Italian Serie A: Why Roma and Juventus Are Killing the League

There's nothing wrong with parity. Everybody loves the underdog, and I'm no different.  But when more than one underdog rise to the top of a league's standings, there's a chink in the armor of the caliber in that league.

Consider La Liga: Barcelona and Real Madrid annually run away with the crown, and the race is for third place. In England, it's been Manchester United and Chelsea, with a hint of Arsenal and Liverpool. Manchester City's new ownership and open checkbook has allowed them to replace Liverpool in the top four, and yes, there have been surges by Tottenham and Everton. But when all's said and done, the big guns rise to the top.

So why is that Juventus and AS Roma are having such a hard time challenging for Serie A? These are historical giants of the league, and the envy of clubs around the world. Yet they're in the rearview window of Naples, Lazio and Udinese. Even Fiorentina has dropped from contention as the wildcard in the mix. 

Is this from a rise in talent in Serie A? I'd have to say no. While the English Premier League continues to sign superstar after superstar, Barcelona's recent run and Jose Mourinho's recent switch to Real Madrid have led to more foreign players joining those two giants. 

Italy learned in the last four years that for you to honestly be considered one of the world's best clubs, it doesn't matter what you do at home. Inter Milan won everything there was to win in Italy under Roberto Mancini, and that wasn't enough for them. Jose was brought in to do what hadn't been done—and he delivered.

If it was simply about being the best club in your country, Ajax would still be regarded as the target for transfer players to call home. It's not enough.

The Champions League brings with it prestige, honor, the right to call one's team, or one's self, the best in all of Europe, and let's not forget, money. Extra games bring extra attendance revenues and season tickets; extra tv matches bring extras commercial endorsements and jerseys. 

And as tough as it was for Juventus to hang onto its stars when relegated, it's just as tough winning a Robben from Bayern Munich when your club isn't in contention for UEFA's biggest stage, when that's the reason he's considering leaving Germany. 

Yes, it's nice to see Napoli make a run at the big dogs. Palermo's always been nipping at the heels of Italy's greats. So has Udinese. Lazio taking their rival AS Roma's spot among the elite is an interesting and historical dynamic.

But while AC Milan is holding quite comfortably to their spot at the top, their inability to score a single goal in two matches against Tottenham, who is slipping from the EPL's elite, more than hints at a problem in Serie A.

The league needs an infusion of more elite foreign players. The current clubs need to continue to groom, and hang onto, their Italian national players. Those players need to not only be able to score upon/defend other Italians, but they must be able to do it on a regular basis against the best the world has to offer. 

There's a reason why Brazil is always one of the most entertaining and successful countries in the world. And there's a reason why their players do not stay at home to play for hometown clubs. They go to where the talent is. Italy must continue to justify those players coming to Serie A. And it's an easier pitch to join the black/white of Juventus than Udinese. 

The scandal's over, but its effects are still lingering. American ownership of AS Roma could very well be a good thing for the club, and the league; we'll see during the transfer season. AC Milan took off from spending after selling Kaka years ago, despite players calling for offensive help for young Pato. They changed that this year, and learned how easy it was to climb back to the top of the league. 

But there is much work to be done. And Juventus and Roma must lead the way, rather than get the stinking back view of the lead dogs. Once they've reared their heads again, sure, it'll be welcome to see other clubs challenge. But it's fine for Liverpool to lose its spot to a Man City club that's spent more money than all of the bottom half of Serie A. 

It's not acceptable for two legends to lose their spots to teams that are simply outplaying them, at quite the discount to their payrolls. For the sake of their fans, for the sake of their league, for the sake of Italy, it's time that AS Roma and Juventus get their act together on the pitch.