European football is back in full form this week, and while some might look at Real Madrid's "never say die" performance against the star-filled squad of Paris Saint-Germain, or the incredible comeback pulled off by Borussia Dortmund's men against Atalanta a few hours later, there is another matter that garnered my attention this week. It's actually an issue that's been bothering for a while, yet the results of this week further cemented my questioning: is the gap between Italian football and the other top-tier leagues becoming too wide?
Let's take a look at the Italians teams this week: champions (and two times-finalists of the UEFA Champions League in the last three years) Juventus were up against Tottenham Hotspur at home for the opening game of the round of 16. The "Spurs" don't really have much going for them when it comes to European history, especially if you pit them up against the likes of the "Vecchia signora"! And the opening minutes of the game really told that story. You could literally feel the players of the English side crumble under the pressure as they went behind 2-0 just before even 10 minutes were up!
However, one thing all English teams have going for them, especially this season, is their capacities. They seem like they can keep going on for ever. And so eventually, once they got over their initial shock, the players of Tottenham not only balanced the game, but even dominated it, with Juventus taking a backseat and eventually feeling lucky they even got the draw out of a team that is currently ranked 3rd in the Premiership! Now, to their credit, Tottenham have proven a difficult opponent this season even for the likes of Real Madrid (whom they've beaten twice!) and Dortmund (who they knocked out), but in no way is that an excuse for the "bianconeri"!
And that's just the start of it! Just a few hours a go, first-placed in Serie A, Napoli lost 1-3 at home to second in the Bundesliga table, Red Bull Leipzig, Atalanta as already mentioned lost 3-2 to Dortmund and S.S. Lazio weren't even able to defeat Swiss champions Basel! In fact, the only team that did anything for Italian football this week was A.C. Milan, who drifted passed Bulgarian side Ludogorets 0-3. Next week A.S. Roma are up against Shakhtar Donetsk, however considering their recent form, it wouldn't be too much of a shock if they were to be eliminated.
So, what's going on? Why is there such a gap that seems to be opening up more and more between all the Italian clubs and the rest of the top clubs in Europe? Why was Juventus the only one that seems to be able to keep up, yet now even they seem to be slipping? And, most importantly, what can be done to alter the situation?
Well, first and most importantly in my opinion was the impact of calciopolis. Calciopolis was the name that was given to a scandal that affected many of the top teams in Italy back in 2006, during which it was brought to light that many of their staff and management had paid off referees and other people within the Italian football committee in order for them to get "favorable" results. Among the teams that were mostly involved in the corruption of Italian football were Juventus themselves and their owners, the Agnelli family, to the point that they had two Serie A titles taken back from them. Also involved was A.C. Milan and their chairman at the time (and former Prime Minister of Italy), Silvio Berlusconi.
These two teams were among the best in Europe at the time and this scandal literally annihilated them. In fact, they were both so great that they played against each other in the 2002-2003 final at the Old Trafford, with A.C. Milan taking home the trophy. Both teams lost most of their players since they received harsh (but right) penalties for their misconducts (A.C. Milan was forced to begin the next season with a heavy handicap against their opponents, while Juventus were relegated to Serie B) and it was a difficult road to recovery. Since both those teams were juggernauts of Italian football, it was obvious that the impact would be heavily felt on the whole league with their presence suddenly lost from all European competitions. Juventus may have bounced back, but unfortunately A.C. Milan never have.
Another factor to take into consideration is the lack of production of local talent. Italian football players aren't so common anymore, especially in the big leagues. And even in their own league, the Serie A, the greatest players are NOT Italian! Think about it. Take it team by team and see who the top players are. For Juventus: Higuain, Madzukic, Douglas Costa, Pjanic, Dybala, Matuidi. For Napoli: Hamsik, Mertens, Reina, Callejon, Zielinski, Albiol. For A.S. Roma: Dzeko, Naingollan, Manolas, El Shaarawi, Strootman, Kolarov, Gonalons. Ok, there might be the occasional Insigne, De Rossi, Chielini in there, but you can see the point. The last great generation of Italian football players was the one that won the World Cup of 2006!
If the local teams keep looking outside for quality players, then how is the rest of the league supposed to keep up? I remember a powerful Udinese side that had a fearsome attacking force of Iaquinta, Di Natale and a slew of other Italian players and just a few foreigners to support them. That team never managed to win the Serie A or anything, yet they did make it to the Champions League and they played some damn good football! Tonight I saw an Atalanta side in Dortmund and could barely see any Italians. Why?
This is the nation that produced players like Zoff, Pirlo, Del Piero, Inzaghi, Gattuso, De Rossi, Totti, Toni, Buffon, Camoranesi, Zambrotta, Chielini, Barzagli, Montella, Delvecchio, Nesta, Cannavaro, Rossi, Tardelli, Gentile, Baresi, Albertini, Baggio and Maldini, junior and senior! WHY in heaven's name are they importing players when they already have such a vast production of talents? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying for them not to bring in any foreign players at all, but for them to find a balance between local players and great foreigners, just like they used to.
Well, there could be another issue that has somehow subsequently created the aforementioned one above. You see, in order for a good player to be created/developed/*insert any word you think is appropriate*, there needs to be someone to do the training. And that is also an area in which the Serie A seems to be dangerously lacking in recent years, when compared to its former glory. Who today even comes close to the likes of Marcelo Lippi, Ariggo Sacchi or Fabio Capello? The only remnant of those days seems to be Carlo Ancelotti yet even he seems to be pulling away from the European football scene, so who's left? Allegri, alone? Conte? Please...
In this humble blogger's eyes, there seems to be a problem in the entire Italian football scene. However, it's not something that we've never seen before. During the reigns of the Campionato in Europe at the early 00's, the English teams were nowhere to be seen. Also, for a while, it was only Real Madrid representing Spanish football, with the occasional random appearance of Valencia, Villareal or Deportivo La Coruna. F.C. Barcelona were practically non-existent beyond the group stages for a while. F.C. Bayern Munich weren't even in the Champions League during its first few years! So it's not like it won't pass.
However if left alone for too long, the hurdle can become too great to overcome. We're already seeing how things can change just within a few months. PSG have gone from just "let's reach the quarter finals" all the way to "if we don't win all of Europe, then this season is a failure"! Italy can get back in this with more key players. Especially the two teams from Milan! It's almost criminal that we're having so many seasons without them in the Champions League when we used to have entire semi-finals at the San Siro!
It can be done. All that's needed is proper preparation and some right investments. Not just "let's bring in the best players" but something closer to "let's bring in the right players". Will it happen, or will the Serie A become a B-tier league, even behind France's quickly-rising Ligue 1? It remains to be seen...
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