Is Serie A the most competitive League in Europe?
There was a time when the Italian league and football ruled Europe and the world.
In those good old days, the best players played in Serie A, and the most entertaining football was played on the peninsula.
Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Lazio, AS Roma, and Napoli were among the highest-rated teams in Europe. Players like Maradona, Michel Platini, Paolo Maldini, Jaap Stan, Clarence Sedoorf, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, David Trezeguet, Christian Vieri, Pavel Nedved, Gennaro Gattuso, Andre Pirlo, Ruud Gullit, Roberto Baggio, Javier Zanetti, Marco Van Basten, Ronaldo Nazario, and a host of others were the among the big names that played their football in Italy. In those days, the league was more competitive, and several clubs competed for the Scudetto. Italy had good representation in Europe.
But things began to fall apart gradually in the early 2000s, and Serie A began to lose its flavour. The 2006 Calciopoli scandal practically made Serie A look like a joke before the mass exodus of star names from the league in the early 2010s, which led to or assisted Juventus' nine-year dominance.
New Serie A
However, since the 2017 season, Serie A has become more attractive and popular. The first sign of resurrection came when Juventus reached the Champions League final in the 2016/17 season. Though the Old Lady lost the final to Real Madrid, they proved that Serie A was not dead after all.
The next sign of life came when Cristiano Ronaldo swapped Real Madrid's all-white jersey for Juventus's black and white stripes. His £100m move showed the rest of Europe that Serie A means business and can attract the best players in the world. Big names started flocking to the league from then on, and things became more interesting. Fast-forward to 2024, and Serie A is now one of the most competitive leagues in the world.
Gone are the days when Juventus 'farmed' the league and made every other team look mediocre. Gone are the days when Serie A teams were below par in Europe and couldn't go beyond the round of 16 in European competitions. Things have improved significantly, with three Italian teams reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and Europa Conference League last season. As a result, last season was the first campaign since 1997/98 in which all major European finals featured Italian representation.
The league has also grown in competition, with four teams winning the last four league titles. Meanwhile, the top three teams in Serie A dropped 18 points against the bottom five last season, the same figure accrued by the Premier League's top three clubs. Another proof of competitiveness is the fact that the average points difference between first and fifth in Serie A over the last five seasons is 20.2 points, compared to 26.6 points for the Premier League.
Eight different teams have been in Serie A's top four over the last five seasons, too, compared with the Premier League's seven. Entertainment value has also improved, with 728 goals scored in 289 league games this season. This has made Serie A tickets one of the hottest properties in the world.
But how exactly did Serie A go from being Europe's forgotten prince to becoming one of the most competitive leagues in the world?
We look at five possible reasons.
Ambitious Owners and Greater Investment
Serie A lagged behind the rest of Europe for several years partly because of its lack of financial muscle. While the Premier League and La Liga spent to keep their leagues competitive, Serie A fed on scraps. The Italian league couldn't compete in the transfer market because club owners were poor or financially powerless.
Initially, Serie A resisted the influx of foreign owners for years, resulting in little liquidity in the league. But since the league allowed foreign investors, especially Americans, Serie A has improved and has spent more. Nine out of 20 Serie A teams have North American investors, with the most significant US takeover being AC Milan's acquisition by private equity firm RedBird Capital. Although not owned by Americans, Inter Milan is owned by foreigners, and these owners are often liquid and desperate for success. So, bankrolling their teams isn't usually a problem.
There's ample evidence that Serie A can spend well, with a net spend of over €200 million recorded in the last two seasons despite many departures, according to Transfermarket.
Influx of Top Foreign Talent
Besides foreign investors, Serie A has become awash with top players from outside Italy. Although the core of Serie A during its haydays was local talent, the best players in the league were often foreign talent.
The new competitive Serie A has followed the old model with a mix of local talent and foreigners. Victor Osimhen, Lautaro Martinez, Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, Susan Vlahovic, Paulo Dybala, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Mike Maignan, Ademola Lookman are all foreign players that have joined the league in the last six years.
These imports have improved the league's sporting quality and marketability. Although still not as culturally diverse as the Premier League, the blend of several nationalities is helping fuel the Serie A resurrection.
Dealing with Corruption
Serie A has been one of the leagues most disrupted by corruption allegations among the top five leagues in Europe. For example, the Calciopoli scandal in the mid-2010s was one of the loudest footballing scandals of the century and brought the league much disrepute.
But the scandal's fallout worked well in the long run, as Serie A has become more transparent about what it allows even the biggest clubs to get away with. For example, Juventus were docked 15 points last season for financial irregularities (later reduced to 10 points), while Inter Milan couldn't spend recklessly due to the prospect of being found out and punished for bridging FFP rules.
This shows that there is no big-club bias and favouritism, unlike in England and Spain, where Manchester City and Barcelona have been under investigation for gross financial crimes for years but have not been sanctioned.
The Italian Football Federation's strong leadership has greatly helped Serie A bounce back. They just need to tighten the loose ends in their fight against racism to make the league even better.
Italian Coaching Revolution
While the influx of foreign investors and players has helped the league, the coaching revolution taking place in Italy has also been helpful.
Back in the day, Italy had the best tacticians, including Carlo Ancelotti, Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, and Arrigo Sacchi, and these managers ruled the world. Serie A's new crop of managers may not be famous like their predecessors, but they will undoubtedly make a name for themselves. Antonio Conte, Thiago Motta, Luciano Spalletti, Roberto De Zerbi, Stefano Piolli, Max Allegri, Simone Inzaghi, Vincenzo Italiano, and Gian Piero Gasperini are all of Italian nationality, and they have all worked in the Serie A in the last four seasons.
Their contribution to the game is part of why Serie A is back among European football royalty.
Juventus' Struggles
Finally, Juventus' struggles have also helped to balance the league. Before they fell apart, the Old Lady won nine straight league titles, with Antonio Conte and Max Allegri making them the only dominant team in Italy.
But since Allegri departed, Juve have struggled. They won the league in 2020 under Maurizio Sarri, but it was only by a single point. Their struggles resulted in several stars leaving, including record-signing Cristiano Ronaldo.
Although Max Allegri has returned, things have mostly stayed the same, with Juve still struggling to attract the best players. Their ten-point deduction last season didn't help their title quest either, and things have not improved this season. They are not just competing with Inter Milan this season; AC Milan, Bologna, and even AS Roma have proved too strong. While their struggles won't please their fans, they may be helping make the league more competitive.
