Home   >   Opinion   >   Juventus bring Serie A back to the big-time

Juventus bring Serie A back to the big-time

By on April 23, 2015

Italian football has a rich culture of keeping their domestic stars in Serie A. During one of the Italian national team’s pomps in the early 1990s, when they reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and were within a penalty kick of winning the trophy, their entire World Cup squad played in Italy; the same was true of their 2006 World Cup winning squad. In contrast, Ghana’s national team — in the same group as Italy in 2006 — featured players playing in twelve different leagues across the world. Naturally, the fortunes of their national side are  correlated with the strength of Serie A. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Serie A was Europe’s premier domestic league, as not only did Italian legends such as Roberto Baggio ply their trade there, but it also was a destination for top foreign players including Michel Platini (Juventus) and Diego Maradona (Napoli), as well as Brits such as Paul Gascoigne (Lazio). As a result, Italian clubs dominated on the European stage and appeared in each of the first six Uefa Champions League finals, though only winning twice.

In the build-up to Italy’s fourth World Cup win Serie A also thrived. In the 2002/2003 season, three Italian clubs participated in the Champions League semifinals and the final was competed between Juventus and AC Milan. A tight, scoreless, Italian classic was played before Juve won on penalties.

Just two seasons later, Milan again made the final, although losing to Liverpool in the “Miracle of Istanbul.” They had their revenge in the 2005/2006 season, however, beating Liverpool in another Champions League final meeting.

Yet as the old national team aged and Italy recorded failures at the past two World Cups — admittedly, appearing in the Euro 2012 final — Serie A entered a dark age, known for the numerous obsolete stadiums, corruption scandals, and continued fan troubles, all likely exacerbated by the country’s continuing economic struggles. Over the past seven seasons, only one Italian club has competed in a Champions League semifinal and Serie A’s admissions to the competition fell from four to only two. Now, Serie A languishes behind the English Premier League and Spanish La Liga in terms of popularity, and even the German Bundesliga regarding impact in the Champions League. Portugal’s Primeira Liga had more admissions to this season’s Champions League than the Serie A.

Financially, this demise has also impacted the league. Juventus turned annual profits of €279.4 million last season, but the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid bring in nearly double that.

But Juventus have the chance to go a long way toward righting the sinking ship this time around. After qualifying second in a relatively easy group, they beat Borussia Dortmund and cashed in on their luck with a draw against AS Monaco in the Quarterfinals of the Champions League, which they duly won 1-0 on aggregate, in classic Italiam style. The Old Lady finds itself in the semifinals. The headline of Italian newspaper La Stampa simply read, ”welcome back.”

It’s enough to bring Serie A back into the spotlight, but for how long? Although Juventus will be the underdogs no matter whom they draw — not Real, Barca, nor Bayern will bring even the slightest comfort — a run to the final would promise much more lasting affects on the league, especially is paired with Europa league success by Napoli or Fiorentina. Paul Pogba’s fitness remains in doubt, but Juve’s defensive style of play is perfectly fit for semifinals and finals. If they somehow make it to the final, don’t count them out.

Photo credit: football.ua

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.