Winds of Change?

A year ago, the English Premier League dominance on the world stage was rightly assured. Two English teams in the final of the Champions League, three of four in the semis, we assume that it is a trend, a watershed mark that will continue, but anyone with a sense of history in the game knows that European football is cyclical. Sooner rather than later a club, or a series of clubs, will step up from one of the other top leagues in Europe and challenge the Manchester United’s, Chelsea’s or Liverpool’s and repeat that feat of 3 of 4 in the semis. If so, then from where?

 

Most would often say Spain, they are the European Champions of Euro 2008, they have a young squad of brilliant players, the majority of which play nationally in La Liga; which is very important in my mind. Real Madrid are learning how to win again in the Champions League after a return to form domestically. Barcelona have endured two turbulent years, fueled by an out-of control dressing room, over-inflamed egos, and a sometimes lax director, but are about ready to return the challenge of the madridistas. Villareal have progressed in 5 years from relegation also-rans to title contenders as their neighbors Valencia have done much the same but in reverse. You might see a Real Madrid win again, and soon I might add, but the odds are further along for three of four in Spain to win.

 

In my opinion though, the sleeping giant of Italian football has been woken. AC Milan, recently content to give short shrift to the scudetto have seen rivals Inter win the championship twice on the field in succession, secured the more important off-field signings, and more importantly have just seen a media-conscious manager like Jose Mourinho give instant credibility to the often fractious nerazzurri side. Securing Ronaldinho is a coup on so many terms, but having him in partnership with Kaka  and Pato will be epic. Roma have seen better days, but they have one of the most exciting young coaches in Serie A, Lazio will be better and let no one forget (let alone me for my obvious disrespect last year) that Juventus will be a force to be dealt with. They have an aging squad certainly, but they have an interesting mix of competitive youngsters as well, and they have all of the resources of the Agnelli family behind them (wink, wink). Add an exciting side like Udinese, the creativity of Sampdoria and lest we not forget probably the most consistent Italian club over the last 5 years Fiorentina, and Serie A is in my opinion the most competitive league top to bottom in the world. The top 4 is back in business (AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and AS Roma) but they have serious competition from 3 or 4 other squads. They all have quality home-grown depth and they have arguably the best managers, coaches and trainers in the world. They have quality youth development, some fine feeder programs at clubs like Udinese, Siena and Empoli, and they have some of the best fan support in Europe, great derbies like Roma/Lazio, Milan/Inter, Genoa/Samdoria, and Juve/rest of Italy. If (and I realize these are big ifs) they could fix a troubled media rights compact, control fan and stadium violence, and curtail corruption they obviously could compete on the world stage with England and Spain as they did so successfully in the 1980’s and 1990’s. If you think they can’t, remember that  the current UEFA chairman Michel Platini was once the darling of the Turin alps in the bianconeri midfield.

Tradition!

It’s not just for Fiddlers on Roofs apparently. The Ronaldinho saga is apparently over, as it has been confirmed that, instead of signing a more lucrative deal for Manchester City, he will be traveling to Milan to join up with the Brazilian contingent at Milanello as another in a long line of samba stars to have graced the fashion capital of the world with their presence. What made him ignore Dr. Thaksin’s Blue Moon experiment?

 

Apparently, the lure of Milan was too much for ‘Dinho to ignore. They have more of a pedigree of forward thinking, attacking football certainly; a leftover of the great Arrigo Sacchi sides that blew past competitors in the late 80’s/early 90’s. They bring a style of football more suited to his particular talents, away from the the chuck-and-run nonsense of England. They also have the comforts of home for him as the lilt of Portuguese will be heard from compatriots Kaka and Alexandre Pato, not to mention Digao, Emerson and Dida , giving Milan more than a passing semblance of Rio or Sao Paolo on the mother continent. Ultimately, they have what clubs like Manchester City, or LA Galaxy for that matter if that report is to be believed, cannot have and that is tradition.

 

Manchester United has it, as does Arsenal or Liverpool, but all three clubs have gone generations in the past without winning. In Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona do, as do Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan in Italy. All of the above have gone years in their history without winning trophies. Winning doesn’t necessarily make tradition or else Deportivo La Coruna, Celta de Vigo in Spain or Sampdoria  and Parma in Italy would have the same cache at different times. Great players can make a club great as Pele did with Santos or Maradona did with Napoli but that doesn’t necessarily bridge the gap towards tradition. Big cities can make a club a traditional power, capitols London and Madrid comply as do larger cities like Barcelona, Turin and Manchester, but how do you explain the lack of tradition in Paris, Rome, or Berlin?

 

It’s in the supporters, the fan base, and certainly has little to do with even spending more money than your competitor. Nouveau-riche owners like Thaksin Shinawatra or Roman Abramovich can create successful clubs that win trophies by overspending their competitors, but in the end their success has a finite life.

 

A footballer has been likened to a modern mercenary, have money will travel, but when given the choice he will follow that trophy case, that fanbase, and that tradition that calls to them, more than any lucrative contract ever could.

Italian football : An organized sport?

For a short while there in my pre-pubescent youth, I got quite into watching wrestling. It was called the WWF back then. They changed the name of it later and thus in one fell swoop remedied the rampant confusion scores of us had between large, sweaty man throwing each other to the floor and wildlife conservation.
Anyway, once I got over the Santa Claus-like revelation that the whole thing was fake, I remember being impressed by the organization of it all, the plot lines and the pay offs to those plot lines and so on.

This week, Italy’s pink sporting daily, “La Gazzetta Dello Sport” published an alternative Serie A table where refereeing errors were corrected and interestingly enough, in this parallel universe of justice and perfection, the league leader is. . . Juventus. Not only that but they top Inter by three points, rather than the twelve points that they trail the Nerazzuri now.

Other notable differences from the real standings is that Milan sit comfortably in that  fourth spot, five points clear of Fiorentina in fifth, and then. . . . well, that’s it, really.

Yes, Juve and Milan are getting the right royal shafting it seems.

So it got me wondering. Not so much about whether there is a specifically Inter-sponsored conspiracy against Juventus and Milan – the idea of that is too exhausting, depressing and let’s face it, unlikely – but firstly, does your average non-Juventino or non-Milanista really care about this finding? And even more tellingly perhaps, can it be seen as acceptable for Juventus and Milan to fight with one hand behind their back for a while because it’ll be for the good for the spectacle of the Italian game anyway?

I ask this because bizarrely enough I’m beginning to see a number of things taking shape in Italy and post-calciopoli that I think is going to a lead to a rather spectacular revival of Serie a in the eyes of the world that few would have expected so soon after Luciano Moggi’s fondness for the phone call was exposed.

What’s changed about this post-calcopoli world? Well the main one obviously is that we have a new winner. An imperious Inter. They look every inch the part of champions, decent football at times, lots of goals, win even when they’re rubbish and they get dodgy refereeing decisions going for them left and right. All that is a new phenomenon. For them.

Next, are Roma who have managed to keep their coach, star players (bar Chivu) and have added to their squad with relative ease of late. Again, not the case in the years prior. Last Sunday’s performance at Siena aside, they’re getting stronger.

Then there’s the teams just below that size or standard; Fiorentina and this year’s underachievers, Lazio. Prandelli’s team from Firenze is getting to be a pretty solid proposition and you would really fancy them to keep hold of young players such as Montolivo and Pazzini, to name but two. They are also pretty handy at getting in players also. They too are getting stronger.

Lazio, who arguably overachieved last year getting into the Champions League, squandered their progress last summer with a catastrophic transfer campaign which left them short handed. They have been busy bring player in this January window, but more importantly have kept continuity by sticking with Delio Rossi as coach, who you get the idea is actually good for them.

Napoli too, are now up with the big boys and seem pretty astute in the transfer market with Lavezzi, Hamsik and Gargano their performing summer arrivals, and the other week they tweaked the nose of Inter by signing the coveted youngster, Daniele Mannini from Brescia.

It all seems a slightly fairer fight these days. It seems everyone in Serie A breathes a little easier now and moves around a little more without fear of getting squashed.

With all that mentioned and a new collective TV rights deal on its way, which would resemble more the English Premier League’s allocation of TV money, there’s a real chance that a “Seven Sisters” could emerge once more. Just like the bygone days where serie a was king. A big seven. Big city teams, with big money and all with the ability to attract talent from all over the world.

Italy might not be all that far behind as those in the English media would seem to suggest.

Add to that there are whispers that Poland and Ukraine are struggling with preparations for Euro 2012, and Italy has declared itself ready to take their place. A lot needs to happen, or I suppose in the case of the currently elected hosts, not to happen, before Italy gets the green light; but such an event transpiring would signal a boost in renovation and investment in the pennisula’s stadia. Much needed.

Now it is Italy. And things can always implode. But there are signs.

And because, I suppose, Milan and Juventus will always be there or thereabouts with the resources they each have, anything that is going on now, well it’s all for the better.

And if the flag stays down when the Milan or Juventus defenses are breached, if the ref really didn’t see that shirt tug on Kaka or that Trezeguet’s chest is mistaken for an arm, it’s all for the greater good. Just while things are set straight.

The sad thing about life after calciopoli was that it made anything seem possible and that now even when things seem a little better, you still think somebody somewhere may be pulling the strings in one direction or another. Even if it is just for the excitement and the spectacle.

Just as they do in wrestling.

Ross Howard

Forza Futbol

with Mando, Hannah and Elisa


“My name is Mando and I’m a Blogger…” Yeah, I know this stuff sometimes sounds like an AA confessional, but relax I’m not trying to be pretentious, I really do talk this way.

I began this cycle writing about American sports and the absurdity of it all, I opened a Blogger.com account and made predictions, wrote about my collective Los Angeles sports obsessions and covered the 2000 election. I lost faith and a bit of passion for all of it. Call it self imposed ex-pat syndrome, or a general lack of trust, but I’ve come out the other side relaxed and refreshed but maniacally focused on soccer of all sports.

So I deleted my L.A. Dodgers blog, and my general interest political blog and started up a new one about football, Arsenal FC as a general focus, but one where I could talk about Italy or La Liga if I wanted to. Granted, I never knew anything about blogrolls or ways to advertise and link with other related sites, but in the 3 years I wrote about futbol there I got one unsolicited non spam response.

Great, so looked at a different way to connect with people and tried message boards, by this time I had already bought my first iPod and discovered the joys of podcasting, listening I might add, the thought of putting one together seemed too remote to even bother, so I sought out message boards for some like minded people who enjoyed the beautiful game and my favorite podcast: The Treble. Wasn’t for me.

Instead, I found myspace and stumbled onto my friends Hannah and Elisa there. Both were frequent callers to the Treble as well, and far more coherent usually than I was. I know the idea is kind of weird, “How much of a friend can you be if the initial connection was electronic?” Still, we all started hanging out there, and then we actually met a few months later at a pub in Pasadena, California during a Manchester United match last year in April. United lost.

Despite the “tragedy”, the idea for Forza Futbol began. Hannah had this idea to do a podcast and she thought about us; since her “non-myspace” friends weren’t sufficiently committed enough I guess. Elisa immediately said, “We should just talk about Real Madrid.” Thankfully we talked her down from the ledge, but we came up with a great idea. We wanted to talk about Spain and Italy, two leagues that are still consistently and shamelessly underreported here in the States, and we wanted to make some friends along the way.

We did. We were privileged in covering last years’ exciting final in La Liga. We interviewed all of our heroes and realized they were just great people who loved the game just like us. We got better at doing this podcast thing.

All that we have been doing for the last 8 months has gotten us to this point. Despite some detours along the way, Hannah, Elisa and I are back here at Forza Futbol. I’d like to announce too, that starting in January we are going to be part of Champions Soccer Radio network. The place where I might add we all met originally I might add.

Nice, huh? Thanks for listening.

Violence in Serie A

In a filling station near Arezzo, Italy this weekend, 5 miles from Florence in Tuscany, there were a group of Juventus and Lazio supporters that met on the way to a match, a fight broke out and the police were called in, warning shots were fired and a stray bullet killed a Lazio fan. As soon as word broke of what happened, the powder keg that is the Italian football landscape turned into the violent equivalent of one of the many wildfires we’ve had here in Los Angeles. Insatiable and uncontrollable it spread to Rome, Atalanta and many other cities in Italy and while it may have looked like a football problem, this most definitely reaches deeper into the fabric of modern Italian society.

The FIGC weighed in, “It is a day in which there will be major institutional steps taken.” Many are calling for the suspension of the league, tighter controls in and around the matches, limiting away support, etc. While some of those may be effective, it ignores the crux of the problem.

Those that seek the answers in emulating the “English model”, where safe and sane, family friendly stadia changed the fabric of English football are bound to be disappointed. These aren’t hooligans who are in it to “get a few thrills” or “up the aggro” though they look outwardly much the same. The ultra on the curvas see their enemy, not across the way at the other side of the stadium with the away support, but in authority itself. It’s not about taking the stadium, invading the pitch, knocking down the other firm, although all of those things do happen. Football is not the end, just a means to another end. It’s about confrontation, and escalating the response, destabilizing society and ultimately anarchy. The authorities in this sense too are caught in a viscious cycle; that violence leads to a violent response, leading to more violence., and as such, the police are just as much the problem as the solution.

This must be met, not only by the FIGC, but by the Italian government itself. The response needs to be all-encompasing and not just a cosmetic fix. Frankly, targeting only the ultras is a mistake. Everyone should look themselves in the mirror.

The violence from last year in Catania brought many changes to the league, matches were cancelled, calls to suspend the season were brought up, but a measured approach was taken and new relegations were setup to limit away fans at controversial matches, a new ticketing policy was setup that had league officials stating violence inside stadia was down 80%. That may be, but as we’ve all seen in the reports, violence can spark at any time.

Azzurri Week Concluded

Let’s get it out of the way, the Azzurri looked very ordinary against Ukraine last week led by a surprisingly fit Shevchenko, but are very likely, after easing uncomfortably into second place in their group, to qualify for Euro 2008. Yet, what price mediocrity?

After a turgid 4 years plus under Il Trap, Lippi came in and forged a side that would win the 2006 World Cup, and win it attractively, filling out their designer kits well. Donadoni took over and immediately put his stamp on the team, but the squad have been uninspiring, and he has had to contend with injuries to key players and the “retirements” of Nesta and Totti. Here’s a recap of what he’s done so far.

In September 06 in a 1-1 draw against Lithuania, he brought Cassano back to the squad, but played him alongside Inzaghi who scored the equalizer. Unfortunately, he played DeRossi out of position on the right wing for the entire match, only to replace him with Franco Semioli of Chievo 4 days later against France. He did play somebody more suited to the position (Di Michele) on the right in the second half, but that indecision (amongst others) cost them the match. A month later Italy played the Ukraine with 3 starting defensive midfielders (Gattusso, Pirlo and De Rossi) in the middle, but they served balls to Luca Toni, which is as it should be, but flanking him were Alex Del Piero and Vincenzo Iaquinta? Wingers Camoranesi and Di Natale made an appearance late, but second half goals by Oddo and Toni saved them the win. He brings Fabio Quagliarella to the fold after being ignored, but then refuses to play him until the 87th minute on in a match against the Faroe Islands? Against miners and fishermen, Donadoni is playing 3 defensive mids in Pirlo, Gattusso, and Aimo Diana of Palermo? Luckily Pippo saved him with two goals or that might have cost him his job, but every match it seems that his players are starting off slow and having to gather muster in the second half. He plays forwards as wingers and wingers as central midfielders, and I won’t get into his formations.

His problem isn’t that he switches from a 4-3-3 to a 4-3-1-2 and so on without thought. Lippi switched formations all the time, but he put his players in positions that they were comfortable or attuned to at least. Not so Donadoni, for a classy attacking midfielder in his day, his squad plays boring, and unimaginatively. They look ill prepared and a much more divided squad than they were in Germany.

Now, despite what I’ve mentioned above, I’m no Donadoni basher, I think as we have seen his team selection categorizes him as having attention deficit disorder and tactically he’s terminally naive when facing more experienced opponents, but I think journalists in Italy have been rather harsh on the ex-Milan midfielder. It’s not all his fault.

Frankly the unity that Lippi hailed as bringing the team together on that night at the Olympiastadion was gone as soon as the whistle blew, as they started running around the pitch, and as the shorts started coming off. Given an unenviable position in following a legend, he must have realized early on that his championship squad (other than De Rossi and Pirlo) would all be well into their 30’s before the next Euros. He didn’t have a ready answer at trecuartista for Totti, Del Piero may have been able to replace Baggio early in his career, but he was years away from his prime. Up front, Toni has been hurt and playing abroad under a different training regimen at Bayern (or so Donadoni thinks), Gilardino has been out of form practically since arriving at Milan, and Iaquinta is third choice striker at Juve. As an aside, speaking of Juve, no one seems to mention the fact that their contingent, Del Piero, Buffon and Camoranesi, were plying their trade in Serie B against subpar opposition last year as a possible reason for why they struggled for the Azzurri. Pirlo and Gattusso have been stalwarts, as have Zambrotta and Cannavaro in the back, but Materazzi has been hurt and Oddo has not been not a great replacement for Grosso. You could say with little argument that hardly anyone from the starting 2006 squad had been at their best.

The fact is, that while Italy are Campioni del Mondo they made it to summit on the last legs of this generation of Azzurri players. Whether anyone in FIGC wants to admit it or not, it’s a transitional phase for them and for their squad. Yes, they probably made a mistake in “handing the keys to a Ferrari” to a hungry parking attendant, and maybe they needed somebody more like Capello to motivate them all, but the Ferrari was due to be serviced, it needed a new motor, and practically any driver would have had problems starting that engine.

Your leagues are boring

I like the Premiership, I think there are some great teams playing in England, some would say I even support an English team, while others refuse to acknowledge that Arsenal even represents English football, but that’s their choice. Yet, ignoring Serie A (and La Liga in some cases) in support of English football well that’s a sentiment I’ve never understood.

Let me explain, we’ve gotten some emails with the typical stereotypes of Serie A (or La Liga even) being boring, that English games are more exciting, and that the best players are in the Premiership. Some say that even the smallest teams like West Ham in the Premiership can beat the biggest in Manchester United?

Sorry if you’ve noticed the pattern, but when I get mad I break out the stats: if it’s a Cuban thing, or a Baseball thing, it’s just something I’ve never been able to figure out.

Here’s the answer to the competitiveness question: Since 1992 when the Premiership was founded, only 4 teams have won it: Blackburn, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Ok, but how about second and third place finishers? Any new names on that list? (6) Aston Villa, Norwich, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Leeds United. In Germany, only 4 have won the league: Stuttgart, Bremen, Dortmund, Kaisersalautern and (6 others) Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkeusen, Freiburg, Schalke, Hertha Berlin, and Hamburg have contended. Compare that in Italy (5 teams): Juventus, Roma, AC Milan, Inter, and Lazio have won it. 4 more have contended: Sampdoria, Parma, Udinese, Fiorentina. So far pretty even. In La Liga, it’s even more interesting. Since 1992 (5 teams), Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, and Valencia have won it. Another 7 have contended (finishing second or third) : Real Zaragoza, Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Real Mallorca, Villareal and Sevilla. Looks to me that most of the leagues are pretty even, with maybe La Liga being slightly more competitive top to bottom over that time.

What about the excitement question? The league that scores goals must be more exciting, right? Have you heard these stats before, maybe on a podcast or two from here in the States or in England? Of the three leagues, the Premiership is last in terms of goals per game with of 2.60 per year since 1995. La Liga is ahead of England with 2.63 and so is Italy with 2.64. It’s true, and France is at 2.3 per game, Germany is at 2.8 and Holland is at or near 3.0. But goals=excitement just doesn’t cut it. You couldn’t pay me to watch Eredivisie over England, so it must be something else.

Is it the fans or history? Well, no one can tell me that the Madrid derbies between Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid, or the politically motivated rivalries between Real Madrid and Barcelona or Real Madrid and the Basque teams, are second to a historically noncompetitive Manchester derby. Does Arsenal v Manchester United have that kind of galvanizing power of Castilians versus Catalans, or Castilians versus Basques? Maybe Liverpool v Manchester United comes close, but is there any more of a hatred there than between Lazio v Roma fans?  Is it atmosphere? Other than the Kop at Liverpool singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” does anyone (other than Citizens or Hammers) get excited over Forever blowing Bubbles or Blue Moon? Is that inherently better than the Curva at the Stadio Olimpico singing Roma, Roma or flags, flares and smoke bombs going off at the San Siro between a sea of rossoneri and nerrazzurri. Frankly, I’d love to have been at Athletic Bilbao for that final match that secured safety from relegation last year. The atmosphere, even with poor sound coming from GolTV, was electric.

In the end, I don’t think there’s that much difference between any of these leagues in terms of level of play, the leagues are semi permeable membranes, the players all come and go between them, and as we’ve seen, there isn’t much of a difference in atmosphere. Maybe it’s the presentation, as the sound quality and the English announcers that the La Liga and Serie A have used have been generally subpar, or the fact that stadiums in England are more viewer friendly (no running track, very few 80,000 seat giants) so it seems more intimate.

Frankly, it just comes down to a matter of taste. Like whatever league you want, watch whatever you watch. I have ceased to worry about it : the game is the game is the game

Serie A 2007-2008

Week Two has come and gone, and while I’ve been busily working on the podcast, I’ve skimped badly for the last few months on my day job which is as yeoman blogger. So, after interviewing last week a few notables like Paddy Agnew (author of Forza Italia) and Sheridan Bird (of football 365.com), I’ve been sooper-excited to get back to blogging about my favorite league: Serie A.

Well, have we learned anything after two weeks and another useless International break? Juventus are better than we thought, or basically luckier than anyone thought, and Roma have had fast starts and lackluster finishes for their 2 wins. Milan looked a tired side after drawing to Fiorentina on Monday, that’s after beating Sevilla on Friday in the Super Cup between the Champions League and UEFA Cup champs (but that wasn’t saying much as the Spaniards were rocked by the death of Puerta). Inter are, as always Inter, shockingly introspective and in need of some mood altering substances to control the stress. Thankfully they got a bit of azzurrini in a match against Empoli where Nosferatu Cagni looked dapper but angered by his Tuscan brood’s performance, or was that at the ref’s? In the end, I’d watch out for Fiorentina and Palermo who look to make headway in the table soon enough, as Roma go on a month long buzzsaw run through the top of the table.

Here’s an extra bit of sum-sumin’. My friend Elisa requested a review of our predictions, as she wants to taunt the lot of us for doubting the mighty Juve I guess. Therefore, here’s a tabulation of our 2007-2008 Serie A predictions we made on our podcast. She wants it in writing. No wonder she likes Empoli’s Cagni.

Elisa’s

1.Top 6

1.Inter

2.AC Milan

3.Roma

4.Juventus

5.Fiorentina

6.Udinese

2.Relegation:

1.Parma

2.Cagliari

3.Napoli

3.Top Signing/Transfer of the Year:

1.Fabio Quagliarella

4.Top Flop – Signing/Transfer of the year:

1.Bobo Vieri

5.Coppa Italia winners:

1.Juventus

6.Best peformance in UEFA Cup –

1.Palermo – semi finals

7.Best performance in Champions League –

1.Inter in the final

Hannah’s

1.Top 4

1.AC Milan

2.AS Roma

3.Inter Milan

4.Juventus

2.Relegation:

1.Napoli

2.Genoa

3.Cagliari

3.Top Signing/Transfer of the Year:

1.Ludovic Giuly

4.Coppa Italia winners:

1.AS Roma

5.Best peformance in UEFA Cup –

1.Fiorentina

6.Best performance in Champions League –

1.AC Milan

The Best (of course by me): wink wink

Mando’s

1.Top 6

1.AS Roma

2.Inter Milan

3.AC Milan

4.Fiorentina

5.Palermo

6.Juventus

2.Relegation:

1.Genoa

2.Parma

3.Napoli

3.Top Signing/Transfer of the Year:

1.Fabio Quagliarella

4.Top Flop – Signing/Transfer of the year:

1.Antonio Cassano

5.Coppa Italia winners:

1.Juventus

6.Best peformance in UEFA Cup –

1.Palermo

7.Best performance in Champions League –

1.AS Roma- quarter finals