Serie A: Why Is Interest in the Italian League Falling?

The title race in Serie A ended over the weekend as Juventus clinched the title with one game to go.

A win against Cagliari coupled with AC Milan’s loss to Inter gave Juventus a four-point lead going into the last round of the season. The title put Juventus back on top for the first time since the match-fixing scandal of 2006.

While this was cause for celebration by their long-suffering fans, did anyone outside of Italy really take notice?

What has caused Serie A to fall from the top-tier of leagues in the fans' eyes?

For years, Italian futbol has produced, and been home to, some of the best the world of soccer has to offer. The level of play has always been top-notch and fans around the world always looked on with interest. It seems that in the last several years, there has been a move of fan interest away from Italy and towards other leagues.

Discussions that used to involve Serie A now seem to always center on La Liga and the EPL.

In 2006, events came to light regarding a scandal involving Lazio, Reggina, Fiorentina, Juventus and AC Milan. Club management had been found to have had contact with referee groups. The teams were accused of influencing referee game-appointments in an attempt to gain an advantage. While this in itself was not match-fixing at the level of bribing referees or paying off players, the court of public opinion viewed it as such.

These events undoubtedly affected fans perception of the Italian league.

While Italy is still a strong league, their games are not as widely available in the American market as the EPL and La Liga. Italian games are consistently on Fox Soccer Channel, but the amount of fans that have FSC is small. Compare that to the number of households with the ESPN networks, which carry Premier League games weekly and carry a selection of La Liga games.

The ESPN pre-game and halftime shows rarely discuss anything involving Serie A. The Italian reputation for low-scoring defensive games may be hindering the opportunity for more exposure.

Another reason for the potential fall from fans' radar is the lack of a must-see player like Messi, or Ronaldo.

While Pato, Ibrahimovic and others in Italy are of the highest level of skill and ability, there has not been a player in Serie A who has been the media darling the world tuned in to see since Kaka left AC Milan. This is a result of who the worldwide media has placed their focus on rather than a lack of star-quality players. With the video-game-like numbers Messi and CR7 are putting up, the lens of the media is focused mainly on Spain.

My perception of the current interest level in Serie A may be wrong, it may just be a mirage, but it is an opinion based on what I am currently seeing in the soccer fan environments I am involved in.

Personally, I feel the level of play in Italy is on par with anywhere in the world (despite Italy’s 2010 World Cup performance). I feel the drop in interest is merely circumstantial and with time, Italy will be back at the top with La Liga and the EPL.