Tifosi at heart

Berlusconi swaps premier hat for soccer scarf

ROME (Reuters) -- Any leader worth his political salt knows how to cash in on soccer success but in Italy it's a completely different ball game, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi running AC Milan as well as the country.

But as Berlusconi -- the man who named his Forza Italia party after the terrace cry, 'Go Italy' -- fights a stalling economy, rising unemployment and a charge of bribing judges, soccer could provide a welcome release.

After an eight-year European final drought, Milan squares off against domestic rival Juventus in Manchester on Wednesday in the first all-Italian Champions League final.

"With all its faults football is beautiful ... because it is a metaphor for life," Berlusconi said recently.

And Milan's footballing fortunes have certainly mirrored the prime minister's political rollercoaster ride at times.

In 1994, two hours after the billionaire media mogul won a vote of confidence in the Senate to set his first government on its feet, Milan whipped Barcelona 4-0 in the European Cup final.

A year later, with Berlusconi's government in tatters, Ajax snatched the European crown from Italian hands, beating Milan 1-0 in the 1995 final.

Fast forward six years. Just two days before Berlusconi won the 2001 election to try a second prime ministerial stint, Milan thrashed city rival Inter Milan 6-0.

Berlusconi this month described his day job as brutal, moaning that his quality of life had deteriorated. But for 90 minutes Wednesday he will toss aside his premier hat and don his football scarf to cheer on the boys in black and red.

Football fanatic

"He's a real tifoso (fan)," said Alberto Cerruti, a journalist at top sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.

As a toddler, Berlusconi used to be smuggled into matches under his father's coat. When he bought the club in 1986, he vowed to restore it to the glory days of the 1950s and 1960s.

"It seemed impossible. But he kept that promise," Cerruti said, "Milan wasn't a vehicle for his political ambitions, but the image of a winner of course helped him later."

Berlusconi lured foreign stars like Dutch trio Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard to Italy with mammoth salaries, but winning was not his only goal. He wanted to win with style, flair and innovation.

"Victory is important, but so is the spectacle," Cerruti said.

This February Berlusconi, whose business empire includes three popular private television stations, proposed more substitutions and penalty shootouts to make soccer more exciting and increase television audiences.

The prime minister has also dabbled in how the game is run. He is considered to have been a major player in the changes in European football that saw the Champions League set up in 1992 to replace the old knockout European Cup.

He is not the only deep-pocketed Italian businessman to look to the football pitch. Juventus, Milan's opponents in the all-Italian showdown, was guided by Gianni Agnelli, owner of the Fiat car company, until his death earlier this year.

Juve and Milan have between them won more than half of Italy's post-war league titles, with Berlusconi presiding over six Serie A titles and three European Cup wins.

Spending spree

But a recent lean run, when the prime minister was rarely seen at the San Siro stadium, brought out banners from Milan fans that moaned: "More money for the team and less promises to the electorate."

Last summer the Milan wallet opened to net Brazilian forward Rivaldo and Italy defender Alessandro Nesta, and in return Berlusconi demanded to see the club back at the top of Europe.

But would a victory in Manchester bolster Berlusconi's credentials as he nears the mid-point of his electoral term and defends himself in court against corruption charges?

"I've no doubt a victory will be very pleasant for Berlusconi personally. But it's a lot of glitz," said James Walston, professor of politics at Rome's American University.

"However seriously Italians take their football, and they do by God, they're not going to vote for him or change their views about his corruption trial just because his team's winning."

 

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