have him play for Milan even before he became the owner.”
Reflecting on his relationship with Berlusconi, Galliani said, “I considered him like Fausto Coppi—a man alone at the top. I was his gregario; every now and then I would win a classic.”
When asked if he ever angered Berlusconi, Galliani replied with a smile: “Maybe when I withdrew the team in Marseille. But he never told me.”
As for the upcoming match against Milan, Galliani expressed excitement: “It will be an emotional game. I’ve invited Paolo Scaroni, Giorgio Furlani, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to dinner at the stadium before the match for a risotto alla… monzese.”
Galliani fondly remembered last year’s match where Monza won 4-2: “I didn’t watch the second half due to emotion. I went to my sister’s house; we closed ourselves in the kitchen drinking hot tea.”
He acknowledged some challenges this season but remained optimistic: “It’s been a bit difficult; it’s normal when you change coaches. We need time to assimilate new ideas. Plus, we’ve had many injuries. We will have to battle, but I believe our squad is better than several direct competitors.”
Galliani also expressed confidence in coach Nesta: “The coach has never been in danger; no one has ever thought about sacking him.” He stated that achieving a third consecutive Serie A survival would be “a masterpiece.”
On Daniel Maldini’s development, he said: “Technically and physically he has everything; he just needs a bit more aggressiveness. I wanted him strongly back at Monza; he wanted it too despite having two clubs from the left side of the table interested in him.”
When asked about potential investment from Gamco into Monza, Galliani noted: “At the moment there hasn’t been any offer after their expression of interest. Fininvest continues to support the club.”
Finally, when questioned about possibly bringing back Mario Balotelli to Monza, Galliani humorously replied: “I’ll exercise my right to remain silent.”
