Futbol Chronicles: Kaka's Departure a Loss for Italian Football

Real Madrid have made a major coup over the weekend in their efforts to rebuild their squad with the signing of Kaka from AC Milan. 

For all the ravings and praises of Kaka and of his talents to be displayed in Madrid, there is a general feeling amongst Serie A fans that Kaka's departure may eventually signal a further decline of the top football league in Italy.

Up to this day, Italian football continues to suffer from episodes of fan hooliganism and declining crowd attendances, stadiums that are broken down or not privately owned by the clubs, and star players quickly leaving Serie A for greener pastures elsewhere.

It has been a recurring problem for Italian football as of late, with AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani lamenting that Italian football simply doesn't have the financial muscle to compete with the English and Spanish leagues.

"I remember when we signed (Marco) Van Basten (in the 1990s) and we competed with Barcelona for his signature and he chose us. Today, Barcelona and Real Madrid have an income that is double that of ours." Galliani said recently.

"In the mid to long term, players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not going to come here. Thierry Henry had the same offer from Milan as he did from Barcelona, but he told us he could get 50-per-cent more in Spain (because of tax rules), so he joined Barcelona," the Milan GM said.

"We have got to ask ourselves why nobody is thinking of coming here. The problem with Kaká and Pato is a bigger issue.

"You can discover any player you like, but if you cannot pay them the wages of a big club, then they go somewhere else."

These quotes by Galliani only reinforce the notion that changes would have to be made in Italian football if it were to avoid irrelevancy, but supposedly, one change has been put into the works already.

Back in April, reports had surfaced that 19 of the top 20 clubs in the Italian Serie A agreed to break away from Serie B and form their own league, Lega Calcio Serie A, with the aim to begin operations on Jul. 1.

The decision to form the new league was made after the two leagues were unable to come to a financial sharing agreement.

Under the current system, the top clubs were forced into a revenue sharing process with the lesser teams of Serie B, a fact that annoyed many of the top clubs such as Juventus and Milan. 

Clubs need to have have ownership of the stadiums they play, a main factor in their inability to raise the revenue funds needed to sign players. Another problem is that most of the stadiums in Italy are old and obsolete.

Kaka's departure only heightens the problem, but the real losers in this battle would be the fans, not the struggling clubs.

The fans would lose the most because they could possibly watch a league sometime in the future without the star-power and glamor football that they're so accustomed to.

The new league, if approved by the Italian FA, would take time to at least establish itself as a force in Europe even with the current crop of top teams put in place.

Stay tuned...