Who is Monza that the Italians are sending into the hands of Marinakis?

Silvio Berlusconi, who died on Monday morning (06/12) at the age of 86, was one of the great protagonists of the Italian political and sporting scene in recent decades, with the “cavalier” dominating his legend with very great successes. He was at the helm of Milan (he won 29 trophies), from 1986 when he first held it in his hands until 2017.

Impressively though, even when he left his beloved Rossoneri, he didn’t leave a black stone behind in terms of his Calcio presence, but remained active as he worked alongside his right-hand man at Milan, Adriano Galliani, when he made it aim to be successful in the second group.

This time the “lucky guy” was the previously unknown Monza, with the “cavalier” rising to become the team’s boss in the summer of 2018 and leading it to the top within five years. As if sensing he was dying, he managed to accomplish too much in too little time while the Lombardy team constantly scratched at his ceiling.

From the third tier to historic promotion to Serie A

The former Italian prime minister didn’t hesitate to take charge of a side that had gone bankrupt twice in the 21st century, in 2004 and 2015, to celebrate their first feat in 2020 when Monza bowed out of Italy’s third tier and joined the teams of the Serie B after a 19-year absence.

But the visions of the Berlusconi-Galliani duo were not limited to this, and this became clear in the most categorical way two years later. In the 2021/22 season, Monza lost to Perugia in the last game of Serie B and didn’t get a direct promotion ticket, but were undeterred as the Lombards finished fourth, defeating Brescia and Pisa in the semi-finals of Plaoyff’s final and for promotion respectively to celebrate.

A historic rise as Monza have spent a total of 40 years in the second division (the longest time an Italian team has spent in this league without getting a promotion ticket to the big leagues) and for the first time in 110 years the promotion in the Serie A celebrates history.

Record in her first season with 52 points

Their first game in the Campionato left a sour taste as they lost 2-1 at home to Torino (Dani Motta’s stoppage-time goal was their first in the top flight), while the next four games were followed by defeats and their first point was a 1-1 draw with Lecce and was hailed by the Briangsoli fans as if he were giving… a scudetto.

But those who believed that a point in the first six games would satisfy Berlusconi were apparently completely unaware of the winning mentality that dominated him throughout his life. Giovanni Stropa was no longer on the bench but was replaced by Raffaele Palladino – until the club’s Under-19 team coach – with the first win coming a week later (September 18, 2022).

And what a win… Against Massimo Allegri’s Juventus, with Gitkaer giving Monza their historic first treble in the big leagues while giving the signal for the big counterattack. Consistency;

Monza mathematically secured their six-game streak before the final (no other team had done so faster on their Serie A debut) only to finish 11th in the season finale with 52 points, the highest points tally of all to achieve newcomers in the top 5 leagues in its history as well as away wins v Juventus (2-0) Inter (1-0) which increased his reputation.

Time will tell if they can survive the new season, the second in their Serie A history, without Silvio Berlusconi at the helm. He is also the one who will show us if Monza will pass into Greek hands and in particular into that of Vangelis Marinakis, after Corriere dello Sport revealed about the negotiations between Berlusconi and Marinakis in recent months.