The Serie A was once and still is proclaimed as a farmers league. A phrase
very well-known and used by the average football fan in England to hail our top
flight as the King of all European Leagues.
“Oh Juventus always dominate that league. It’s too easy for
them,” they say.
Quite a contradictory statement considering Manchester City
are on course to win their third successive title – their fifth in six years.
Pep Guardiola has installed a dominance that may transform
into what we have seen in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich who are on course to win their eleventh consecutive title. Similar to
Juventus from 2011 to 2020 who won nine back-to-back Scudettos. But now their
dominance in Italy has come to an end as a rejuvenated Serie A has arrived with excitement and wonder.
Napoli have secured their first league win since 1990 as
they sit 14 points ahead of Juventus. A huge contrast in leads compared to the
previous season when the Rosseneri won by two points ahead of their stadium
sharing rivals Inter.
Every season since 2020-21 has crowned a different champion in AC and Inter Milan as they rise back to the top alongside the Little Donkeys who have returned to the successful
team they once were in the late 80s with Diego Maradona.
All three teams have represented Italy to their highest
capability in the Champions League. The San Siro occupants faced off against each other in the semi-finals for the first time in 20 years.
A reminder of when Italy used to dominate Europe in the 90s
and early 2000s getting Serie A teams to the finals 12 times from 1990 to 2010.
But as football modernized Italy struggled to maintain their
pace with aging infrastructure and little investment.
History that may convince spectators to question whether their European competition showing this time round is sustainable.
The key to domination is a well-oiled machine controlled by
a club board aided by adequate and smart financial investment.
Something Italian squads are beginning to see.
In 2022 a US-based group called Redbird Capital bought Milan
for €1.2bn (£1.04bn) – a record amount for a European club outside of the
Premier League.
There has also been interest in buying Inter according to
Forbes who say Aser Ventures, the investment fund run by Andrea Radrizzani, is
looking to buy the club for $1.1bn (£880m).
And Napoli, who despite losing key players such as Kalidou
Koulibaly and Fabian Ruiz, have had a historic season as they reinvested wisely
in the likes of Kim Min-jae (€18m), Frank Anguissa (€16.5m), and Khvicha
Kvaratskhelia (€11.5m). Let us not forget Victor Osimhen who has become one of
the world’s most highly rated and wanted strikers reportedly worth beyond
€100m.
Serie A have also flexed their muscle across other European
stages.
Despite a fall from grace Juventus have progressed far into
the Europa League presently in the semi-finals against Sevilla while a Jose
Mourinho revived Roma is also at the same stage having won the Conference
League the year before. The competition Fiorentina are now battling Basel in to
become the second winners of the new born tournament.
0 Comments