Italy’s elite clubs are struggling in the Champions League and have struggled since 2000 despite two trophies won by Milan and one by Inter in the last decade.

Italian clubs were the dominant force in the 1990s with Milan and Juventus winning the Champions League with Juve reached  three consecutive finals. Italian clubs were also a force and quite successful in the UEFA Cup.

This raises the question as to what has caused this decline in European competitions. A number of reasons can be used to track and carefully assess the factors behind the fall from grace of the Italian clubs.

1- The English Premier League has been steadily gaining ground in terms of financial muscle, worldwide viewership as well as attendance at matches.

2- The top two clubs in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid, have been able to effectively use their popularity across the globe to promote their successful runs on both the domestic and European front. Barca have been particularly successful with many players such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi starring on the club and international scene.

3- Calciopoli has certainly effected Italian football even if some would like to discount its effect or perhaps put it behind and overlook it. Juventus are no longer a force and can no longer afford, or even attract, stars such as the ones who wore the famous Bianconeri shirt in the 1990s like Zinedine Zidane, Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Baggio and others.

4- Inter’s dominance for a number of years in Serie A has weakened the opposition in Italy, whether Milan or other clubs. Milan are back as a force but are struggling in Europe for various reasons.

5- Financially, the Italian league is simply behind England’s Premier League while both the Spanish La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga have overtaken Serie A as revealed by UEFA’s updated co-efficients which will starting 2012-13 see Italy have only three spots in the Champions League compared to four for German, English and Spanish clubs.

6- The lack of money compared to the other top three leagues has contributed to big names and stars preferring either La Liga or Premier League. The Spanish league might be limited to Barca and Real Madrid in terms of star power but the Catalans alone have Messi, Xavi and David Villa as well as others while Los Blancos have Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and other big names.

7- Big investors and wealthy businessmen are flocking to invest in the English Premier League with the global audience focusing on EPL and, thus, TV rights are much more lucrative for English clubs than Italian ones.

8- The lack of emerging Italian talent with Antonio Cassano long proving he lacks the discipline while Mario Balotelli remains immature. Other potential stars are not as prominent as those from Spain or Argentina or Brazil. Argentina’s biggest star, Messi, plays for Barca. Even the established Brazilians playing for Inter are no longer featuring much for the Selecao with Lucio and Maicon being overlooked in recent international matches.

9- One of Italy’s strong points used to be defenders and the peninsula now suffers from the lack of emerging leaders who can play as centre-backs or full-backs. The most evident example is Juve’s decline and their pathetic defensive record despite having two of Italy’s starting defenders in Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.

10- Some of Italy’s elite coaching figures such as Carlo Ancelotti, Fabio Capello and Roberto Mancini are plying their trade in England with Capello in charge of the national team while Ancelotti is in charge of Chelsea and Mancini manages Manchester City.

Obviously, the lack of investors and capital have been quite a hindrance for Italian clubs and the progress made has been slow in recent years with Inter’s success last season owing much to foreign players as the Nerazzurri barely had any Italian citizens in their squad last season. This season Milan have been solid in Serie A but have been inconsistent in Europe due to their aging defensive line and midfield. The likes of Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Nesta are all over 30 years old.

It is hard to see Inter overcome a 1-0 deficit against Bayern Munich since the return leg will be played in Germany but anything is possible. Roma will need to win by a two goal margin in order to progress unless they can win 4-3 while Milan will need a massive turnaround to even have a chance of defeating Tottenham in London.

For further discussions on Serie A and the Champions League, feel free to contact @RamiSoufi on Twitter

Like most soccer fans, I am a soccer league polygamist.  Because I live less than 20 minutes from an MLS club, I root for and follow Major League Soccer in the U.S.  However, I am also a passionate Arsenal fan who lives and dies in every match they play throughout the year.  And of course, I love Serie A best of all and have my favorite club, whose scarf I wore proudly this past Sunday.  I dare say almost every soccer fan, because of the diverse leagues around the world, has multiple favorite teams or leagues.

But as I read about Bobby Zamora’s recent leg break and as Arsenal players continue to suffer and recover from rough (or, if you prefer) violent tackles, it made me compare the style and content of play I watch in both the EPL and Serie A every weekend.  And upon reflection, I came to a conclusion I probably reached long ago but only now can put into writing:

Serie A soccer is superior to English Premier League soccer

This sentiment goes beyond just who has the best team (although it would be Serie A with reigning Champions League winners Inter).  Looking at the two leagues as a whole, Serie A is superior to the EPL in a number of ways both on and off the pitch and, if I were a novice soccer fan researching what league to watch, it should be obvious that I would want to watch Serie A.  The following are the reasons for this argument, and I welcome your thoughts in the comments section below and on Twitter @roberthayjr.  Thanks also to Niccolo for his contribution to this post:

1. The Italian style of play is more fluid and skillful, while the EPL style is one of constant hard fouls – If you are a fan of an EPL club, it is almost inevitable that one of your most important players will miss time with a nasty injury picked up from a violent tackle.  Arsenal alone lost Robin Van Persie this year and Aaron Ramsey last year for extended time to hard fouls in league play.  It’s not just Arsenal – Tottenham fans will have to enjoy not watching Jermaine DeFoe for seven more weeks, Everton fans Jack Rodwell, Tottenham fans Luka Modric, etc.  Why?  Because these players are subject to constant fouling and aggressive slide tackling, which is the EPL style of play.  On a Serie A pitch, there are fouls and slide tackles, but you are more likely to see fluid passing and individual skill over broken shins.
2. English fans whine about their clubs, Italian fans actively seek to undermine their clubs – AC Milan fans made news last year when one of their ilk, protesting club owner Silvio Berlusconi, threw a statue at him and knocked him out.  Manchester United fans, conversely, feel wearing old shirts conveys their anger sufficiently.  When a club under-performs in Italy, the fans act as though the world is ending and the papers ring endlessly with criticism and advice on just how the manager should have done differently.  If it’s truly bad, they simply do not attend and show the management what an empty stadium looks like.  English soccer fans and their local press more grumble and fall into a “woe is me” attitude.  The Italian style is much more fun.
3. Serie A owners are much more interesting than their EPL counterparts -  Who would you consider the most interesting and exciting Premier League owner?  There are some who are hated, but that is more for their nationality and mismanagement (Glazers, Hicks).  Italy has some real characters running their clubs, likely because many of them are family owned and operated within the country.  The obvious one is Silvio Berlusconi, who is passionate about AC Milan and tends to make himself the center of most offseason stories; has an English owner ever said publicly the team would have won the Premier League if he had been manager, and was 100% serious?  Napoli’s Aurelio De Laurentiis is another colorful personality that loves to spend his family’s wealth on the club, and is not afraid to speak on it.
4. Serie A has more parity than the EPL – Right now, the top four clubs in Serie A are Cesena, Inter, Chievo Verona, and Lazio, with Brescia right behind.  Granted it is early in the season, but it is much easier for smaller clubs to climb the ladder in Serie A than it is in the EPL.  The Premier League is dominated by four clubs every year and the story at the beginning of every season is which club can crack the top 4.  While Serie A has its Big Four (Juve, Inter, Milan, and Roma), it is much easier for smaller clubs to compete for European tournament spots.  A club with the budget and population of Chievo could never compete for a UEFA tournament in the EPL, but can in Serie A.
5. Serie A clubs are more successful in Europe than EPL teams – Many people don’t realize this, but Italian teams have been more successful in European play (especially recently) than Premier League clubs.  Overall, Italian clubs have won 12 Champions League trophies versus 11 for England, but since 1992 that number has been 5 for Italy, 3 for England.  The same trend has held true for the UEFA Cup/Europa League: an Italian club has won the trophy 9 times (5 since 1992) and an English club has won the trophy 6 times (once since 1992).

 A lot has been said about Serie A’s decline over the past couple of years. Critics have claimed the English Premiership and Spain’s La Liga have become Europe’s best leagues leaving Serie A to challenge the Bundesliga for third spot.  

Sadly, Serie A has witnessed a sharp decline in the past few years that cannot be attributed to the lack of financial means alone. The quality of the teams plying their trade in any league is influenced by funding, and, thus, monetary resources practically determine the level of play in various leagues. 

Real Madrid is a leading example of how much money can do for a team in terms of the enthusiasm it can create through media attention, ticket and merchandise sales as well as income generated from the big names playing for the team. However, the original Los Galacticos served as a model of how excessive money can have undesirable consequences too such as overcrowding of stars on one roster and failure to translate the capture of big names into success on the pitch. With many of the world’s superstars, Los Blancos still only managed one trophy in Europe along with the La Liga title on one occasion despite having the likes of Zidane, Figo and Ronaldo on the roster. A club needs money to invest in outstanding players, but that alone cannot guarantee success. This season’s La Liga and English Premiership will demonstrate whether financial muscle can buy success with Real Madrid and Man City leading the lavish spending. The experience of the coach along with the strength of competitors, the atmosphere inside the stadium during home games and the schedule in Europe will all determine how successful these clubs will be. 

Going back to comparing Serie A to La Liga and the English Premiership, it is important to point out that teams in both England and Spain have outpaced the Italian clubs when it comes to spending and profits due to the presence of billionaire owners & sponsors (such as Abramovich of Chelsea and Al Fahim of Man. City) and the consistent presence of fans during home games. Serie A has witnessed a decline in the past few years due to the lack of the financial support seen in other elite leagues and the poor average attendance during Serie A games in comparison with other major European leagues. The condition of the Italian stadia does not help either with many of them in dire need of renovation when compared with England’s and Spain’s newer and friendlier arenas. Also, most of the clubs in Serie A do not actually own the fields they play on (with the exception of Juve which will open its own stadium in a few years and recently both Inter and Roma laying the foundation for such ownership). 

Serie A’s struggles were also magnified by Calciopoli (match-fixing scandal in 2006) which resulted in Juventus getting demoted and the club losing its main stars to Inter (Vieira, Ibrahimovic) or Spain (Cannavaro, Thuram, Zambrotta, Emerson). Milan was also punished as a result of this scandal so the club’s fortunes also deteriorated both on and off the field. Certainly the loss of Milan’s Kaka and Inter’s Ibrahimovic this year will serve as further notice to the decreasing spending power of Italian teams. The sale of such stars will likely translate into fewer tickets sold for both Milan and Inter. Big names sell season tickets, demand more media attention, require additional spending to buy their marketing rights, impose higher pricing for TV rights and so forth.

 Serie A’s fall from the summit of European football might have been even worse had it not been for Italy’s triumph during WC 2006 in Germany. The fourth star on the Azzurri’s shirt means much more than being World Champions. It restored Italian pride along with the belief in Italian players and reinforced Serie A’s ability to survive despite the scandal. While it might appear that Serie A lost with Kaka’s departure, both Inter and Juventus did fairly well in the market to acquire the likes of Eto’o & Diego Milito as well as Diego and Cannavaro respectively. 

Youngsters such as Giovinco, Santon, Motta, Criscito and Cigarini have all shown flashes of brilliance confirming that Italy has a bright future. These players simply require the right guidance, proper coaching, sufficient playing time and of course the faith of their trainers and clubs. Time will tell if the likes of Giovinco will be allowed to flourish since the Italian league’s intense environment has restricted talented players over the years while the English clubs have become renowned for snatching young Italian talent. 

Serie A can re-emerge as the top league only if issues of stadium ownership, fan rioting and related violence, as well as the growth of young Italian talent are all properly dealt with to help promote a healthier, better funded and more prominent league. The lack of financial means can be addressed once some of the other pressing matters are fixed. It might be that La Liga has Barcelona and Real Madrid (and to a lesser extent Sevilla and Atletico Madrid) while the English Premiership has Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal, yet it is in Serie A during the past few years that we have witnessed teams besides Juve, Inter, Milan and Roma finish in the top four to make it to the European Champions League. This is a glaring testament that if all crucial factors are addressed then healthy competition can flourish in Serie A.

Seedorf Speaks Out On Possibility of Kaka Moving To Manchester City

(click on image for BBC audio feed)

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf says he would be surprised if team-mate Kaka were to move to Manchester City before the end of the January transfer window.  Seedorf admits the Brazilian could leave the San Siro in the summer and has indicated in other interviews money would not be the only motivating factor.

Related Posts

Serie A Talk – The Anglo Angle: Kaka and Adriano Reject Move to EPL
EPL Talk – Manchester City Raise Kaka Bid To £243 Million
EPL Talk – Poll: Is Kaka Going to Manchester City?

Always enjoyed watching Paul Ince in his glory days at Manchester United, Liverpool, Internazionale and of course appearances for England.  Scoring 72 goals during his career he wasn’t the most prolific but he had great pace and good passing ability and was of course uncompromising when tackling .  An additional attribute of course is the canon of a shot Ince was blessed with and it most certainly rattled the cages of quite a few keepers.  

Moving forward and almost reflective of his pace and power, Ince’s rapid ascendancy as manager to England’s top division has been prophetic.

During his very brief transition from third tier English Football, Ince would become the first black British manager of the English Premier League. However, unlike his on-pitch endeavours, the English ambassador to the Italian game wasn’t able to maintain the same stamina so well known for as a player having been sacked earlier today after winning just three games in seventeen, just six months in charge of Blackburn Rovers.   At the age of 41 Mr. Ince will be back and more prepared for the demands of topflight. It is in his determination as both player and manager which makes football or any sport so enjoyable. 

Related Articles

TheFA.com – Englishmen Abroad: Paul Ince
The Independent – Blackburn sack Paul Ince
The Guardian UK – League Managers Association demands patience for Ince

One only need look to the winner’s table for the last decade and lack of dominance by English clubs at the highest level of European club competition is sobering.   Since 1999 there have been 3 titles won by English Premier League teams, Liverpool in 2005 and Manchester United in 1999 and 2008.  The remaining title winners are as follows, AC Milan 2003, 2007; Real Madrid 2000, 2002; Barcelona 2006; Bayern Munich 2001; Porto 2004.  With the spoils evenly spread across Italy, Spain and England, throwing in a surprise or two from Germany and Portugal, why is it the English media continue to ride a hype campaign for HMS Britainnia?

Ownership and managerial woes are beginning to appear infectious for the EPL and proposed European dominance comes at a time of economic downturn across the continent but especially at home. Major clubs who regularly vie for glory are facing huge bugetary constraints, part and parcel to their borrowing on future earning.  Liverpool in particular have been put on notice by ownership new transfers-in are contingent on transfers-out.

Although all four English sides in the tournament are leading or tied for leadership of their respective groups, last match day for the first time this season saw Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool unable to beat their opponents.

Perhaps the winds of change are not as favorable for HMS Britainnia as first perceived still we’ll have to wait and see if English media get it all wrong but at least they’ve got manager Fabio Capello onboard to right the ship for the national side.

I’m yet to find a high quality Serie A fantasy footie game to manage so I still try my hand at picking the best Premier League team just like the rest of you.  The English Premier League season starts in two days and surely a number of us have already entered one or more fantasy teams but have you done your research?  Have you searched high and low for that ultimate new phenomenon?

In my travels I’ve come across several interesting and helpful sites online, and while some require a fee to enter, others are entirely free and even offer better prizes. Of course the one tool all fantasy gamers require more than anything is a good current events source providing up-to-date player injuries, trades, starting XI changes, I think I discovered just the thing. 

It’s called Fantasy Football Scout and contains the latest updated guide to the Premier League 2008-2009 season.  Current articles take a look at selecting midfielders, undiscovered gems, sleeping giants and misclassifed strikers.  In the words of the site manager, “it’s where a little inspiration with selection can really pay dividends”.

Why don’t you check it out,  www[dot]fantasyfootballscout[dot]co[dot]uk 

If someone could only copy the scout’s site format and create a sister site for our beloved Serie A that would be impressive.  For now English-speaking Serie A fans are stuck like Crusaders at the port of Messina waiting to set sail.