The collapse of Italian football

The crash of Calcio is complete, something that has been caving in for years, something that has been masked by the 2006 World’s Championship title and for what Luciano Moggi has been accused, has now turned into dying ashes. Three Serie A participants in Champions League and their total breakdown, but also UEFA Cup drowning is something that even blind media cannot ignore. However, most faithful are still keeping their heads in the sand hoping that CL eight finals second leg will prove that Serie A is not some second-stage meaningless entertainment and that the fallen titans are capable of handling the conceited, wealthy Englishmen. Still, even those voices have been silenced by the choir-mourning of misery that  even all the artificial glamour cannot conceal.

We will start from Inter. The embarrassment against Manchester United was not seen through the scoreline, but we honestly believe that even the poor Bolton would’ve been worthier rivals to sir Alex at Reebok. They were backs against the wall, scared and lost in front of their astonished fans. About 60.000 people were speechless, all the humiliation and disbelief was not even broken by somewhat better performance in the second half. Any man believing that Inter will manage to fight back at Old Trafford is, at least, football ignorant. This Mourihno’s squad couldn’t have made it to the top four in the Premiership, that is a clear deal…and the same team, the group of worn-outs has nine point-advantage in front of Juventus.

Roma threatened Arsenal and were ultimately lucky to lose 1-0 to a Gunners’ reserve team. This is Wenger’s dream, this is his interim team without a classic striker and its leader Fabregas. However, even like that, Arsenal is a twice the team Roma will ever be. Over the past two years, Romans had a shipwreck at Old Trafford, their subconsciousness might’ve been filled with fear of the same scenario repeating itself now, but bear in mind, they played a team that will probably end up outside top four in the Premier League. And now, all there is left for them to do in the eternal city is to wish for a real hell at Olimpico. They are only forgetting one thing, Wenger will have a stronger squad in two weeks time, with Eduardo or Adebayor on board, it is really difficult to visualize Roma keeping the clean sheet.

Same thing can be said about Juventus, they have been a match to Chelsea, but they failed to break Stamford Bridge. Hiddink is now with two weeks of time to prepare his team, work on the fitness and Chelsea will definitely be a stronger team in the second leg. Juventus? They even might go through, but do you honestly believe that Juventus who are with two players  more than 70 years old will be able to match Bayern, Barcelona or Manchester United…nice joke…

Milan, Fiorentina and Sampdoria are not worthy wasting our words here, UEFA Cup elimination by dismantled Ajax and Werder is showing Serie A’s real place compared with major leagues, but also with some other competitions in Italy usually regarded with irony. True, Italians tend to go “non me frego” (I don’t give a damn) attitude when it comes to UEFA Cup, but they also tend to forget one other thing. Milan were left with only UEFA Cup, Sampdoria also don’t have other options since they are in the mid-table and Fiorentina fielded their top squad in both ties against Ajax. And now, it is too late to curse the luck for not taking their rivals seriously it is all sour grapes.

Udinese are through! Barely beating the average Polish Leh and will now play against Zenit. Do you believe they will survive the next round?

If you care for our prognosis, until the end of March, all the Italian outfits will end their European crusades. They will then turn towards the home league which is a farce and where it is all known in advance since the refs are molding the standings on their own. They will announce the next season as the time of change, with only one problem, no one will watch that believe in that change and no one will want to watch it…stadium are hollow, quality desperate. Soon, instead of paying TV rights for derbies that are deiced by someone slapping a handball past the goal line or fooling an offside line by ten meters, media could start buying the games from the past, from the beginning of the 1990’s. Believe me reminiscence would be much better.

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