Papa Don’t Preach

Daddy is coming home. Finally. Almost three weeks after the unveiling of the new Casa Milan, Berlusconi is finally going to see it. Barbara recently said that he would visit after the elections were over, which is not at all shocking, as Milan has only ever been a platform for his politics. Nevermind that he claims to love the club. Nevermind that this project is the result of years of planning and a lot of money spent. Nevermind that his own daughter and co-CEO was over this project. Nevermind that he might have to abandon his dog’s website for a few hours to see Milan’s new home. The important thing is that today, Papa Berlusconi is finally making time out of his politically banned life of politics to visit the home of the club he claims to love so much. And we should be grateful.

"Casa Milan? See if I've got a couple of hours in June... Gotta update Dudu's website, you know?"

It would be easier to overlook his gross oversight if it weren’t for the years of using Milan to achieve his own personal success. Or if he didn’t tell us all of the time how much we should be grateful when he sells our best players or how much he’s suffered so much more than us fans because he’s spent his own money on the club (despite not actually having spent any money on the club.) Or so many other horrible, entitled, and heartless things he’s said in the media. Or how many horrible decisions he’s made that have impacted Milan so negatively.

He is such a bizarre enigma to me. Fellow fans always tell me “We should be grateful to him for all he’s done for Milan.” Really? Do you know how much he’s done against Milan? How much better the club could have been run by someone else? How much more success would have been possible if someone who wasn’t a convicted criminal was the owner? How much Milan’s brand and reputation has suffered abroad because of that man? Have you really never noticed that he only spends money when it will benefit his politics? And how now that he’s supposed to be banned from politics and serving community service for crimes he’s been convicted of, he’s stopped spending on Milan? His oversight in visiting Milan’s new house is just another example of how low on his priority list Milan actually is.

One big happy family... except someone is missing....

But it must suck to be Barbara. She’s worked so hard to get this project finished, and it’s beautiful and amazing. The owner of the company she works for, who also happens to be her dad, can’t even find a couple of hours to grace Casa Milan with his presence until now. She’s got an office there for him, which she has personally decorated for him, and he’s not even seen it. Her co-CEO did manage to make it there for opening day, but was openly surprised at how good the museum was. Maybe because he had also not taken any time to pay any attention to the extensive plans, despite, I’m sure, being in many meetings where these things were discussed. She is not respected by her own father, why would her co-CEO show her any kind of respect? It will be amazing if she is allowed to do anything at Milan at all.

Berlusconi’s omission of this visit until now is just further evidence not only of the dysfunction at the club, but of his lack of commitment to it. It is also a slap in the face to the woman who seems to be the only one in management who really cares, too. That even her own father cannot make it a priority to be present for a landmark moment in the club’s history shows how little power she wields at Milan and that he hasn’t made Milan a priority of any kind as he promised he would when his political career finally was impacted by his legal woes. But we, the fans are expected to revere him when he tells us how much more he cares about the club than we do, even though more than 3,000 fans have already visited Casa Milan before he has. Papa don’t preach, it’s not becoming to you at all.

This post inspired by the music of NIN