3 Reasons why Serie A is returning to its former glory
Serie A used to be one of the most appealing places for a young footballer to ply their trade and showcase their talents on a stage that was being watched by the world. Despite the scandal in 2006, more popularly known as Calciopoli amongst the footballing world, which sent shock-waves across the continent with clubs like Lazio, Fiorentina being relegated to the second tier of football. Juventus had two titles stripped, were relegated and had to start the next season with a points total of -30 points.
Despite that, the league kept attracting star players and was fortunate to already have a lot of the world's cream of the crop already there, and with Italy winning the 2006 World Cup, the popularity of the Italian national league as a whole increased for the average football fan.
Over the years, players like Zinedine Zidane, Pavel Nedved, Fabio Cannavaro, Kaka, Ronaldo Fenomeno (R9) donned their respective club jerseys and bamboozled fans in Italy and across the world week in week out. It all came to a crescendo when Inter Milan won the treble under Jose Mourinho by beating Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona, and as they say, after every high, there's a low right around the corner, and low for Italian football came in pretty hard.
There were signs even before, but they were papered over by the lack of competition from mid-table sides to the top dogs, which helped them remain unscathed. Top players fleed to other countries to showcase their magic, and the sale of Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Milan to PSG was the final nail in the coffin of the golden age of Serie A, as after that Milan failed to get into the Champions League, let alone make deep runs into the competition like a club their stature is expected to.
The league as a whole couldn't keep their top talents from leaving for pastures greener, and the quality of football overall took a nosedive. But now things seem to be on the upswing again, so let's explore the reasons we are seeing the resurgence of this once great league as a contender for top dog.