Gandini recalls working with Berlusconi and Galliani plus Ibrahimovic and Beckham negotiations | OneFootball

Umberto Gandini has many stories to share about his time with AC Milan during one of their greatest eras, and he has done so in an interview.

In 2003 the great rivalry of Italian football was Milan against Juventus. They asked Giraudo who he liked among the Rossoneri and the Juventus CEO did not answer Kakà or Shevchenko but ‘Gandini, very efficient international director’.

Gandini was the foreign minister of Silvio Berlusconi’s Milan, an era spanning over three decades. A former hockey player, he worked for Mediaset, acquiring TV rights. In 1993, Adriano Galliani asked him to join him at Milan.

He stayed at the club for 23 years, until the change of ownership, and then he went to Roma. Today he is president of the Lega Basket, but the plan has always been that he will return to football.

Gandini spoke during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport and reflected on the time that he spent with Milan, including some of the big signings he had a hand in making.

Do you miss that time?

“There Giraudo, Bettega and Moggi plus Romy Gai. Here Galliani, Braida and I. Rivals on the field, but there was a political axis. Giraudo had understood the importance of relations with UEFA.”

Had you ever considered leaving that Milan?

“Twice. The first time I thought I deserved more and Lucia Morselli, the CEO of Stream TV, offered me an important job. Galliani opposed. ‘Stay with us’. Then he called Morselli: Lucia, there’s someone here who has to tell you something.”

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You were part of so many transfer negotiations…

“One of the hardest? Ibra from Barça. We reached an agreement with President Rosell. He had to be convinced. ‘Go home, I’ll take care of it’, Galliani told me. His wife saw him and said to Zlatan: ‘What does that gentleman sitting in the living room want?’. He was convincing.”

The strangest negotiation?

“Beckham. For the first loan, the Galaxy wanted a bank draft in the hands of their lawyer. No bank transfers. The lawyer called the US and then they gave the OK… Galliani couldn’t believe it.”

Where did you meet Berlusconi?

“At RTI, where I joined in 1988. Once a week he wanted to meet the managers. A master with Berlusconi and Galliani and great men of sports who taught me everything, Dan Peterson, Rino Tommasi, Massimo De Luca, Marco and Bruno Bogarelli… Berlusconi was a visionary, even as president.”

Was he ever too imposing?

“He was competent and wanted to give his ideas. He once suggested to Ancelotti to keep all the players out of the area on the corner, and have them run in when the ball went out, so that the defenders didn’t know who to mark. And Ancelotti: ‘President, we tried, but it doesn’t work’. But he saw Sacchi and Capello. And not only that”.

What was Capello like?

“I knew him from Mediaset Sport. I arrived in ’93, he was already the coach: focused, demanding, attentive to detail. We won the Champions League with Barcelona 4-0, but to be on the bench with him you needed to be attentive, you didn’t have to celebrate.

“After the 2-0 it was hard to hold back, but he would glare at you. After the 4-0 I hugged him: ‘They won’t catch us again!’. He still had his hands in his pockets and a gruff look. And then there was Berlusconi on the phone.

“He was in the Senate for the vote of confidence, but in Athens they had given us the first cell phones, Galliani spoke with him a thousand times.”

Was Capello tough?

“He melts, but at other times. When he came back the second time he was different, even harder, almost with the attitude of an avenger. At the beginning, some problems, then between us everything went back to how it was before.”

And Carlo Ancelotti?

“The day after Terim was sacked. Galliani told me: ‘I’m going to Parma to get our friend Carletto’. He was also happy for culinary reasons. Terim remained tied to Milan, but he hadn’t become part of the family, he had his own rhythms even at the table. With Carletto, culatello, salami, wine, pieces of bread moved to talk about tactics came back…”

Two special players were Zvonimir Boban and Ronaldinho…

“Boban, a man of culture, went to live in Castiglione Olona in a period building with a historic library. Passionate about history. He proved to be a leader without compromises.”

And Ronaldinho?

“He lived in a villa and always organised parties with the Brazilian community in Milan. He would stay up all night, wake up, so to speak, and go to Milanello. One day he showed up in the kit from the previous year. We sent him for a few massages and found him sleeping in the ice tub.”