Serie A’s stock has seemingly improved over the course of the 2014-15 season, with Champions League runner-up Juventus and Milan giants Inter making big splashes in the transfer market in recent weeks with key signings.
Despite the exploits of Juventus, Napoli and Fiorentina in European competitions in 2014-15, Italy’s top division is perceived as something of a weak league in comparison to its rival leagues in England, Spain and Germany. In fact, one would be forgiven for believing Serie A sides do not wish to aid their own division in climbing from the dark depths in which it lays back to the pinnacle of world football – a position it occupied in the not too distant past.
Many a washed up Premier League star has been fortunate enough to grace the shores of Italy’s top division, and has shown himself to be utterly incapable of performing at the highest level. Nemanja Vidic was snapped up by Inter Milan on a free transfer at the beginning of the 2014-15 season, with then-manager Walter Mazzarri looking to the Serb to provide leadership at the back for an aspiring Champions League team.
Whilst the former Manchester United skipper has won all there is to win at club level and was one of the world’s best centre-backs in his prime, it may have been more worthwhile to go after a younger target or promote a promising youngster from the academy. Earlier in 2014, Michael Essien was added to an already ageing AC Milan squad for free. The signing was met with great displeasure from fans, as the Ghanaian was often played ahead of talented youth product Bryan Cristante, who eventually signed for Benfica months later. And the trend does not seem to buck.
Centre-backs Alex and Gabriel Paletta have been other noteworthy free transfer failures. The Rossoneri pair were exactly what was not needed at the club, and AC Milan has paid for its miserable transfer window dealings with a 10th place finish and a sacked manager. So it comes as no surprise that when Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol purchased a 48% stake in the club, the mood around the San Siro was slightly lifted. With money at Milan’s disposal once more, the club has been linked with some ambitious moves, some of which included failed bids for Atlético-bound Jackson Martinez and young midfield powerhouse Geoffrey Kondogbia, who opted for Inter at the final moment.
Other Serie A sides, it seems, are deciding to act likewise, most notably Juventus and Inter Milan. The Bianconeri have had an extremely busy and productive transfer window so far. Acting early, the club has already secured the immensely talented Paulo Dybala, Roberto Pereyra (after impressing on loan at the Old Lady), Mario Mandzukic and Sami Khedira. The signings of Dybala, Mandzukic and Khedira, in particular, are extremely positive for Italian football in general due to the fact that these players chose to ply their trade in Serie A despite interest being shown from Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga sides.
Kondogbia’s transfer to Inter Milan, meanwhile, came as one of the shock signings of the window so far. The Frenchman was linked to a whole host of Champions League clubs yet signed for the Nerazzurri in a deal in the region of €35 million. On the red side of Milan, the Rossoneri are reportedly on the verge of signing Colombian striker Carlos Bacca from Sevilla. This signing would be a huge statement of intent by AC Milan. Despite facing a season without European football, Milan is close to capturing a player with outstanding quality who is at a club that will be in the Champions League this coming season and is being courted by a Liverpool side that has been aggressive in its transfer dealings thus far.
All of these signings symbolise an enormous boost for Italian football. The incoming players will undoubtedly improve the league itself, however the teams doing the purchasing will be better equipped for the Champions League and Europa League, thus improving the stock and reputation of Italian football.
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With stadium attendances at a worrying low number in Serie A, fans will be more likely to attend their respective team’s matches after the aforementioned captures in the transfer market. Juventus was the only Serie A team in 2014-15 which even came close to filling out its stadium on a weekly basis, with an average home attendance of 38,553 (the Juventus Stadium holds little over 40,000). Also, with such players coming into the league, it makes it even more enticing for those playing abroad to come to Serie A, as they are seeing Italian clubs showing ambition to return to, or punch a hole in as is Juve’s case, a European competition.
The days where Italian football was at the pinnacle of the game and dominating European competitions appear to be well in the past. It would be kind to say that AC Milan is a shadow of its former self – a team that once ploughed through all in its path with the great Dutch trio consisting of Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit. However, Siniša Mihajlovic’s side as well as Inter Milan are showing ambition befitting those in Europe’s elite, a category in which Juventus currently stands. And with such ambition, it can only be a step in the right direction for Italian football.
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