The State of the Serie A

Italian legend, Andrea Pirlo, crying after Juventus’s Champions League final loss to Barcelona. Image: Getty

Italian football has suffered in recent years as historically great clubs such as Milan and Inter began to deteriorate and Juventus were unable to win that elusive Champions League trophy. What’s the future of the Serie A, and where do they rank in the top European leagues in the world.

Suffering Reputation

With the ushering in of Barcelona and Real Madrid, and clubs such as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, the Serie A has been significantly depleted, many abandoning it to go see Messi and Ronaldo put on dazzling displays in La Liga. In fact, the Serie A sits fourth in the UEFA Country Coefficient, and their ranking has started to fall even further, verging ever nearer to being passed by the Ligue 1.

The Serie A was at the height of its powers in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s, occupying the top spot in the rankings for 13 years, the most of any league in the world. Of course, that was when Milan, Inter, and Juventus were at the height of their powers, winning five Champions League titles and nine Europa League titles. Italian football has suffered, and the only team that seems capable of competing to win a European competition is Juventus, but they don’t seem to be quite ready to compete with the talent-loaded teams of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

No More Winning

Where have all the titles gone? The last time an Italian club hoisted a European trophy was in 2010 when Inter defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid. Not only have they failed to win another trophy, but they have looked lost out there on the pitch. No team has been able to progress far in the tournament other than Juventus, who lost the 2015 Champions League final to Barcelona.

The teams have even struggled in the lower tier of European football, losing out early in the Europa League countless times. This is not the Serie A we remember. There have been no more all Italian Champions League finals, no more Milan v Liverpool revenge stories. In fact, it’s been pretty uneventful in Italy. The only team they can look up to is Juventus, and while they may have been able to progress far in the Champions League, it’s too much to ask for one team to carry the Serie A back to the top of Europe.

Where’s the Competition?

Simply put, the Serie A needs more competition. They’re making it too easy for Juventus to rack up the wins, practically resigning themselves to a Bianconeri Serie A victory the minute the season starts. There is no more Milan. There is no more Inter. We’re left with Roma and Napoli, two good clubs, but not good enough to truly compete against top-tier Premier League or Bundesliga sides. The Serie A desperately needs more depth; they cannot put all their eggs in one basket. How have the two historically great clubs fallen out from glory? Whatever the reason is, they need to pull it together, not only for themselves, but for Italian football as a whole, for the fans who have been switching more and more to the more exciting leagues, for the people who still believe that Italy has got it in them.

The Serie A needs to rebound and fast. They are not the fourth best league in Europe, far from it. They just need to go out there and prove it.