We don’t forget the hasty PR crusade undertaken in Serie A after six Italian teams qualified for the quarter-finals of all three European competitions a year ago. There were Luca Toni, Fabio Capello and Fabio Cannavaro sitting in a theatre, staring in amazement at the stars of today’s league, while the familiar tones of Nessun Dorma played softly in the background.
Serie A has claimed that after years of suffering to assert itself in Europe, it is nevertheless back. The good times were upon us. By the end of the season, Serie A had finished with 3 finalists, and all 3 were defeated. Most argued that although Italian football had taken a step forward at the European level after years of embarrassment, calcio had not returned and that the luck of the draw had played in favour of La Liga, especially in the Champions League.
Last night, Serie A officially secured an additional position in the new and advanced Champions League for next season after Atalanta, Roma and Fiorentina booked spots in the semi-finals of the Europa League and Europa Conference League. Moreover, if Atalanta wins the Europa League – a concept that no longer exists after their Liverpool performances – and finish sixth in Serie A (as is the case lately), then the league would have six groups in the Champions League for next season.
So, this time, has calcium returned?
The answer, as it was a year ago, is no. Italy had no representatives in the Champions League round of 16 this season, having had three a year ago. Inter, by far the most productive team in Italy and selected champions, were destined to be the team that would do the most damage in the tournament compared to Serie A clubs, however, they lost a 2-0 lead to Atletico Madrid in the 16:16 match and were eliminated on penalties. Napoli, Lazio and Milan came out groaning at other stages.
Italy’s coefficient this season can be explained by the performances of the Europa League groups and Fiorentina in the Conference League, where teams such as Roma, Atalanta (and soon Milan) swept the groups. The benchmark has been and will be the Champions League, and only two Italian teams have reached the semi-finals in the last five years: Milan and Inter last season.
However, there is no doubt that calcium is slowly recovering after years of resuscitation. On the contrary, Italian teams have outdone themselves in the last two seasons. Considering we now live in a world where Brentford and Bournemouth can surpass the seven-time European champions. Milan for the players, Serie A has not fallen out of favor on the European stage. Italian training is still the most productive in the world, no country produces coaches like Coverciano, and this is basically the explanation for why the league exceeds its weight in relation to the league’s revenue.
Atalanta’s win over Liverpool is a prime example of this. Gian Piero Gasperini tactically outplayed Jürgen Klopp in both games, despite the German having incredible players and a salary bill almost 4 times higher. Atalanta drew Liverpool in both games and fully deserved it. advance. Atalanta’s profit in 2022/23 is $207 million, Liverpool’s at the same time is $739 million.
Atalanta put on two remarkable performances, but those kinds of performances are not sustainable in the long run. After all, quality shines in football and Atalanta can only go so far on a modest budget. The DEA is one of the top progressive clubs in the country: they own their stadium, they have no debts and are in the process of putting the finishing touches on the modernisation of the Gewiss Stadium, but Serie A TV contracts are still losing price and that’s clearly fine, let’s keep them back, as well as all the other groups in the league.
The new national TV deal, which will run from this summer to 2029 and was struck through DAZN and Sky Italia, costs around $32 million less depending on the season than the existing deal, despite the resurgence of Italian groups in Europe. Milan, Atalanta and Napoli are making profits, while Juventus, Inter and Roma are drowning in debt. The biggest obstacle, of course, is the league’s ongoing struggle with the government over the structure of new stadiums, with Serie A boasting a record average attendance this century and Euro 2032 not far away and the Italian state now under pressure to build new stadiums.
It can be argued that Serie A is currently the best league in Europe, but until modern stadiums are built and domestic and foreign television deals increase rather than decrease, Italy can only aim for a second place. It weighs more than its weight in spite of itself.
Calcium is back, but the symptoms are promising.