AC Milan and Silvio Berlusconi – a 30-year love affair

There have been few people in the world so closely associated and connected to a football club as Silvio Berlusconi at AC Milan. As the former club owner and Italian Prime Minister once said: "Milan is a matter of the heart". And for 31 years, from 1986 to 2017, that heart led the Rossoneri to 28 great victories to maintain one of the most enduring and happiest love stories in Italian football.

Berlusconi was not only a key figure in Italian political history is gone, but also an indisputable presence in the world of football. In light of his death, let's look back at his time and influence over his beloved club.

Coming from a successful season with Parma and, strongly sought after by Berlusconi, Arrigo Sacchi will be one of the architects of the Rossoneri dream. The coach would join in 1986, setting Silvio Berlusconi up for his first great sporting success.

In the photo: Arrigo Sacchi and Ruud Gullit

Success came quickly once Sacchi was on the scene, and within just one year AC Milan had their first title. Milan won the Scudetto in the 1987-88 championship, the first under Berlusconi's management.

Barcelona, 24 May 1989: Milan beat Steaua Bucharest 4-0, with two braces from the Dutch Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten, and won the 1988/89 Champions Cup.

It was the Dutch (Rijkaard, Gullit and Van Basten) who carried Berlusconi's Milan in that period, allowing them to also conquer the Italian Super Cup by beating Sampdoria 3-1.

The triumphs of Berlusconi's Milan continued also in the following season, the 1989/90, when Milan prevailed over Barcelona in the European Super Cup.

In December of that same year, another jewel for the AC crown is delivered in Tokyo as Milan take out the Intercontinental Cup.

1990 was also the year of the second AC Milan Champions Cup, decided by a goal from Rijkaard against Benfica in Vienna.

Two more goals scored by AC Milan's Dutch aces decide the fate of the super cup: Gullit and Rijkaard break the Sampdoria goal and allow the Rossoneri team to lift the coveted trophy.

Also in Tokyo, Berlusconi's AC Milan in December 1990 was ready to collect another success: the 2nd Intercontinental Cup also arrived for him by winning the final against Olimpia Asuncion.

The doors of the national team opened up for Arrigo Sacchi and another great manager replaced him on the Rossoneri bench, Fabio Capello.

In 1992, Milan continued to see success under the guidance of Fabio Capello. Under Capellp. this year saw Rossoneri win their second championship since Berlusconi took charge.

They beat Parma 2-1 and AC Milan once again won the Italian Super Cup.

While they didn't win the Champions League, won by Marseille that season, they continued to see strong results domestically, winning the 1992/93 Scudetto.

That year, 1993, the Italian Super Cup was played abroad for the first time, in Washington, USA. Milan again won it, thanks to the 1-0 signed by Marco Simone (in the photo) against Turin.

For 929 minutes in the 1993/94 championship, the Sebastiano Rossi guarded goal was an impenetrable fortress. Also thanks to his great performance that year, Berlusconi's Milan won their 14th Scudetto.

The 93/94 season also saw AC Milan take out the coveted Champions League title after a thrilling 4-0 drubbing over FC Barcelona in the final held in Athens.

Milan also won the Super Cup again in 1994: this was their third consecutive win of the title.

Driven by Capello, Milan won the final of the UEFA Super Cup against Arsenal in February 1995. However, they failed to win the Champions League, beaten by Ajax in the final.

They overcame the disappointment, however, by winning the Scudetto in the 1995/96 championship.

Another coach arrives on the Rossoneri bench in the form of Alberto Zaccheroni. Zaccheroni will put an end to the two-year drought after AC Milan's last league win, winning the Serie A championship in the 1998-99 season. It will, however, be the only success under his management.

When Zaccheroni was replaced by Ancelotti in 2001, it was a completely different story for Milan.

On 28 May 2003, in an all-Italian final against Juventus, Milan once again won the Champions League.

The Coppa Italia was still missing from AC Milan's trophy case but a few days after the success in the Champions League, they were able to finally claim it with their 6-3 agg win over Roma.

The Milan of 2003 seems unstoppable. Driven by Shevchenko, he won his fourth UEFA Super Cup on 29 August.

Under the guidance of Ancelotti, the Scudetto also arrives in the 2003-04 championship: it is Milan's 17th and the 7th since Berlusconi has been president of the club.

On 21 August, AC Milan once again hoisted the Italian Super Cup after beating Lazio 3-0 – their first Supercoppa win since 1994.

In the final in Athens on 23 May 2007, Berlusconi's AC Milan took revenge for the final they lost three years earlier and won the Champions League once again.

The Super Cup in 2007 also marked a record for Milan: with the victory against Sevilla, the club reached Real Madrid and Barcelona and became the most successful in the competition (5 trophies).

Yokohama is the scene of a new AC Milan success: that of the 2007 Club World Cup (the new version of the Intercontinental Cup).

Four years will have to pass before seeing a Rossoneri success again. After Leonardo's experience as a coach, Massimiliano Allegri arrives on the Milan bench, and with him so does the 18th Scudetto.

On 6 August 2011, the Italian Super Cup also returned to the AC Milan trophy room, won in Beijing after beating Inter 2-1.

Since 2011, AC Milan fans had to wait almost six years before cheering again. Things turned around just before Christmas, on December 23, 2016, when Milan once again lifted the Italian Super Cup, the last of Silvio Berlusconi's 31-year management.