Winds of Change?

A year ago, the English Premier League dominance on the world stage was rightly assured. Two English teams in the final of the Champions League, three of four in the semis, we assume that it is a trend, a watershed mark that will continue, but anyone with a sense of history in the game knows that European football is cyclical. Sooner rather than later a club, or a series of clubs, will step up from one of the other top leagues in Europe and challenge the Manchester United's, Chelsea's or Liverpool's and repeat that feat of 3 of 4 in the semis. If so, then from where?

Most would often say Spain, they are the European Champions of Euro 2008, they have a young squad of brilliant players, the majority of which play nationally in La Liga; which is very important in my mind. Real Madrid are learning how to win again in the Champions League after a return to form domestically. Barcelona have endured two turbulent years, fueled by an out-of control dressing room, over-inflamed egos, and a sometimes lax director, but are about ready to return the challenge of the madridistas. Villareal have progressed in 5 years from relegation also-rans to title contenders as their neighbors Valencia have done much the same but in reverse. You might see a Real Madrid win again, and soon I might add, but the odds are further along for three of four in Spain to win.

In my opinion though, the sleeping giant of Italian football has been woken. AC Milan, recently content to give short shrift to the scudetto have seen rivals Inter win the championship twice on the field in succession, secured the more important off-field signings, and more importantly have just seen a media-conscious manager like Jose Mourinho give instant credibility to the often fractious nerazzurri side. Securing Ronaldinho is a coup on so many terms, but having him in partnership with Kaka  and Pato will be epic. Roma have seen better days, but they have one of the most exciting young coaches in Serie A, Lazio will be better and let no one forget (let alone me for my obvious disrespect last year) that Juventus will be a force to be dealt with. They have an aging squad certainly, but they have an interesting mix of competitive youngsters as well, and they have all of the resources of the Agnelli family behind them (wink, wink). Add an exciting side like Udinese, the creativity of Sampdoria and lest we not forget probably the most consistent Italian club over the last 5 years Fiorentina, and Serie A is in my opinion the most competitive league top to bottom in the world. The top 4 is back in business (AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and AS Roma) but they have serious competition from 3 or 4 other squads. They all have quality home-grown depth and they have arguably the best managers, coaches and trainers in the world. They have quality youth development, some fine feeder programs at clubs like Udinese, Siena and Empoli, and they have some of the best fan support in Europe, great derbies like Roma/Lazio, Milan/Inter, Genoa/Samdoria, and Juve/rest of Italy. If (and I realize these are big ifs) they could fix a troubled media rights compact, control fan and stadium violence, and curtail corruption they obviously could compete on the world stage with England and Spain as they did so successfully in the 1980's and 1990's. If you think they can't, remember that  the current UEFA chairman Michel Platini was once the darling of the Turin alps in the bianconeri midfield.