How do you solve a problem like Milan? Part 2

Welcome to part two of my series of blogs about Milan’s current problems.

I will now look at the reasons why the club are facing such issues and I can safely say that I will not be the only one to say that club president and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the main reason that Milan are in this current predicament.

Berlusconi bought the club after they were relegated from the Italian Serie A in 1985 and for the next 20 years resurrected the club into the European powerhouse they once were. Trophies came in thick and fast from 1986 until 2007 and the club produced many champions including the likes of Marco Van Basten, Franco Baresi, Poalo Maldini, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka. But since 2007 the money flow from Berlusconi has stopped and he insists the tiring legs of the same players that are now on the wrong side of 30 can still perform at a world class level. They can’t. Since 2007, year after year Berlusconi looks for cheap options and tries to fool the fans by bringing in big names that are past their prime and tries to resurrect their careers. He brings them in because they are cheap and get the fans excited, but in reality he is just putting a bandaid on a bullet wound.

Some examples of players he has brought in for cheap include former FIFA World Players of the Year Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Ronaldo’s career was reaching an end due to numerous injury problems and had gained too much weight, but Berlusconi thought it would be a great idea to bring him in because he was such a great champion in the past. This did not last long as after only a handful of games Ronaldo got injured and was forced to leave the club. We see a similar situation with Ronaldinho, who is one of the greatest players to ever walk this earth, but a weight problem had fans sceptical about how good he is now. Sure enough Berlusconi’s tactic seemed to work as Ronaldinho trimmed down and began playing world class football, but the rest of the team were not on the same level as him because of their age and he soon lost his spirit and is currently in a horrible run of form.

These are just two example of the sort of mentality Berlusconi currently has but rest assured there are many other examples that will just take too long to explain in one blog. The names Andriy Shevchenko and current player Zlatan Ibrahimovic may jog some people’s memories.
Berlusconi’s reluctance to bring in any fresh, young talent is really starting to hurt the team. He insists that the old players that won the 2003 and 2007 Champions Leagues are still world class players, but I think it is pretty obvious they are not.

Berlusconi is the main reason the club is in the situation it currently faces and in part three I will provide some solutions that many people around the world would have already thought of.