La Gazzetta dello Sport, in today’s edition, recalled how last night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, AC Milan won the Italian Super Cup, their eighth in history, defeating Inter. It marked the 50th trophy in the club’s history and the first under its American ownership, RedBird Capital Partners, led by Gerry Cardinale.
The last trophy, the 2022 Scudetto, was brought home under the management of another American fund, Elliott Management, led by Paul and Gordon Singer, during their fourth year of ownership.
RedBird achieved their first trophy in just three years.
Over Milan’s 125-year history, as the newspaper noted, the club has had 23 presidents. The longest-serving and most successful was Silvio Berlusconi, who led for 31 years and won 29 trophies.
Berlusconi’s era ended with what was, until last night, Milan’s most recent Italian Super Cup win, secured in December 2016 in Doha, Qatar, against Juventus in a penalty shootout. Among the club’s other notable presidents are Andrea Rizzoli (4 Scudetti and the first European Cup) and Franco Carraro (one European Cup and the first Intercontinental Cup).
Inter Trails with Four Trophies Fewer
Currently, it is President Paolo Scaroni who celebrates, but more significantly, owner Gerry Cardinale. Last night, the American entrepreneur was not at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh but followed the match on TV from the United States. He was able to comfortably celebrate the first success of his tenure, achieved against Inter in a Milan derby between two U.S.-backed clubs (with Oaktree owning Inter).
With last night’s victory, Milan reached the milestone of 50 trophies, pulling four ahead of Inter, who remain at 46.
RedBird’s next objective for Milan? Securing the second star, which Inter has already earned for their jerseys.
The pursuit will have to wait until next season, but Cardinale is determined to try again.
