Italian Serie A: On a road to redemption

And they’re back!

The phoenix is a magnificent metaphor. The mythical bird that rises from its own ashes has been the symbol of rebirth for time immemorial. And rebirth is exactly the word that one would use to describe the phenomenon that is taking place in the Italian Serie A.

The league that was once the pinnacle of European and, by extension, world football found itself reduced to a mere shadow of its former glory at the turn of the millennium. As the 90′s waned, it seemed so did the power and allure of the Italian league, and the Spanish and English leagues grew in popularity. By the mid 2000′s, the Serie A was considered less popular than the Bundesliga; a fact that would have shocked the world just a few decades ago.

But now, finally, the leviathan stirs. Italian domestic football raises its head to the sky, as the giants of the Italian league look to have rediscovered what made them Gods of football once. Juventus, AS Roma and Napoli lead the charge, and Inter Milan look to once again re-establish the glamour that once surrounded their name.

To understand Serie A’s rise, one must look to its fall. One of the major reasons for the collapse of the Serie A is the economic model that they employed. The Serie A was, and remains, founded on the principles of shared ownerships; of players, stadiums and resources alike. On the plus side, this allowed the clubs to sign more players while having to pay much lesser than their otherwise high keeping costs.

Even recently, there are examples such as Sebastian Giovinco, who was co-owned by Juventus and Parma. Parma secured 50% of the player’s rights after shelling out €3 million in 2011. Juventus had to shell out €11 million in 2012 to buy back the 50% they had sold to Parma, after Giovinco’s impressive performances for the Crociati. The concept of shared ownerships has also prompted to increase the murky nature of transactions between the clubs, players and agents.

The issue of agent-involvement in football has been a topic of hot debate, with some claiming that the influence exerted by agents is slowly but surely making football just a money-making business. The economics involved in the Serie A transactions lacked any semblance of transparency, or at least the attempt at one, which is at least present in the other leagues.

The most famous reason for Italian football’s collapse is, of course, the Calciopoli: the notoriously famous match-fixing scandal of 2006. The scandal rocked the footballing world to it’s foundations and affected not only the Serie A and B, but also Italian football as a whole. Incumbent Champions Juventus, and heavy-weights AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and minnows Regina were the prime clubs implicated in the scandal. Without going into too much depth, the gist of the scandal was that the aforementioned clubs were proven to be guilty of rigging matches by selecting favourable referees.

The repercussions from the scandal were far-reaching, to say the least. But the immediate after-effects of the scandal hit Italy the hardest; Juventus were stripped of the title, and were relegated to Serie B. They were also handed a reduced points penalty, as were Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina. Both Milan and Juventus lost their eligibilities for participating in the Champions League for the next season. It seemed then that Italian football might never recover from such a big jolt. The popularity of Italian football was at its lowest, and more and more fans were gravitating to the English Premier League.

Aiming high!

It has been 7 years since those dark days of toil and turmoil in the Italian federation. Rot and decay in the form of corruption had settled into the system, and it seemed only a matter of time till it ate Italian football from the inside out.

It is for this reason, more than anything else, the renaissance of Italian football has been all the more astonishing.

In the current season, AS Roma sit pretty atop the table, followed by Napoli, Juventus, Inter Milan and Fiorentina. Reigning champions Juventus look to have a battle on their hands, if they are to crown themselves champions again. This is a far cry from last season, when a Juventus side who lacked any genuine firepower up-front still strolled to the league title.

The Serie A has become even more interesting than the Spanish La Liga, which is itself stagnating in the Madrid-Barcelona duopoly. This itself would come as a shock to many, given how poorly the Serie A has fared in recent times.

Roma have looked fearsome, having won all their games. They have made some very good signings in Kevin Strootman, Adem Ljaji?, Gervinho, Mattia Destro, while getting in some much-needed cash inflow through the sales of Maquinhos to PSG for €32 million, Erik Lamela to Tottenham in a deal that could rise to £30 million and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo to Southampton for £13 million, among others. They have scored 17 goals in 6 games in the league, while having conceded only 1.

Napoli are close behind on 16 points, just two behind Roma’s 18 points. They have secured the services of Gonzalo Higuain and Raul Albiol from Real Madrid for a reported combined £50 million, and the talented Dries Mertens from PSV Eindhoven for just under €10 million. Rafael Benitez seems to be going about his new job merrily, as they have found a more-than-satisfactory replacement for Edinson Cavani who left for PSG for a reported €64 million, in the prolific Higuain.

Walter Mazzarri’s arrival at Inter Milan seems to be invigorating the former champions, as they look to be firmly back on the road to recovery, after a few years of mediocrity. They sit 4th in the table, just behind current Champions Juventus.

However, the greatest sign of recovery for the Italian football scene is the fact that more and more talents are opting for Italy once again. Highly rated youngster such as Paul Pogba, Luis Muriel, Adem Ljaji? have opted for the Serie A, while Italian talents such as Stephen El Shaarawy, Mattia de Sciglio, Mattia Destro, Lorenzo Insigne have opted to stay in the Serie A, despite heavy interest from abroad, namely England and Spain.

The only piece missing from the puzzle, so to speak, is how AC Milan are faring. Milan, once the hub of the footballing world, now find themselves slipping closer to the precipice of the chasm that is ignominy. Their financial malaise has seen them forced to sell their best players every season, and this has had an adverse effect on their ability to challenge for titles.

To sum it off though, after years in the shade, it seems that Italian football, and especially the Serie A, will get their chance again to stand in the sun.