There was a time when the Serie A clubs were dominating European football. But times have changed dramatically in the past two decades, as Italian clubs rarely compete at the higher stages. Premier League and La Liga quickly overtook the throne that once belonged to clubs from the Peninsula. Aside from Italy winning Euro 2020 and Serie A clubs playing the European Finals in 2022-23, Italian sides have rarely reached the last stages of top competitions, and the Azzurri haven’t played the World Cup since 2014. So, how can Italian football regain dominance in the Old Continent?
Change the Style of Play
The modern style of football requires a lot of running, pressing, and working together. This is, in many ways, opposite to the Italian way of playing football.
Serie A clubs are famous for their strong defences, where they defend with almost every player. For several years, this tactical masterpiece was working remarkably. But, football changed in the past two decades, and these clubs are finding it difficult to cope with it. As recently highlighted by Pep Guardiola, Inter, Napoli and Milan, have been showing different approaches lately and even Atalanta have often been praised by the Spaniard tactician.
We must also mention that some Italian coaches, including the emerging Thiago Motta, Vincenzo Italiano, and Raffaele Palladino, are starting to implement this modern football style.
Even the bettors see their capabilities, as they often back them at the bookmakers. Some of them even use the extra funds provided by the sign up offer from Matchbook.
Some older managers, like Stefano Pioli and Gian Piero Gasperini, are also incorporating the new style of football. This looks very promising for the future of the Serie A clubs in European football. Yet, the other managers must follow up to raise the league’s competitiveness.
Develop Domestic Players
Another major issue that the Serie A clubs are facing is the development of their own Italian players. Italy was once a force in the international competitions. Now, it failed to qualify for the past two World Cups. However, it did win the UEFA Euro 2020, which surprised many football fans.
The lack of good domestic players in Serie A is causing a lot of problems for the clubs. In the past several years, many young Italian prospects failed to reach their full potential.
In 2002, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) tried to partially solve this problem by limiting the non-EU players the clubs could sign, cutting the number of new signings from outside the EU to two. The recent scrap of the growth decree and the rise of U23 teams will also potentially help Italian clubs develop domestic talents.
Build New and Better Stadiums and Improve the Training Facilities
Last but not least, we must mention the importance of newer stadiums and modern training facilities. This goes hand in hand with the previous topics that we mentioned.
Historically, the state of Italy has owned the country’s stadiums and has a very strict legal administration. Five clubs out of the 20 in Serie A currently own a stadium: Juventus, Udinese, Sassuolo, Frosinone, and Atalanta.
The other clubs, especially Inter and AC Milan, are struggling to build a stadium for more than 20 years. As a result, they get to play at venues that have very bad infrastructure and are too expensive to maintain.
Also, the clubs must pay a lot of money to rent the stadiums. For instance, AC Milan and Inter have paid a total of €64.8m to rent the Stadio Meazza for the past eight years. This stadium was last renovated in 1990, and some other stadiums have even worse infrastructure.
Serie A clubs must also invest more in their training facilities and staff. This is crucial in modern football, as it helps the players’ development. It can also attract new players, who would be fond of training at a state-of-the-art facility.