The Milan View

The unrest at Milan has increasingly impacted my thoughts, and even my dreams… or should I say nightmares? The other night I thought I was hosting a TV panel kind of like The View with Adriano Galliani and Barbara Berlusconi. But was I just dreaming? Or was it real? When it was over, I couldn’t quite tell. So I thought I would recount it here and let you be the judge…

Me: “Welcome everyone to a special edition of The Milan View. Today my co-hosts are the legendary Adriano Galliani and the aspiring young businesswoman, Barbara Berlusconi. Thank you for joining me today.

“Before we bring out our first guest, I wanted to ask you both about the recent happenings at the club. Signor Galliani, what exactly happened that made you hold the press conference announcing your resignation?”

Galliani: “It was all just a big misunderstanding. I felt underappreciated and that my reputation was being tarnished. I am an old man, I thought that maybe it was my time to step out.”

Barbara: “There were some miscommunications, it was blown out of proportion. I simply wanted an accounting of certain transfers, I didn’t mean to imply I didn’t trust him.”

Galliani: (getting heated) “What else was I supposed to think? I have been with this club for 27 years and never once has anyone challenged my transactions.”

Barbara: (raising her voice) “With all due respect, sir, that may be precisely the problem. I am only looking after my father’s interests.”

Two CEO's, worlds apart

Me: “Hey! Let’s change the subject, this is clearly a little touchy. Barbara, you have a lot of ideas for modernizing the club. What do you think you bring to the table that the club has been lacking?”

Barbara: “Well the club is being run almost identically to the way it was when my father purchased it in 1986. And yet outside of the club, things have changed drastically. Over the past two years that I have sat on the board, it is clear that Milan needs to make certain changes to continue to be successful in the modern world.”

Galliani: (exasperated) “Young people always think they know best, but I know how to run this football club. Look at how many world class players I brought to this club. Look how many trophies we won. I know football.”

Me: “You bring up an interesting point. Recently, Gennaro Gattuso said that women have no place in football, specifically referring to Barbara Berlusconi’s involvement with the club. How do you feel about women in football?”

Galliani: (gives Barbara a disgusted look) “I will not comment on Gattuso’s views, they are his own. I will only say that Barbara was in diapers when I took this job. Obviously I can’t stay at the club forever, but I did not expect the change of the guard to be so extreme.”

Me: “Barbara, how did you feel about Gattuso’s comments?”

Barbara: “There are those who believe in gender stereotypes. I am at the club because of my experience and because of my love for the club. If I get the job done, why does it matter if I’m a man or a woman?”

Young, female, AND inexperienced?

Me: “Signor Galliani, rumor has it that Braida will be leaving and there will be a new Sporting Director at the club. That is something that falls under your jurisdiction under the new organization, yet reports say that Barbara will have to approve of the new Sporting Director. Is this true, and do you agree with the new organization?”

Galliani: (indignant) “Appointing a new Sporting Director is my job. I was coerced into accepting the new organization, and I’ll be damned if she gets to tell me how to do my job.”

Barbara: (shouting) “Somebody needs to tell you how to do your job. Just look at the mess with Ibra and Thiago Silva! I tried to tell you…”

Galliani: (yelling) “That’s right, you stuck your head in when no one asked you to! If you would have minded your own business, the sale would have gone smoothly and you wouldn’t have tarnished your father’s…”

Barbara: (standing and pointing) “My father is the reason I got involved! You were running this club into the ground, and he deserves better…”

Galliani: “You’re right, he does deserve better! He is an amazing man.”

Barbara: (sitting down) “That’s right, he is an amazing man.”

Me: (wiping sweat from my brow) “Finally something we can agree on. That’s all the time we have for now. Tune in next week when we invite ex-players Pato, Pippo, and Pirlo to talk about Massimiliano Allegri.”

Things are getting a little catty around Casa Milan now

Did that just happen? I’m still not sure. All I know is that I got the same feeling from it as I did when I was little and my parents fought. And I still have that anxious, nauseated feeling as I would for weeks after a big fight, too. Will my Milan stay together? Can we exist with the two CEO system? Only time will tell. Hoping that 2014 will see more cooperation and less fighting. Except on the pitch… we definitely need more fight there.

This post inspired by the music of The Smiths “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me”