Serie A in crisis?

Almogàver · Dec 21, 2006

Dean'06Campioni said:
It is no coincidence that Chelsea’s recent ascendancy under Jose Mourinho has marked a new era of caution in the Premiership.

Exactly. That's why it's so important to beat these terrorists of football. In Spain, we had a similar problem when Capello won La Liga in 1997. There was a bad trend with several teams trying to play tactical and defensive football. After the Ligas won by La Quinta del Buitre and the Dream Team, Capello convinced some people with his ugly football and his slogan: "you have to win, beatiful passing football is something of the past". At least, he was few time here. Later, Del Bosque imposed the damn 4-2-3-1 and the 90% of the teams played this way.

Now Rijkaard and Juande Ramos offer a new version of nice football and, last year, I was glad that both teams won the European trophies, because I felt it as the victory of the nice football. Both teams are dinamic, play wide, opening the field, with the ball rolling on the floor very fast.

In Spain, I wish Capello and Quique fail, because I don't like their clubs, but also because they represent the ugly face of football and I don't want this kind of football in La Liga. Their failure would be the victory of the nice football.

Yesterday, the Bernabeu had 50,000 in the stands. People started to leave the stadium 20 mins before the end!!! When Viqueira scored the 3rd in the 86', there were 10,000 people left in the stadium and most of them recreativistas.

That's the problem of anti-football, you can only swallow it when you win, but even when you do, it always leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But when you lose, like Madrid yesterday, they can only think that this football is the total emptiness without a victory.

Deano · Dec 21, 2006

Well Bravo will pull the plug on Italian football and so there will now be no coverage of Serie A in England from January onwards. Hopefully next season someone will buy the rights as it will be a fantastic season, but oh well... for now it is gone.

Anyway onto goals value:

Serie A - 2.5 goals per game this season
La Liga - 2.45 goals per game
EPL - 2.25 goals per game

Osman · Dec 21, 2006

Prince-O said:
Gung-ho 4-3-3? In Holland everybody plays 4-3-3. :stuckup: Only to lose in European leagues time and time again vs. Italian catenaccio...:groan:

Anyway, I don't like Serie A, but I'm not a hater. Everybody must watch what he or she likes. I don't like.

The fact that they use 4-3-3 is not the offensive part(4-3-3 is just numbers on paper, what you do with it is what counts), but that their mentality was quite audicious and daring, against superior teams, they were just going for it and attacking at all times. But yeah, they may be a bit like the dutch teams in style, which is attractive attacking football, which is quite naive and doesnt hold it to the end(or that far), due to the lack of tactical flexibility and easy to read football (playing the same football regardless if it suits the players or not)

King Adriano · Dec 21, 2006

Dean'06Campioni said:
The Sunday Times December 03, 2006

That’s entertainment?
Andrew Longmore

La Liga and Serie A now offer more goals than the Premiership, which is in danger of losing its lustre

I thought that Premier League was an overrated league (thanks to the powerful of english media).

Now this english article confirms that i was right.

Funny way for english to justify their falures: “Gradually, English football has come round to Italian ways...”

They are obsessed with us, the italians. I start to think they just envy ourself.

Anomander Rake · Dec 21, 2006

That's the problem of anti-football, you can only swallow it when you win, but even when you do, it always leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Not really, for me it's just as hard to swallow defeat when my team plays gung-ho as it is when we play "catenaccio". The bitter taste is left when a team does not use its strengths properly, be it in defence or attack. Like Real Madrid depending on defence containing people like Salgado or Mejia. And of course, let's not forget there are people who appreciate watching good defending (when combined with nice counter-attacks), so your endless anti-football rhetorics are quite funny to me.

But I would rather watch a 5-5 with shocking defending than a 0-0 with both teams cancelling each other out.

Well, yes, I like good defending but not to that extent.

But even as the marketing department of the Premiership roams the world selling the new overseas television rights to the self-styled “most entertaining league in the world”, which should net the clubs a further £500m above the national deal of £1.7 billion with Sky and Setanta, the figures tell a rather different story.

I don't like the EPL but figures can't tell the whole story as far as football is concerned, when Serie A was arguably the best league in the world the number of goals was lower than its now but the entertainment was definitely there, one just had to look past his prejudices to see it.

DougCoglan · Dec 21, 2006

Dean'06Campioni said:
Anyway onto goals value:

Serie A - 2.5 goals per game this season
La Liga - 2.45 goals per game
EPL - 2.25 goals per game

EPL defences the best or EPL strikers can't hit a barn door. You decide...

DougCoglan · Dec 21, 2006

King Adriano said:
I thought that Premier League was an overrated league (thanks to the powerful of english media).

Now this english article confirms that i was right.

Funny way for english to justify their falures: “Gradually, English football has come round to Italian ways...”

They are obsessed with us, the italians. I start to think they just envy ourself.

Yes - it's all 'hype' and english league is 'so over-rated' yadda yadda yadda

Believe me, we're not obsessed with any league other than ours.

Almogàver · Dec 21, 2006

Anomander Rake said:
Not really, for me it's just as hard to swallow defeat when my team plays gung-ho as it is when we play "catenaccio". The bitter taste is left when a team does not use its strengths properly, be it in defence or attack. Like Real Madrid depending on defence containing people like Salgado or Mejia. And of course, let's not forget there are people who appreciate watching good defending (when combined with nice counter-attacks), so your endless anti-football rhetorics are quite funny to me.

At least, it's not for me. I recall Rijkaard's first year in Barcelona. We won nothing, but I felt fine with my team for the first time in years. With Van Gaal, we were winning, but I felt that this was going to have a terrible end and look what happened afterwards. Of course, winning comes first, but the goal must be winning in the nicest way. It's what I demand from my team. I don't feel fine when I get bored every weekend.

Of course, I can understand you enjoy defense and counter attack football and that's why you find funny what I say. But this is something I don't admit in Barcelona. I want to have fun, I want my team to have a nice style on the pitch. I just can not imagine my team sitting back in the Camp Nou waiting for a counter. It's an option, it's legal, some people like it, but I don't. I think that Barcelona have a phylosphy since Cruyff took the team. Sometimes it worked better, sometimes worse, but I'm glad that nice football is a trademark of my club.

Somehow Madrid had it too, but their urgencies make them blind. For me it's unbelievable to see Madrid playing counters, I feel like if there's something wrong. Madrid were never this.

I understand that a smaller team do it, because it's hard to have the skillful players to play nice. But I think it's a bit disgusting to see a rich big club spending millions and millions to build a team to defend. Chelsea may win whatever, but they could have done magic with that money. Instead, they prefer to play that boring football, which can be successful, but I find a bit sad to invest so much in being the symbol of anti-football. I prefer a club whose goal is to be recalled by the greatness of their football.

Deano · Dec 21, 2006

I am not saying which league is better, its obviously the EPL, but when you talk of watching an entertaining game. Sure the defences are worse, but all of them arent muppets, one must say that the attacking attitude and the attackers in general of Serie A are still quite a high level which makes for good football. Anyway as said, Serie A has been like this for the millenium not just this year and 3 years ago Serie A was still very strong so...

DougCoglan · Dec 21, 2006

All 3 leagues are strong and which is better is just personal preference

Prince-O · Dec 21, 2006

King Adriano said:
As i told you, most of juve fans don't live in Turin but in the whole country (in Sicily, Veneto even in Milan there are lots of juve fans, just some examples).
In Turin there are more Torino's supporters then Juve's fans.

The typical juve's supporter follow the team more in the away matches then at home.

Every team in Italy when used to play against Juve generally reached the sold out.

Then, we should talk about the Milan's, lazio's, Reggina's and Fiorentina's fans (the other teams involved in the scandal). Their supporters woud join stadiums this year less then in the past, because of the penalty points of their teams.

Alright, I see your point. I don't know if it's true, but it sounds logical.

I hope you can understand my english.

No problem, it's fine. :thumbsup:

Prince-O · Dec 21, 2006

Osman said:
The fact that they use 4-3-3 is not the offensive part(4-3-3 is just numbers on paper, what you do with it is what counts), but that their mentality was quite audicious and daring, against superior teams, they were just going for it and attacking at all times. But yeah, they may be a bit like the dutch teams in style, which is attractive attacking football, which is quite naive and doesnt hold it to the end(or that far), due to the lack of tactical flexibility and easy to read football (playing the same football regardless if it suits the players or not)

Don't worry mate, I understand your point. It just struck me as funny that a Serie A fan was excited about a 4-3-3 being used, while in Holland 4-3-3 is standard from Champion to relegationzone dweller.

Anomander Rake · Dec 21, 2006

But I think it's a bit disgusting to see a rich big club spending millions and millions to build a team to defend.

That's true, of course, but if the clubs prefers trophies to nice football, I can totally understand them. Any extremes are to be avoided, teams need to find the type of balance that suits them, be it offensive or defensive minded. If you outclass your opponent so much, yet wait for the counter, this is simply stupid, if for nothing else, then for the simple reason that when you take the lead the counters become much easier.

Deano · Dec 21, 2006

DougCoglan said:
All 3 leagues are strong and which is better is just personal preference

No, La Liga and EPL are very strong. Much stronger than Serie A this year. Inter are a good team, but I dont believe they would go on a run like they have in EPL or especially La Liga, such as they have done. The depth in La Liga is amazing. They have teams able to play attractive football at the bottom of the table. I think for this reason La Liga is the best league in Europe. Its mid-table teams are very strong and they have alot of top class teams in that league. More so than EPL and this season especially much more than Serie A. SA will be back though, Milan are too powerful to be this way forever. Palermo and Fiorentina are ever improving as are Roma who can become a big club while Juve will be back with Napoli and Inter will always be strong. Next season will see Serie A back in a very competitive state and once more competing with the top 2, but for this season there is no question La Liga and EPL dominate.

Osman · Dec 21, 2006

Well said Deano, was about to post that. Its obvious, and no so called rivalry or competition of the leagues matters or stops one from saying the obvious of that Serie A is a step below in quality this season.

DougCoglan · Dec 21, 2006

This season with Juve down, probably - over a period of time say 5 years the difference is negligable

Amr! · Dec 21, 2006

bah EPL defense sucks, Serie A is boring with all this Capello like defense, Liga is the best with the fast flowing footy

isn't this the stereotype to seal this thread?

Alec_Cobas · Dec 21, 2006

And now, new positive : Marco Borriello... :lazy:

Serie A in crisis?

Almogàver

Deano

Osman

King Adriano

Anomander Rake

DougCoglan

DougCoglan

Almogàver

Deano

DougCoglan

Prince-O

Prince-O

Anomander Rake

Deano

Osman

DougCoglan

Amr!

Alec_Cobas

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