5 reasons for the decline of the Serie A
Once upon time, not toolong ago, the Serie A was thein thing, or as the Italians may say, alla moda. In the 1980s and 1990s, the top division of Italian footballwas the place to be for every footballer. It had the glitz, the glamour, the fans and simply the best footballers on the planet. Audiences marvelled at the gladiators on display and what gladiators they were! Almost every club had at least oneproper star in its ranks;some others had five or six.They played in great big stadiums that welcomed them with flares and music. When it came to results on the field, the Serie A made sure to dominate there too.All the other leagues paled in comparison and looked upin awe.And then, it was all gone.Of course, it wasnt asabrupt as the statement may suggest. As Europes other leagues changed and got better with time, the Serie A remained stagnant at the top.By the turn of the millennium,the cracks had started to appear and within a few years, the Italians were outstripped.The prestige that they cherished so much had more or less disappeared as a plethora of problems popped up to harm Italian footballs reputation so much so that the football world no longer sawit as they once did.Here are5 reasons for the Serie A's fall from grace in recent years.
#1 Financial difficulties
If there's one thing that Serie A needs desperately, it is money. The lack of money in the Italian game is well documented. Comapred to the English, Spanish and German leagues, the Serie A has had a relatively tougher time with the financial crisis. Most club owners are struggling with financial problems and their teams suffer as a result.
The likes of Silvio Berlusconi and Maurizio Zamparini have all tried to limit spending at their respective clubs. To make matters worse, when compared to other top European leagues, there is very little revenue coming to the club coffers in the form of merchandise and ticket sales. As for television broadcast deals, the Serie A simply cannot generate the exorbitant amounts like that of the Premier League, even after engineering a change from individual rights to a collective deal for the whole league in 2010.
Consequently, it is proving more and more difficult for Italian teams to vie for the best players and also to retain existing ones. Consider Berlusconi’s AC Milan, who have now gained notoriety for loans and free transfers. Where would the Rossoneri be without a Bosman? Milan have at least managed to bring about some amount of financial control while many other clubs are struggling to stay afloat.
Legendary defender Alessandro Nesta hit the nail on the head when he told the BBC: “There’s no money in Italy at the moment and the best players go to play in other leagues – Spain, England, Germany. Italy’s going down.”