Serie A is very different now than it was 20 years ago when it was no longer a “fertile” destination for top superstars. The tournament that once gathered Zico, Marco Van Basten or Diego Maradona has drifted into the past. In recent years, Serie A has only been seen as a “retirement” tournament.
However, everything will turn around from next season. With the success of Serie A representatives in the European Cup, many famous players may consider moving to play in the “boot-shaped country”.
Looking at UEFA’s top 3 club competitions, Italy is the country that contributed the most teams (5 teams), including AC Milan; Inter Milan (Champions League), Juventus; AS Roma (Europa League) and Fiorentina (Conference League). With the exception of Juventus, Italian clubs are not considered “giants” but still have made great strides this season. Where is the secret?
According to Giuseppe Marotta – CEO of Inter Milan, and President of the Italian Association of Sports Directors – said: “In the past, Serie A was the dream rendezvous of top players. But now things are different. The main reason lies in the economic problem. Teams are not given a lot of money for shopping and that is forced They must have smart and effective buying and selling ideas“.
Giuseppe Marotta – Managing Director of Inter Milan and President of the Italian Association of Sports Directors.
Based on Deloitte’s report, no Italian club is in the top 10 most spenders on the planet. In terms of the amount of money earned each season, Serie A is only ranked 4th, in turn behind the Premier League; Bundesliga and La Liga.
Serie A teams tend to sell more than buy. When buying, they often prioritize free or at least transferable contracts that fit tight budgets. Practice shows that this approach has worked.
Looking at Napoli – the team that won the Scudetto 2022/2023, in Luciano Spalletti’s squad at this time, there are many new players arriving from the summer of 2022, which are the cases of Kim Min-Jae; Giacomo Raspadori; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia; Tanguy Ndombelé; Giovanni Simeone; Mathias Olivera and Leo Ostigard.
With a wise strategy, the leadership of “Gli Azzurri” only had to spend 53 million euros for the 7 names mentioned above. Bringing in the right players to play at an affordable cost plus the coach’s talent in using the army, Napoli represents a model model for the way of transfer in Italian clubs today.
Napoli represents a model model for the way transfers in Italian clubs today.
Besides Napoli, Inter is also a team worth watching. Simone Inzaghi’s side beat their city rivals in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final and were full of opportunities to progress to the final game of the tournament. In the clash with AC Milan, Mkhitaryan was the best player and remember, he moved to Giuseppe Meazza for 0 dong.
The sublimation of clubs in the European arena does not mean that an old football like Italy is recovering. To evaluate the football development of a country still needs to be based on many factors, including the performance of that country’s team.
However, positive features have appeared, especially the increasingly attractive nature of Serie A. The Italian league is no longer a “unilateral” battle of Juventus alone. Now, any club can aim to win the Scudetto and that’s the fun of football.
Minh Duc | 08:23 May 16, 2023
