Milan and Juve out... Italian soccer in crisis since a few years... Why?

Italian soccer is going down in few year near here they do not have any strong team to play in Europe cup , Inter milan can be the champion in Italian but when they play with other strong team that is from England or Spain they lost all , Ac milan that sold all their good player and their good coach also moved to Chelsea ,

Most of the English players are laying in England for Premier League and most of the spanish are also playing in home except, Fabregas (Arsenal), Torres(liverpool)... Milan lost to united, the first draw back, there is no Kaka, they sold him to Real madrid , the best winger has been sold and how come they except a win after selling a precious player? I remember, last seasons' Champions league, that Manchester knocked out Inter from the league, so i thought Chelsea will also try to do the same this year, but chelsea had minimum aggregate so it lost to inter...

I wouldn't say that this was not coming for some time. With AC Milan having an aging team and Roma and Juventus going back from their glory days, it has been obvious that Italian football has taken a back step. I think the biggest problem for them has been all these corruption scandals and the inability to compete with the English and Spanish in the transfer market. But all is not so gloomy, Inter has charted a new path by beating Chelsea and have a very good chance of making it to semis as they now take on CSKA. Cheers! Ram

Hi Nemonezonicamidecus, Most of Italian team tactically more focus on defensive then offensive in their game. They usually build their game from defense to forward and rely on counter strike. That's why we rarely saw a big score in the Serie A. Most of the game was won by 1-0 score. It was a trend in Italian football since a long time ago. Score one goal then bring all player to put a wall in front of the keeper. This tactic is okey when you used it against any opponent except English. It is not just happen this year but for the last few years. English team seem to know how to break Italian team defense.Last season Inter Milan down 2-0 to Manchester United, Juventus lost to Chelsea, 2-3, both games was in round of 16 matches. In 2007/08 season, Inter 0 - Liverpool 3(round of 16), AC Milan 0 - Arsenal 2 (round of 16) and Roma 0 - Manchester United 3(quarter final). Most of the Italian are coached by an Italian. So, the different is not much in the tactical area. They are so predictable. Most of the Italian team rely much on their "antic" players. They still keep the players who is past their prime time especially the defender. Today football mostly depend on the speed and when old horses hold the defense there is much possibility that they will be left behind. In other league especially Spain and England, only certain team qualify for Champion league but the UEFA Cup (before this) is open to everyone. It is not the different in playing style or what but it is mostly because of the financial status. This season, England still has Manchester United and Arsenal for the Champion League (familiar faces) and Liverpool and Fulham in Europa League (no so fimiliar with second tier UEFA competition). Spain still has Barcelona (Champion League) and Valencia and Atlantico Madrid (face each other in the quarter final). I think it is not because of the other European team become stronger. it is because the so called "big team" underestimate their opponent or they have to face each other.

in my opinion, it's a combination of many things - english premier league is the fastest and most physical league in the world; the pace of their games is more than the other big leagues. as such, it is considered the toughest league in the world - so no wonder that english teams have been dominating the european arena for the past several years. even teams like fulham and everton are making it big in the europa league. i was shocked by the way Juve got knocked out by Fulham! personally i feel Italian league is the slowest and most boring of the big leagues. maybe their defensive strategy worked well before, but the attacking and fast-paced english game is catching up fast and overtaking. english teams have been regularly knocking out italian teams over the past several years. spanish teams are also making lesser impacts except for the meteoric rise of Barca, which, i feel, is playing at a different level altogether. besides, the other lesser known leagues are also catching up, e.g, the french league, german bundesliga, portuguese league, russian league, etc.

The success of other small European club teams in European club competitions shows that there is no dearth of talent in Europe..All the major leagues that we know like the EPL, the spanish La liga,the italian Seria A and the German Bundesliga draws a lot of media attention but the leagues of other countries can easily match up to them as far as the standard of football goes..A few reasons may be cited for the failure of teams from renowned leagues..1)Though the players are paid a hefty fee but their performance graphs dipped substantially,2)It is very difficult to manage a team with several superstars as there will be ego clashes and the combination and balance of the team can suffer,3)A majority of the team goes for purchase of renowned players and therefore those players needs time to get into the groove,4)Teams from smaller countries have more urge to excel as they are not paid as heavily as players from reputed leagues so they have an added incentive to prove their mettle and get a place for themselves in the rich clubs of Europe..Now coming back to Italy what Italy lacks most is quality young players..Can you imagine that somebody like Maldini and Nesta are still playing international football for their club at a time when they should have retired from active football..Italy lacks quality finisher and so it is not surprising that even when Inter beat Chelsea the name of the scorer is Samuel Eto..The quality of the players are not up to the standard as the Seria A lost a lot of glamour and media attention.Top players shun the ideas of playing in the Italian league.