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).

Italy’s oldest soccer club finished a disappointing ninth last season, and the management has made it clear this offseason that such a result is unacceptable.  Disappointing play by a number of key players left the club outside the top six, one year after qualifying for the UEFA Cup and two years after returning to Serie A after a long climb up the Italian leagues.  As is his style, club president Enrico Preziosi aggressively spent money this offseason, acquiring a list of talented players that he expects to lead his team back to the top six in Serie A.  With one of the best managers in Italy, anything less would be a disappointment for the Griffin.

The Transfer Market: If Genoa does qualify for a European tournament next spring, the genesis of that success can be seen in July 2010.  During the summer, the club brought in and sent out a number of players, with the end result being a balanced and competitive club.

A perfect example of this philosophy is the keeper position: Genoa spent the entire summer looking for a top-notch keeper, at times pursuing Chievo’s Sorrentino and Cagliari’s Marchetti.  Finally, they bought Eduardo from Sporting Braga and sent Marco Amelia to AC Milan, and if Eduardo plays as well as he did in the World Cup for Portugal, this will be the signing of the summer.  Genoa also followed Roma’s path from last season and signed Luca Toni to give them a tall attacking option in the middle.  Backing him up is Mattia Destro, an eighteen year old on loan from Inter who has scored 21 goals in 29 matches for various Italian youth national teams!

A key player added for depth and the future is attacking midfielder Franco Zuculini, who is on loan from Hoffheim.  The young Argentine had one goal in seven appearances as a nineteen year old in Bundesliga, and started for Racing Club at age eighteen.  While he will likely begin the season on the bench, he is the type of key reserve that will be the difference for Genoa this season – a player talented enough to fill in and contribute if an injury occurs.

Rumors continue to surround the club, with the latest reports that it is still in the running for World Cup star Kevin Prince-Boateng and Tottenham Hotspur’s Giovani Dos Santos (although that rumor is being denied).

Key Players:  If Genoa wants to make a run at a European tournament, it has to improve its defense – the rossoblu allowed 61 goals last season.  Along with Eduardo, the club added Andrea Ranocchia (on loan from Inter) to bolster the defense.  Look for Ranocchia to partner with Italian national team member Domenico Criscito and Rafinha (Schalke 04), but also in the mix are Dario Dainelli (Fiorentina), Salvatore Bocchetti, and a host of other players who have starting experience in major leagues.

In the middle will be captain Marco Rossi and new signed Miguel Veloso.  The Portuguese holding midfielder/defender was in high demand this offseason, but the Griffin pried him from his home country by trading money and Alberto Zapater to Sporting Lisbon.

Expect Luca Toni to start in the middle of the 3-4-3 and provide a physical presence for the Genoa attack.  On his flank could be returning forward Robert Acquafresca, who spent some time the past few seasons being traded to and from Genoa.  Also likely starting is Rodrigo Palacio, who had partnered with the departed Hernan Crespo to form a potent attack.

Outlook:  This team has invested heavily in the transfer market (and may continue to do so) with the goal of getting a European tournament spot.  Defensively this team is greatly improved and the flexibility of the players they obtained will help Eduardo reduce the number of goals allowed this season.  The club last season had balanced scoring, and you can expect the same this year as a number of players on their roster have the ability to score.  This team has the talent and leadership to qualify for the Europa Cup OR the final Champions League position, but a top three finish may be out of their reach.

Flickr/Photo by Sergio138

According to numerous Italian sites and Goal.com, former AC Milan manager Alberto Zaccheroni will be named Juventus manager on Friday, replacing embattled Ciro Ferrara.

The tipping point seemingly was Juve’s 2-1 Coppa Italia loss to Inter Thursday, seemingly eliminating the proud club from any chance at any titles this year.  For a club that has a host of Italian national team players, including possibly the best keeper in the world, this was an unacceptable situation.  For a full breakdown of Ferrara’s situation, check out Rami’s excellent posts.

The 56 year-old Zaccheroni reportedly will take over Juventus through the end of the season.  He began his managerial career by guiding Udinese to a UEFA Cup spot in 1998, and won a scudetto with AC Milan in 1999.  He bounced around Italian soccer with stops in Inter and Lazio, but was repeatedly fired for major losses and clashes with owners.  His last stop was with Torino in Serie B, where he was fired in 2007.

Baring a miraculous run at the scudetto, this position could be a chance for Zaccheroni to showcase his managerial skills for his next club.  The Juventus board would then interview all the major names that are unemployed (or, in the case of Rafa Bentitez, tentatively employed) to be the permanent manager.  So stay tuned – the Juventus soap opera will likely continue.