By David Gold
March 31 – Controversial politician Silvio Berlusconi has once again returned to the helm as President of Italy’s Serie A reigning champions, AC Milan.
The country’s former Prime Minister – who resigned from that post last November – has been appointed by the club’s board of directors to return to the position he has held twice before, from 1986 to 2004 and 2006 to 2008.
The news was announced on AC Milan’s official website but Berlusconi’s latest involvement is unlikely to affect the day to day running of the club.
AC’s owner (pictured with AC’s players) was forced to give up his role as President of Milan four years ago to comply with antitrust legislation that prevented him from holding the post while concurrently serving as Prime Minister.
Berlusconi originally bought the Rossoneri in 1986 when it was faced with the prospect of bankruptcy and has funded some of the most successful spells in the 113-year-old club’s illustrious history.
The San Siro club, along with Argentina’s Boca Juniors, is the most successful in world football in terms of international trophies with 18 officially recognised UEFA and FIFA titles.
It also landed the European Cup twice in a row in 1989 and 1990 and has won the competition – now known as the Champions League – seven times in total, a record bettered only to Real Madrid.
During Berlusconi’s previous spells in charge, Milan often countered the traditional Italian football stereotype, adopting a relatively attacking style of football while giving its managers sufficient time to implement their ideas.
Berlusconi, the controlling shareholder of Italian media giant Mediaset, quit his political hot-seat last year as, amid the Eurozone crisis, Italy struggled to cope with its vastly increasing debts.
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