Italian football : An organized sport?

For a short while there in my pre-pubescent youth, I got quite into watching wrestling. It was called the WWF back then. They changed the name of it later and thus in one fell swoop remedied the rampant confusion scores of us had between large, sweaty man throwing each other to the floor and wildlife conservation.
Anyway, once I got over the Santa Claus-like revelation that the whole thing was fake, I remember being impressed by the organization of it all, the plot lines and the pay offs to those plot lines and so on.

This week, Italy’s pink sporting daily, “La Gazzetta Dello Sport” published an alternative Serie A table where refereeing errors were corrected and interestingly enough, in this parallel universe of justice and perfection, the league leader is. . . Juventus. Not only that but they top Inter by three points, rather than the twelve points that they trail the Nerazzuri now.

Other notable differences from the real standings is that Milan sit comfortably in that  fourth spot, five points clear of Fiorentina in fifth, and then. . . . well, that’s it, really.

Yes, Juve and Milan are getting the right royal shafting it seems.

So it got me wondering. Not so much about whether there is a specifically Inter-sponsored conspiracy against Juventus and Milan - the idea of that is too exhausting, depressing and let’s face it, unlikely - but firstly, does your average non-Juventino or non-Milanista really care about this finding? And even more tellingly perhaps, can it be seen as acceptable for Juventus and Milan to fight with one hand behind their back for a while because it’ll be for the good for the spectacle of the Italian game anyway?

I ask this because bizarrely enough I’m beginning to see a number of things taking shape in Italy and post-calciopoli that I think is going to a lead to a rather spectacular revival of Serie a in the eyes of the world that few would have expected so soon after Luciano Moggi’s fondness for the phone call was exposed.

What’s changed about this post-calcopoli world? Well the main one obviously is that we have a new winner. An imperious Inter. They look every inch the part of champions, decent football at times, lots of goals, win even when they’re rubbish and they get dodgy refereeing decisions going for them left and right. All that is a new phenomenon. For them.

Next, are Roma who have managed to keep their coach, star players (bar Chivu) and have added to their squad with relative ease of late. Again, not the case in the years prior. Last Sunday’s performance at Siena aside, they’re getting stronger.

Then there’s the teams just below that size or standard; Fiorentina and this year’s underachievers, Lazio. Prandelli’s team from Firenze is getting to be a pretty solid proposition and you would really fancy them to keep hold of young players such as Montolivo and Pazzini, to name but two. They are also pretty handy at getting in players also. They too are getting stronger.

Lazio, who arguably overachieved last year getting into the Champions League, squandered their progress last summer with a catastrophic transfer campaign which left them short handed. They have been busy bring player in this January window, but more importantly have kept continuity by sticking with Delio Rossi as coach, who you get the idea is actually good for them.

Napoli too, are now up with the big boys and seem pretty astute in the transfer market with Lavezzi, Hamsik and Gargano their performing summer arrivals, and the other week they tweaked the nose of Inter by signing the coveted youngster, Daniele Mannini from Brescia.

It all seems a slightly fairer fight these days. It seems everyone in Serie A breathes a little easier now and moves around a little more without fear of getting squashed.

With all that mentioned and a new collective TV rights deal on its way, which would resemble more the English Premier League’s allocation of TV money, there’s a real chance that a “Seven Sisters” could emerge once more. Just like the bygone days where serie a was king. A big seven. Big city teams, with big money and all with the ability to attract talent from all over the world.

Italy might not be all that far behind as those in the English media would seem to suggest.

Add to that there are whispers that Poland and Ukraine are struggling with preparations for Euro 2012, and Italy has declared itself ready to take their place. A lot needs to happen, or I suppose in the case of the currently elected hosts, not to happen, before Italy gets the green light; but such an event transpiring would signal a boost in renovation and investment in the pennisula’s stadia. Much needed.

Now it is Italy. And things can always implode. But there are signs.

And because, I suppose, Milan and Juventus will always be there or thereabouts with the resources they each have, anything that is going on now, well it’s all for the better.

And if the flag stays down when the Milan or Juventus defenses are breached, if the ref really didn’t see that shirt tug on Kaka or that Trezeguet’s chest is mistaken for an arm, it’s all for the greater good. Just while things are set straight.

The sad thing about life after calciopoli was that it made anything seem possible and that now even when things seem a little better, you still think somebody somewhere may be pulling the strings in one direction or another. Even if it is just for the excitement and the spectacle.

Just as they do in wrestling.

Ross Howard