Premier League V Serie A: Why England Is Still Better

Arsenal put AC Milan under plenty of pressure at the Emirates Stadium in London, but the Gunners were unable to pull of a remarkable comeback in the second leg of their Champions League matchup with the Italian side, losing 4-3 on aggregate.

Arsenal became the third English side vanquished from the Champions League earlier than expected this year. Manchester United and Manchester City were both upset in the group stage, losing to clubs with much smaller payrolls. Arsenal got a tough draw against the reigning Serie A champions, and in the first leg of the match up, Milan breezed past Arsenal, scoring four times. 

Chelsea finds itself in a similar that Arsenal faced heading back to England, embarrassed on Italian soil. Napoli exposed the many frailties Chelsea has with its three-pronged attack of Lavezzi, Cavani and Hamsik. Napoli cruised past the Blues, one of the most experienced Champions League sides in the continental tournament, 3-1. 

Does this mean English soccer dead? Has the Premier League lost its luster, its power, its allure? Has Serie A recovered from the Calciopoli scandal and caught up the the Premier League? The results in recent seasons in the Champions League would say so, but there is still something lacking in Italy's top-division, there is a certain excitement that doesn't resonate across the globe.

In 2008 Chelsea met Manchester United in the Champions League final, Arsenal and Liverpool both advanced to the (find the round) and it looked like the English game was on top. Now, four years later, it looks a long shot that any English side will compete for any trophy in Europe. It looks like Italy has surpassed the English game, again. But Serie A still has a way to go to catch up to the progress the Premier League has made over the last few years, especially with television rights and overseas viewing.

What makes the Premier League better than Serie A right now? It isn't the quality of the players, or the coaching. Instead, it's the exact opposite. The Premier League is a league that has that English ethos of attack, attack, attack. Where in Italy it's about outsmarting and outplaying your opponent so your team wins 1-0, the perfect scoreline. A lot of times this results in two teams matching up and nullifying one another, and discouraging viewers.

There are of course examples of teams that create exciting games—Napoli and Udinesse comes to mind right away—but the majority of teams look to stay in a defensive shape before venturing forward, something the English teams do not do. In fact, in the Premier League right now, defense is not the first thing on most teams' minds; it's the last thing teams outside of Manchester City and Liverpool seem to focus on.

Goals equal ratings and excitement. It's no secret that fans want to watch teams score. Fans want to see the ball in the back of the net and an open game that flows from one end to the other. Right now, Tottenham is the prototypical crowd pleaser. Spurs play fast, and Harry Redknapp, a manager not known for his tactics, has the team pushing faster and faster up the field. It may not lead to European conquests, but it does lead to great television and drama.

One of the biggest complaints on this side of the Atlantic Ocean is that soccer is slow and there are too few scoring chances. The Premier League has stepped up and become a crowd favorite in the States because of the goals scores and the big names that litter team sheets. 

Serie A has plenty of stars. That's not the league's global struggle. In fact, Serie A has more World Football Player of the Year award winners than any other. Instead, it's the slow nature of the games and the stereotype about Italian players—dirty cheats who dive and flop all over the place. Stereotypes are hard to break and Serie A is having a hard time shedding its skin, even if Serie A is having a bit of a revival and Juventus and AC Milan are in the midst of an exciting race for first place. Even with an exciting revival of Napoli, a team left for dead just a few years ago. 

None of that matters because right now, the Premier League is pushing further and further ahead of the other European Leagues. It's cashing in more and more on overseas television rights. If it continues, the league will continue to control the world market.