The last decade which saw both the highest highs and the lowest lows in Italian football is now behind us. I look ahead to the expectations from the current decade for the Italians.
A Return To The Top
Ever since the Calciopoli scandal erupted in 2006, Italian football has been in a downward spiral on the European stage. Milan's Champions League victory in 2007 was an exception and by no means the rule.
A decade ago, Serie A was considered to be the most daunting league amongst Europe but now it languishes far behind the English and the Spanish ones. The best crop of players are leaving the peninsula to ply their trade elsewhere.
This was no more evident than last summer when Kaka and Ibrahimovic both moved to Spain. It has been a long time since an Italian team captured a big name and that must change if it is to get more recognition.
The fortunes in Europe must also change if Italy is to become feared again.This year Milan take on United and Inter face Chelsea, if the Milanese are to overcome them it would deliver a great statement for Serie A.
Better Security
The previous decade witnessed a rather disturbing rise in the number of violence related incidents in and around stadia. Numerous instances of fan clashes and police clashes took place around the country to further damage the reputation of the game.
The worst case was the shooting of Gabriele Sandri by the police who mistook the Lazio fan for a miscreant. The killing led to several protests and forced the postponement of one round of footballing action.
There was also the 'rain of flares' which took place during the Milan-Inter game during the 2005 Champions League quarterfinal. That forced the match to be abandoned and resulted in Inter getting a three game home ban.
In recent months there have been growing concerns about racism as Mario Balotelli has been subjected to various levels of racist abuse by the fans. Juventus fans in particular have been the instigators of such abuse repeatedly.
Better StadiaA Return To The Top
Ever since the Calciopoli scandal erupted in 2006, Italian football has been in a downward spiral on the European stage. Milan's Champions League victory in 2007 was an exception and by no means the rule.
A decade ago, Serie A was considered to be the most daunting league amongst Europe but now it languishes far behind the English and the Spanish ones. The best crop of players are leaving the peninsula to ply their trade elsewhere.
This was no more evident than last summer when Kaka and Ibrahimovic both moved to Spain. It has been a long time since an Italian team captured a big name and that must change if it is to get more recognition.
The fortunes in Europe must also change if Italy is to become feared again.This year Milan take on United and Inter face Chelsea, if the Milanese are to overcome them it would deliver a great statement for Serie A.
Better Security
The previous decade witnessed a rather disturbing rise in the number of violence related incidents in and around stadia. Numerous instances of fan clashes and police clashes took place around the country to further damage the reputation of the game.
The worst case was the shooting of Gabriele Sandri by the police who mistook the Lazio fan for a miscreant. The killing led to several protests and forced the postponement of one round of footballing action.
There was also the 'rain of flares' which took place during the Milan-Inter game during the 2005 Champions League quarterfinal. That forced the match to be abandoned and resulted in Inter getting a three game home ban.
In recent months there have been growing concerns about racism as Mario Balotelli has been subjected to various levels of racist abuse by the fans. Juventus fans in particular have been the instigators of such abuse repeatedly.
Over the past few years the quality of stadiums in Italy has also steadily deteriorated. The venues in and around the country are still the ones from Italia'90.
They are thus in serious need of renovation and reconstruction. Most of the stadia are owned by the local town councils and not by the clubs themselves.
Juventus is set to be the first club to have its own stadium which they are due to move in to by 2012. Similarly, Inter have also made positive noises of moving to a private venue away from the San Siro.
As the Italians are bidding to boost their image an overhaul of the main venues will most certainly be welcome. Better stadia will naturally bring in better security and allow games to be held in a family atmosphere once again.
A New Generation of Superstars
The current crop of Italian youngsters seems to be a highly talented lot. Despite Lippi looking likely to take most of the 2006 squad with him to South Africa, the youth should not be let down.
In Sebastian Giovinco, Mario Balotelli, Davide Santon, Paolo De Ceglie, the future of the La Nazionale looks secure. The only problem for these young guns is that their managers do not provide them with enough playing time.
Giovinco in particular will feel highly aggrieved as the boy has made all the right moves but is still without a regular role at Juventus. Davide Santon who burst on to the scene as the new Maldini last year has made only 5 appearances this year.
The problem which the Italians may face is that these youngsters may look to go abroad in search of more playing time. Already there are rumors linking Balotelli with a move to Arsenal and more recently Roberto Mancini's Manchester City.
No More Controversies
This would definitely be the final yet most important wish from the fans of the Calcio. This decade will be remembered as much for Italy's World Cup triumph as for the match-fixing scandal.
As mentioned earlier Calciopoli ate in to the Serie A's competitiveness and distanced viewers. Now with the decade over, one would hope that we have heard the last of such controversies in the Italian game.
There is still noise being made by Luciano Moggi and a few others about Inter's involvement in the whole scandal. Despite the court's rejecting all such claims there are still many in the peninsua who believe that Massimo Moratti may have spearheaded the whole sting.
If Italy is to truly come out of the defamation of Calciopoli it will have to work extra hard to ensure that such controversies don't arise anymore. The desire of every fan is the same - to have a clean, fair and competitive Serie A.
No comments:
Post a Comment