Barbara Berlusconi sheds light on father Silvio and stadium difficulties in Milan

Barbara Berlusconi knows full well the challenges that building a new stadium in Milan presents, and she has spoken at length about the new project.

Born in 1984, Berlusconi – the daughter of Silvio, formerly owner and president of AC Milan – joined the club’s board of directors in 2011. She was vice president and CEO from 2013 to 2017, when her father sold the club, and today she is on the board of directors of the Teatro alla Scala.

While she was part of the Rossoneri’s commercial department, she made it her mission to build a state of the art stadium, in the Portello district. However, things never really got off the ground despite renderings being produced and the usual initial excitement.

Now, Barbara Berlusconi has shared her insight on what her father was like and the hurdles that Milan (and Inter) must jump over to construct a new home, in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

If we say dad, what is the first word that comes to mind?

“Optimism, because he was always a man of great enthusiasm and extremely confident in life. He was a true optimist. He believed in dreams and pursued them with a determination that I have never seen in other people.

“He was able to see possibilities where others saw limits and he believed in it so much that in the end he convinced them.”

What was your relationship with him like?

“A deep bond, made of complicity and so much sweetness. It wasn’t always easy to be close to him, because those close to him had to enter his world, and it was a complex world. But for me he was always a point of reference.”

Are there any character traits of your father that you identify with?

“Definitely his determination. And also that irony he used to make light of everything. Irony was part of his nature, but sometimes he also used it to lighten things up and make light of things.”

It’s easy to imagine that his last name was sometimes a burden?

“Sometimes yes. But more than a burden it was and is a responsibility. Carrying the surname Berlusconi means being constantly observed, judged. I have learned to live it with pride.”

What is the gesture of his that has remained closest to your heart?

“When, in difficult moments, he took my hand without saying anything. It was his way of telling me ‘I’m here, you’re not alone’. That gesture is worth more than a thousand words.”

His most important teaching?

“You can fall, but you always have to get up again. And that nothing great is built without passion and without a vision.”

What kind of daughter were you, and what kind of father was he?

“I was very curious, independent, sometimes rebellious. He was a loving father, he always pushed you further, but with a sweetness all his own.”

A rebellious gesture that made dad angry?

“When I got my tongue pierced.”

Not too bad, considering how much he cared about the aesthetic ‘cleanliness’ of people…

“Yeah (laughs). He just didn’t want to see certain things. I managed to keep it a secret for a while, but eventually he noticed. You could see that it bothered him, but then he accepted it. With us children I rarely saw him seriously angry. And in any case he wasn’t an intrusive father.”

Your dad was often away for work: how did you spend the time you managed to carve out for yourselves?

“I suffered for many years his institutional commitments. But a lunch together, a longer phone call, a laugh were enough. In those moments time stopped and became only ours.”

When you were little, didn’t you reproach him for his long absences?

“No, although I suffered from it. Let’s say that when I was little there was a sort of habit of seeing him only once a week. Then, growing up, obviously I understood. The best part came when we started working together: at that moment I regained what I had missed as a child.”

His favourite place?

“Macherio, where I still live today. The many walks in the park, he was a great lover of nature.”

San Siro is obviously also a place of your heart…

“Of course. Every time we went in together, he got emotional and transformed.”

Do you remember the first time at San Siro with him?

“I was little, I must have been 6 years old. I remember the noise, the colours, his hand on my shoulder. He explained every detail to me, as if he was taking me into a magical world.”

What words did he use to ask you to join Milan?

“With a smile and with these exact words, which I remember as if it were yesterday: ‘You have a red and black heart, now I need you to put your head into it too’. It was a natural transition, as if we had always known that sooner or later we would share this too.”

What did he leave to Milan?

“A philosophy of play, a winning identity, a way of being on the pitch that changed history. But above all, he left an emotional legacy: the Milan of the heart.”

More than a few people would like to see the name Berlusconi again, both in Milan and in politics: have you personally ever thought about it?

“No, I don’t see myself in it. I’m oriented and projected towards something else.”

Your father has experienced several legal turbulences: how does a daughter experience similar situations?

“With pain. It was a judicial persecution that lasted almost thirty years and that also undermined his health.”

The stadium at Portello had been your great dream. You were the first to propose a new stadium ten years ago, but the conditions to move forward were not there. And now?

“The debate can no longer be whether to build the stadium or not. It must be done. Staying at San Siro is no longer an option. There are no alternatives if you want to keep up with the big European clubs.

“I am happy to have raised the issue ten years ago. Back then the time was not ripe, but now I sense a new positive climate. Finally the municipal administration and the club are talking constructively.”

What do you mean by ‘immature times’?

“In my mind, they were actually very mature. The new stadium would have been needed twenty years ago, not ten. I don’t think they were mature in terms of collective perception, and that’s what sabotaged that project a bit for me.

“I really believed in it, it was a project that to this day remains of great interest in my opinion, starting with the location and the redevelopment of the neighbourhood.

“Even today, I struggle to understand why the institutions and the Municipality were so reluctant to carry out the change. If it had gone well, not only Milan would have benefited, but also Inter.”

Let’s go back to the Meazza: many are against the farewell for emotional reasons…

“We must look to the future. Milan has always sacrificed a part of its history and urban conformation in the name of progress and modernity. This is why Milan is the city it is today.”

What do you say to those who say that you can’t give up such an iconic stadium?

“It’s a dilapidated structure. Those who frequent the 3rd and 2nd ring know it well. Small and uncomfortable seats, tiring ramps. Bars and toilets not up to par, crowded corridors that impede movement.

“The structure only lives for the 90 minutes of the race and is a desolate place for most of the week. With a new project, even the neighbourhood would develop.”

Are you not convinced by the idea of ​​a restructuring?

“No, because it is uneconomical. Under my direction we have already partially renovated it for the Champions League final. But that is not enough. We must not be afraid of the future, nor live in the past in a sort of happy Italian-only de-growth.”

Some argue that all of this will ultimately drive up ticket prices…

“The cost of the ticket is already too high for the service offered.”

Would the San Donato hypothesis, that is, a stadium outside the city, conceptually disturb you?

“For me the stadium should be built in the city, but if it can’t be done otherwise, it’s fine outside the city centre. The essential thing is that it’s a new facility.”

In the past, you had heated exchanges with Mayor Sala on the subject of the stadium: have you made peace?

“Certainly. Confrontation is part of life. I have an absolutely cordial relationship with him, also because we work together at La Scala [Barbara is on the board of directors, of which Sala is president]. It is certainly not a tense relationship.”

Milan had a decline on the field…

“I’m very sorry, but I’m confident for next season.”

What is the project for Monza after the relegation?

“Milan and Monza are in my heart. I don’t want to avoid the question but, as you know, I don’t deal with them personally.”

What kind of woman is Barbara Berlusconi today?

“A woman who divides her time between five children, work and her artistic and cultural interests. It’s a positive moment in my life, I feel fulfilled and serene.”