An Era To Forget for Italy's Serie A

It was the year 2000 and the place to be in world football was the Serie A. Big teams, bigger players, exorbitant transfer fees and monster wages were the order of the day in the self proclaimed ‘best league in the world.’

It is almost inconceivable that a decade down the proverbial track, Italy’s best clubs would no longer be the best at all.

Once graced with the presence of primed gladiators Pavel Nedved, Zinedine Zidane, and the original Ronaldo, the Serie A cabinet now houses antiques, unknowns, and rejects from the now superior English Premier League and La Liga.

When the signing of a Mohamed Sissoko warrants the same fuss as the acquisition of a vintage David Trezeguet, there is no hiding from a credibility sapping decline engulfing Italian club football.

For many, the Serie A’s erosion peaked last week as three of its best capitulated at the hands of the English clubs in the UEFA Champions League. The pivotal clash between Inter Milan and Manchester United, the winners of their respective leagues truly encapsulated the increasing gulf in class between the two competitions.

Inter, for all of their perceived qualities and Jose Mourinho’s tactical nous, were simply unable to compete against the sheer speed, power and thrust of the Red Devil’s cavaliers.

So where has it gone wrong for Italy’s clubs? Suggestions of a gap in wealth between the Serie A and the Premier League hold little sway as Deloitte’s latest results have placed Milan, Inter and Roma in the top ten richest clubs in the world, alongside Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

This harsh reality shows that financial difficulties may be the least of the Serie A’s problems.

The archaic and violent behaviour of fans in the Serie A has long drawn criticism from the footballing world, not dissimilar to what England endured in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Yet while the powers that be in England took the necessary steps in removing the degenerative factions, their Italian counterparts have allowed the same issues to fester over the past three decades.

This blight came to the fore yet again last week as violence marred Arsenal and Roma’s Champions League clash at the Stadio Olimpico. A bus was attacked and an Arsenal fan stabbed in a poor international advertisement for Italian club football.

These issues have contributed in no small way to the sparse attendances that Serie A games receive. Fans of clubs have been marginalised by the violent contingents that travel to games and it is unsurprising that Calcio is not a sport that one could take their family to without compromising physical safety.

It has reached such concerning levels that England’s Coca Cola Championship, the equivalent of Italy’s Serie B, consistently averages higher attendances. The plot thickens.

Televised matches have become a major reason as to why fans prefer to stay at home and watch games safely and cheaply, avoiding the dangers, but emptying out the aged, leased stadiums built for a World Cup almost twenty years ago.

By contrast, the Serie A barely warrants a mention as a sought after spectacle on television outside of Italy, the well marketed Premier League and world popular La Liga proving more exciting draw cards.

While this is not always the case, the notion that Italian club football is slow, cautious, boring and full of players well past their best is undeniable.

It is also a sad indictment that warhorses like Pavel Nedved, Dejan Stankovic and Luis Figo are still regarded as some of the bigger names in the competition despite glory days almost six years past.

Watching Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic easily lose Inter’s Patrick Vieira to score in last weeks Champions League second leg tie was a poignant moment for the perception of the Serie A: a new superstar humbling a quaky old veteran, of which the Serie A possesses too many, as well as a confirmation that the Italian clubs have yet to match the speed and power of their English counterparts.

Having moved past the corruption scandals of three years ago, the Serie A faces an uphill climb if it wants to reach the pinnacle of the European game again. Football is a cyclic sport and for a nation with such passion for the game, it will surely get its moment again.

For now, Italy’s best need to observe Europe’s best, teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, and learn. Learn the same way English clubs had to back in 2000.