Euroscene: Shortly before one o'clock last Sunday morning, a small group of journalists and TV crews were still hanging around in the press room at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in San Siro. Even though the weekend's big match, AC Milan v Juventus had ended with a convincing 3-1 Milan win more than two and a half hours earlier, the media posse was in no hurry home.Euroscene
The media was there because the great communicator himself, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, owner of AC Milan, was still on the premises. Along with Milan's managing director Adriano Galliani, coach Carlo Ancelotti, Juventus director Antonio Giraudo and coach Fabio Capello, Berlusconi had stopped for a chat and a glass of wine in one of the VIP suites at the Meazza stadium.
Over the years, there is arguably nothing the controversial Berlusconi has enjoyed more than the success of Milan, a success that owes much to his money, energy, enthusiasm, ideas and considerable football knowledge.
Never a man to hide his light under a bushel, Berlusconi often portrays himself as not only Milan's guiding light but its very "anima" or soul. When it comes to election time (and we are due for a general election in Italy next April), he is never shy about associating himself with the winning Milan brand.
Thus it was the media posse suspected Saturday night's defeat of arch-rival Juventus would be too good an opportunity for the prime minister to forego. So it proved. After a game in which Milan had adopted an unusually aggressive, hard-tackling, hard-chasing attitude, Berlusconi's thoughts inevitably turned to last May and Milan's traumatic Champions League final loss to Liverpool: "It was a great night and in a sense even Juventus ought to be happy because we've thrown the championship contest wide open again. Above all, though we've wiped out the Istanbul syndrome. Mind you, I'd like to point out that on that May 25th night, I refused to accept congratulations from people at half-time. Deep down inside, I felt something was wrong. Even after we went 3-0 up tonight with (Andrea) Pirlo's goal, Fedele Confalonieri (head of his Mediaset TV empire) was telling me not to start celebrating.
"The team deserves nine out of 10 for its attitude and its will to win and it gets eight out of 10 for its tactical disposition. You all know, of course, I know what I'm talking about. Some years ago, I coached an amateur youth team and led them to victory. Whether you're sitting at a meeting of the G8 or on the coach's bench, it helps to be intelligent."
As we said, Berlusconi never was one to hide his light under a bushel. Lest anyone had failed to get the point, he underlined it forcibly when asked later to comment on the differences between Juventus and Milan: "Juventus can count on a remarkable fan following all over Italy. The extra card Milan has up its sleeve, on the other hand, is Berlusconi. You can laugh at me if you like, but that's the reality."
Tonight, away to PSV Eindhoven in a Champions League tie, Milan have a chance to prove their wealthy owner's optimistic tones on Saturday night were not misplaced. Last year, when the two sides met in Eindhoven in the semi-final stages of the competition, Milan lost 3-1, limping on to the final thanks only to the away goals rule. Over the 180 minutes of the tie, PSV had been arguably the better side. Two weeks ago, PSV again gave Milan a run for their money in a 0-0 draw at the Meazza.
Coach Ancelotti reacted favourably to that draw, suggesting it signalled a turning point in the Milan season. Saturday night's emphatic defeat of Juventus, closing the gap at the top to just two points, would suggest Ancelotti was right. Watch out for further confirmation tonight from a Milan side still missing Ukraine bullet Andriy Shevchenko but certainly not short of attacking quality with Brazilian Kaka prompting Alberto Gilardino and Christian Vieri in the front line.
