Why the Italian Serie A is one of the best leagues in the worldMarch 6, 2013 by Rhys Montanarello 9 Comments
The Italian Serie A, a league that over the years, has been plagued with generalizations about its players, teams, and style of play. But, once you take the time to understand and watch the league consistently first hand, you realize these stereotypes are not as valid as many people believe…
Now, to begin, this article is in no way going to state that the Serie A is the best league in the world, as I believe there is no such thing. When deciding which league is the best, many factors such as excitement, competition, goals, players, and which sides are the ones with the highest market value are used to decide which is the best, but the truth is that many of these factors can be found in multiple leagues across the world, and it all comes down to your individual preference on which league you prefer and think is the best. This is just an article that will highlight what makes a league like the Serie A so great.
Excitement/Entertainment: The Serie A is the breeding ground for bizarre stories, outspoken coaches, and maniacal presidents. You can always count on some kind of crazy story each. Like Mario Balotelli ordering a statue of himself for his house, or Palermo President Zamparini making 4 different coaching changes in one season before the month of March, the league never lacks some sort of off pitch excitement. There are many interesting characters in the league right now, as mentioned earlier there is Palermo President Zamparini. Over the past 25 years at the helm of Venezia and Palermo, he has sacked an alarming 50 managers! The most recent of which came after just 3 games of having hired Malesani, who was then replaced by Gasperini who was just sacked from that position 19 days earlier. Presidents such as Zamparini, Bunga Bunga Berlusconi of AC Milan, among others are what makes the league so entertaining, not to mention the humorous outbursts and press conferences from coaches, who always seem ready to voice their opinion despite whatever reactions may come, positive or negative. Along with the off-pitch remarks and spectacles surrounding Serie A, what happens on the pitch is even more exciting. While it may not be the most high scoring, it is one of the best leagues to watch from a tactical stand point with far less avoidable defensive errors and less leaky defenses that allow leagues like the Premier League and La Liga to keep the crown of highest scoring leagues (with Roma when managed by Zeman an obvious exception, as it is well known that the word “defense” is not understood by Zeman).
Style of Play: The old stereotype of constant catenaccio, with teams sitting with 10 men behind the ball for the entire match is far from valid, as the newly developed sides are using a multitude of diverse tactics and formations. The most notable is the 3-5-2 formation, which is now being used by over half of the teams in the league. The formation was introduced to Juventus last season and we all saw how successful it could be. It has since been adapted by many teams in the league. It allows a manager to easily change his set up to a 5-3-2 if he is protecting an important lead, as the outside midfielders are essentially wing backs a lot like the ones seen on teams like Milan, but with a more attacking emphasis. This 5 man midfield is complimented by 3 center backs occupying the defense, allowing cover for the outside midfielders and center mids. The attack consists of a standard 2 man attack which is used almost as a launching pad for midfielders making runs forward as the attackers hold up possession and wait for the rest of the side to arrive.
An example of Juventus’ adaptable 3-5-2, which is also used by many other Serie A teams.
A few other common formations in the Serie A are the 4-3-1-2 which uses an old fashioned trequartista or attacking mid as the link between midfield and attack, and the 4-3-3, used primarily by AC Milan and has seem many successes come recently, including a 2-0 win over Barcelona which was, to quote an italian football stereotype, a fantastic display of catenaccio, which is really the only way to topple Barcelona.
Managers in the Serie A also have a much vaster tactical knowledge and tend to make better coaches which is the reason there are so many Italian coaches that are managing abroad and having success. There is more of a focus on technical side of football and not just pace, crosses, and tackles when looking for players. A prime example of this is the legend and midfield genius Andrea Pirlo, who is still commanding the center of the pitch at the age of 33 with his vision and passing, and was arguably the best player at last summer’s European Championships. Players with tactical awareness are more valued over brute force and physicality as it offers more dimensions for sides to play in and work the ball. This is part of the reason Italy has created arguably some of the past generations best midfielders like Pirlo, Marchisio, and De Rossi to name a few.
Caliber of Players: Compared to La Liga and the English Premier League, the Serie does not have the vast amount of well known players. This is mostly because of the financial issues the country has been facing which has made it nearly impossible for clubs to spend overwhelming amounts of money on players like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United. But, while there may not be as many world recognized players in Italy, that does not mean there are not any top quality players. Some examples of under rated, talented players are Edinson Cavani (many seem to think he’s not a top quality striker because he plays in Italy, but the defenses are actually better in Serie A then anywhere else.), Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio, Marek Hamsik, Antonio Di Natale, Borja Valero, and Andrea Pirlo (who although is 33 and has been playing at the top level for years, many people only just noticed how good he was last summer in the Euros).
Another difference in terms of players in the Serie A is the focus on youth. Many sides have had to rely on youth players because of their financial difficulties, and this season the rewards have been reaped by this change in direction. Italy now has some of the best young players including El Shaarawy, De Sciglio, Lamela, Marquinhos, Niang, Balotelli, Jovetic, Pogba, Juan Jesus, Pjanic, Insigne, Obiang, Poli, and Icardi just to name a few of the countless talented youngsters currently maturing in on the pitches of Italy. El Shaarawy is currently the second top scorer with 16 goals, while Lamela is also on the top scorers list with 11 goals this campaign. Many of these players have attracted interset from top clubs around the world with their exciting football, and will only get better as the years wane on. The Serie A has has very promising future with these players leading the headlines, and this could result in Champions League success in the future.
Milan’s Current Top Scorer, 20 year old Stepan El Shaarawy
The veterans of the Serie A are also some of the top players in the league, with the likes of Franceso Totti (9 goals, 8 assists) and Javier Zanetti still going strong at the ages of 36 and 39 respectively. Other examples are Andrea Pirlo, Giampaolo Pazzini, Gianluigi Buffon, and Antonio Di Natale who are all impressing with their form this season.
Amount of Competition: The amount of competition a league has to offer is always a major point when someone is arguing the strength of a league. This means how many teams are able to consistently perform and challenge for the title and offer dehcent competition to the best of the best. In the Serie A, I believe there are 6 of these teams. Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Lazio, Internazionale, and Fiorentina. While its impossible for all 6 teams to be in the running for the Scudetto, these teams will always put up a fight against these clubs. AC Milan is the surprising one from this list after their terrible start to the season seeing them earn only 7 points from their first 7 matches. They have climbed the table and could pose a true challenge for second place depending on how Napoli does and if their form continues.
European competition is also a main talking point. Juventus just knocked out Celtic from the round of 16 after their convincing 2-0 win, going through 5-0 on aggregate, and AC Milan pulled one of the biggest upsets in modern football beating Barcelona 2-0 in the San Siro. The second leg of this tie is yet to be played, but the odds are in their favor and they could advance which would give the Serie A 2 teams in the next round, a tally only one country can beat, which is Germany. This shows the strength that these sides and the leagues themselves show, and the massive improvements that are continuously happening so they can challenge for the CL. While the Serie A did recently lose its 4th champions league spot to the Bundesliga, if these types of runs from Italian clubs continue, and if the Europa league is taken seriously by the sides and they put good runs in, the league will undoubtedly earn their 4th spot back.
Serie A Best XI:
Now, I’d once again like to reiterate that this is an opinion article, I’m not trying to say that the Serie A is the best, I’m merely stating the reasons that make the Serie A so attractive.
What league do you feel is the best? For what reason? Do you agree with me, or have another preference? Leave your comments below.
Italian Serie A News
About Rhys Montanarello
Rhys is one of the newest writers for Soccer Reviews. He is currently living in Arizona, USA. He is an AC Milan & Philadelphia Union fan, and a Serie A fanatic. He is addicted to all things calcio and MLS.
