Going back at least 20 years to European football, Italy’s dominance was undeniable. The example of Inter and Milan is typical when they met in the Champions League semi-final in 2003 and included such stars as Maldini, Shevchenko, Cannavaro, Seedorf, Crespo, Pirlo and Zanetti in their ranks.

In the remake of that semi-final, Barela, Dimarco, Leao, Benacer, Tonali will take their place in about 20 days. Comparisons, fatal or not, are inevitable, although it can be argued that football is becoming more and more differentiated. There are no objections, although there is only one talent and it is timeless.

With the presence of five Italian teams (Inter, Milan, Roma, Juventus, Fiorentina) out of 12 that have entered European competition, the country appears to be making a comeback, taking the reins in recent years. , England and Germany.

Can this dream week in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League bring Tifosi back to the top of Europe?

Realistically, it would be difficult to say that we are on the way to the early 1990s, when Italian football was part of the world’s elite.

Let’s just recall that in 1990 all three European cups passed into the hands of Italy (Milan, Sampdoria, Juventus) …

The facts are now very different in Serie A. There is clearly much less money in circulation, there are no new stadiums, the announced reforms are not moving forward, the national team is trying to get on its feet, while at the technocratic and marketing level, the Italians, in the opinion of many, are outdated.
However, this year’s success cannot be explained by modern causes.

And this is because, in addition to the “weight” that certain jerseys carry, clubs are fortunate to be led by coaches who are not only up to date, but also pioneers in their work.

Techniques, which, unlike the administrative part of Italian football, were modernized, applied new tactics, “combining” them with the traditional elements that have always distinguished the Italian style of play (strength, passion, physical condition, method).

With their progress in recent years, they are proving that they can be the basis for Italian football to reach the top again.

Hooked On and Perfectionists

The ‘tough’ Luciano Spalletti at 65, after his last spell at Inter and two subsequent years off, is poised to win his first Campionato title with Napoli. He does not use tablets and computers in training, but paper and a pen, but he returned with new ideas about the sport and those who accused him of the fact that his five years (2009-2014) in Russia with Zenit were connected only with his desire to solve once and for all his life problems fell out. Even there, he changed his methods, and in search he found an advantage to play more aggressively, even if he competes without a full-blooded forward.

64-year-old former Neapolitan banker Maurizio Sarri, who at the age of 40 decided to become a football coach.

Heavy smoker even in training, active in everything, but a perfectionist. He meticulously records every detail of the players, from their aerobic and anaerobic abilities to their personal struggles and anecdotes told on practice day.
Highlighting possession, he reformed Chelsea in 2018–19 by winning the FA Cup, and this year Lazio finished 2nd, admitting, however, after being knocked out of the Conference League by Alkmaar that “we don’t have the structure as a team to play in more than one competition.”

In London, it is believed that his work that year was even reflected in Chelsea this year, which reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

AC Milan don’t excite their football like Napoli, but Stefano Pioli, 57, as a seasoned defender, planned to confine Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Napoli’s Victor Ocimen as he fought his way into the Champions League ‘4’ . The Rosoneris press all over the field, rely on physical play, and Pioli, creating a suffocating pressure in the center with two pairs of defensive and attacking means that form a square, achieves what he wants.

Simone Inzaghi’s flexible 3-5-2, up and down movement of the full-backs, fast recovery with high pressure gave Inter a balanced style of play that takes all of the above into account.

But also the youngest in the group, Vicenzo Italiano (47), who has been successfully coaching Fiorentina for the past two years with similar characteristics and philosophy in his game. If you add both Allegri and Mourinho, who… who they are, leaving their mark on Juventus and Roma respectively, it’s easy to understand what’s going on in Italian stadiums.

Everyone sticks to the same weekly training cycle, the day after the game is always a day off, but from that moment on, they are characterized by high-intensity training. It is no coincidence that on the official Premier League page, the team with the most runs this year is Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, and now his former assistant Christian Stellini and Italian gymnasts Constantino Corati and Stefano Bruno.

Even coincidences betray the secret of success, as three of the four managers of this year’s Champions League semi-final are not only Italians but also hail from the Emilia Romana region. Ancelotti in Reggiolo, Inzaghi in Piacenza, Pioli in Parma. That is, at a distance of less than 100 kilometers!

“Golden” intelligence

And if benches are one “key” to success, then successful intelligence is another. Indeed, how is it possible that none of the top English teams have dealt with the 22-year-old Khvitsa Kvarasheliya, when in fact, in 2018, the Guardian singled him out among the 60 best young players in the world? Napoli not only knew him, but watched him in the Russian league for years, acquiring him from Dynamo Batumi in Georgia.

The South Korean center supported Min Jae Kim that the Partonopei want to extend his contract, which expires in 2025, by updating his clause, increasing it to 65 million euros!

Both were acquired for less than 30 million, with sales expected to be five times the size.

Milan claims that their goalposts are protected by the world’s best goalkeeper at the moment, Mike Meignan, who Deschamps appointed as the starter after Joris left the French national team. Milan bought it two years ago from Lille for about 12 million. The current value of the 27-year-old goalkeeper is estimated at $35 million.

Slander on the cool alalum

While Italian clubs are promoting Serie A in Europe, the football federation is doing everything to discredit this course. A quick look at the international media the day after the success was enough to understand how they were handling the situation. On the one hand, flattering reviews about the teams, on the other hand, the question of the temporary return of 15 points to Juventus.

The “Big Lady” has been playing for three months without knowing her real score, she is now in the top three, but even that may not be valid and she could be somewhere in the middle with eight matches left to go. “Gazzetta dello Sport” and “Corriere dello Sport” announce that the Turinians will once again be deducted points for the plusvalenza cause. Only it will not be -15, but about half. Thus, no one knows if the current rating is real.

“Can anyone explain to us what’s going on?” This means that we have been playing for three months without having a real account. Therefore, the mechanism does not work. There is a clear reworking of the league. I laugh, not cry,” said Thiago Pinto, general manager of Roma, before the match against Feyenoord, shooting at the president of the federation, Gabriele Gravina.

Everyone welcomes the revival of Italian football. But it may be too early to talk about a renaissance as it’s not surprising that clubs will be relegated again next season.

Most of the pitches have not been touched since the 1990 World Cup, and although Inter and Milan are constantly talking about moving to new stadiums, it’s hard to imagine that they will leave the San Siro before 2027.

In terms of marketing, if you exclude the big clubs, small and medium clubs are left behind. So if we experience a resurgence of football’s great moments, it will be in large part due to the knowledge, perception and vision of a number of groundbreaking coaches and players.