The TROFEO BERLUSCONI: Sometimes When You Win, You Actually Lose

Originally published on August 21, 2011 & updated with recent information

AC Milan and Juventus contest the Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi this week-end, a trophy nobody wants to win. For fans new to the Italian game or unfamiliar with its traditions, here’s a look at the history of the trophy.

The Trofeo Berlusconi is an annual one-off friendly football match, founded by Silvio Berlusconi in 1991 in memory of his father Luigi. The infamous politician intended it to be played each year at San Siro, featuring his own AC Milan versus a team that had won the UEFA Champions League at least once.

Due to the different commitments of such teams, conflicting schedules between different leagues and other various factors, this eventually became impossible. Since 1995 the game became an annual face-off between the AC Milan and Juventus, given the media interest for such a classic fixture of Italian calcio.

The trophy has been won by AC Milan 12 times, Juventus 9. The only other clubs to participate, before the shift in planning, were Bayern Munich, Internazionale, and Real Madrid.

Famously the trophy is said to be a jinx, as whoever wins it that year will fail out to reach out the Scudetto the same year. At first this just seems a strange quirk, but it becomes even more remarkable when you consider that in the last 17 years Milan or Juventus have won the Scudetto eleven times if we include the Bianconeri’s revoked titles. Take Inter’s recent winning run into account and it gets stranger still.

Indeed between 1995 and 1999 the loser went on to lift the Scudetto each season, the run being broken by Lazio’s title win in 2001.

The curse is so embedded in Italian footballing lore that in 2002, when the game went to penalties, Ciro Ferrara intentionally missed a penalty that led to Milan winning. Paolo Maldini buried his head in his hands upon realising they had won. The myth was further reinforced during the last two seasons, when in 2010 Marco Motta scored the winning penalty for Juve and Milan went on to lift the 2010-11 title. Need we remind you who won last year’s edition and who subsequently won the Scudetto?

The latest edition takes place Sunday August 19 @ 20:45 CET. As always, tune in after the full-time whistle for a detailed match report by our JuventiKnows crew.

Oh and needless to say, for this night and for this night ONLY… Forza Milan!

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Trofeo Trivia:

• The coaches to have won the trophy most often are Carlo Ancelotti with 7 wins (5 with Milan, 2 with Juve) followed by Fabio Capello on 5 (4 with Milan and 1 with Juve) then Marcello Lippi with 4 wins (all at Juve). No other coach has won the trophy more than once.
• The overall top scorer of the competition is Filippo Inzaghi with 7 goals (4 with Milan and 3 with Juve - he is also the only player to score and win with both sides) followed by Alessandro Del Piero at 4.
• During the 2005 edition, Gigi Buffon injured his shoulder after colliding with Kaká and had to be sidelined 6 months. Due to the good relationship between the two clubs, Milan offered to loan out Christian Abbiati (at the time a reserve for Nelson Dida) to the Bianconeri, which gladly accepted. Ironically until Gigi’s return to fitness, one of Abbiati’s best seasons of his career would take place while on loan at Juventus.
• The competition has been decided on penalties 6 times, Juve winning 4 and Milan twice.
• The largest goal differential was recorded in 2008 with an AC Milan 4-1 win.
• The highest number of goals ever scored in a single match is 5, which has happened only three times so far (1993, 2006, 2008)
• The trophy is traditionally a Summer pre-season fixture and has always been played in August, with one notable exception. Due to AC Milan’s UEFA Champions League and Juventus’s Coppa Italia commitments, the 2006 edition was postponed to January 2007.

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Year	Home	vs.	Away
1991
played 23 Aug 1991	Milan	1 – 2	Juventus
Spectators: 63.143	23′ Maldini		18′, 30′ Casiraghi
Referee: Cesari
1992
played 22 Aug 1992	Milan	1 – 0	Internazionale
Spectators: 40.899	4′ Papin
Referee: Baldas
1993
played 17 Aug 1993	Milan	3 – 2	Real Madrid
Spectators: 20.000	20′ Simone, 23′ Papin, 39′ Boban		42′ Michel, 55′ pen. Zamorano
Referee: Pairetto
1994
played 17 Aug 1994	Milan	1 – 0	Bayern Munich
Spectators: 17.626	67′ Gullit
Referee: Collina
1995
played 18 Aug 1995	Milan	0 – 0	Juventus
Spectators: 63.143		(5 – 6) p.s.o.
Referee: Collina
1996
played 21 Aug 1996	Milan	1 – 0	Juventus
Spectators: 67.963	83′ Eranio
Referee: Ceccarini
1997
played 19 Aug 1997	Milan	3 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 76.697	54′ Cruz, 60′ Kluivert, 62′ Weah		31′ Conte
Referee: Messina
1998
played 25 Aug 1998	Milan	1 – 2	Juventus
Spectators: 74.358	31′ Bierhoff		66′, 85′ Inzaghi
Referee: Pellegrino
1999
played 17 Aug 1999	Milan	0 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 58.799			26′ Del Piero
Referee: Cesari
2000
played 27 Aug 2000	Milan	2 – 2	Juventus
Spectators: 59.111	2′ José Mari, 35′ pen. Shevchenko	(6 – 7) p.s.o.	24′ Trezeguet, 65′ Inzaghi
Referee: Cesari
2001
played 18 Aug 2001	Milan	1 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 60.000	85′ pen. Serginho	(3 – 4) p.s.o.	5′ Del Piero
Referee: Paparesta
2002
played 18 Aug 2002	Milan	0 – 0	Juventus
Spectators: 51.982		(3 – 1) p.s.o.
Referee: Treossi
2003
played 17 Aug 2003	Milan	0 – 2	Juventus
Spectators: 40.000			40′ Del Piero, 45′ Camoranesi
Referee: Trefoloni
2004
played 28 Aug 2004	Milan	0 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 35.849			46′ Olivera
Referee: Pieri
2005
played 14 Aug 2005	Milan	2 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 35.000	52′ Kaká, 76′ Serginho		20′ Vieira
Referee: Dondarini
2006
played 6 Jan 2007	Milan	3 – 2	Juventus
Spectators: 63.143	29′ Inzaghi, 68′ Seedorf, 86′ Aubameyang		40′ Nedved, 67′ Del Piero
Referee: Rocchi
2007
played 17 Aug 2007	Milan	2 – 0	Juventus
Spectators: 25.000	43′, 46′ Inzaghi
Referee: Banti
2008
played 17 Aug 2008	Milan	4 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 76.000	21′ Jankulovski, 25′, 79′ Ambrosini, 52′ Inzaghi		70′ Pasquato
Referee: Rizzoli
2009
played 17 Aug 2009	Milan	1 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 41.906	69′ Pato	(6 – 5) p.s.o.	28′ Diego
Referee: Orsato
2010
played 22 Aug 2010	Milan	0 – 0	Juventus
Spectators: 40.000		(4 – 5) p.s.o.
Referee: Romeo
2011
played 22 Aug 2011	Milan	2 – 1	Juventus
Spectators: 41.302	9′ K.P.Boateng, 23′ Seedorf		57′ Vucinic
Referee: Brighi