We are near the end of this 2003, and i think it was a terrible year for serie A and italian football in general. All started some years ago, when someone started to think that football could have been a good business (Television rights, sponsorship, merchandising and other), and some so-called business mas started to buy football team and to spend and incredible amount of money for buying footballer and for paying them. Players's wages increased more and more each year, and the cost\income ratio of many football team is now terrible. Many teams are near the bankruptcy. Think about Lazio, Roma, Fiorentina, my beloved Napoli and now Parma, involved in one of the biggest financial trick of all time, perhaps second only to your Enron. I think the situation in the future is darkest. Only remedy: young player and salary cap. Happy new year to all of u!
maybe thats a good thing......i really dont care if the big names will go to la liga or else...... i mean , it even hard to be a fan of a team that wins just because its president got the money to buy the best players....should we support the industry men? if thats soccer, it sucks. probably the best part of it remains in NT tournaments
Sorry to answer this so many days after, but I must agree..... Have always been irritated coming from Northern Europe that our best players was snatched buy some Italian big clubs that didn't have the money to buy the players if it wasn't a question about politics. In Northern Europe we have a tradition not to overspend and henceforth you almost don't see clubs with so huge minuses on the balance.
This really bites. I have noticed that Italian clubs and Serie A were one of if not THE football league in the world, trying to catch up on footie history, just started watching/following football 2 years ago. DAMN, I hate when money ruins sports. I still want to follow Serie A and makes some friends (preferably in Europe, but in the US is cool too), so we can chat and support our Italian club.
I will begin to support Italian football the day Atalanta or Como or Bari will win the scudetto not because I like those teams just so it's not the same 3 teams year for year.
I agree with Adrian, the italian Football tams did a lot of economical mistake, first of all with player wages. I hope the economical crisis and the economical difficulties of many teams and their owners ( Lazio's and Parma's corporate Holding had their bond in defaults...Cirio and expecially Parmalat were two of the most....terrible moment in Italian economical History) could push the teams toward a different way of running their teams. More young player...and if u think there's some not moral in giving 10 millions euro to Del Piero while other worker earns 25.000 euros a year....
Who are the 3 clubs that win it every year? Juventus, AC Milan and who is the 3rd? Inter hasn't won it since the 80s right. And didn't Roma just start winninng league titles?
It was a metaphor! those kind of comments sounds better with 3. Youre right about that inter hasn't won it in long time. And I have been delighted that Roma and Lazio recently have the Scudetto, but when considering how big those clubs seems for us non italian and how few scudettos they have won through history it still looks like only 3 teams wins the scudetto.
Adrian P, I see your reasons for not supporting Serie A. Am I to gather that you don't support the Premiership and La Liga as well?
http://sport.supereva.it/calcion/albodoro.htm?p Last 5 championships have been won by 4 different teams.
Yeah but Roma and Lazio still only have won 2 scudetto's each through history.... so the last 2 years of 4 years have more been sensations than a tendency.
Wages aren't about things being even, they're about productivity. In the case of the sport, it's about which players can get things done on the pitch and get (or keep) butts in the seats, kids buying kits, and the tv ratings up. That regular joe that's making 25,000 euro a year can't generate the revenue that Del Piero can.