By Andrew Warshaw
October 11 – Italy, rocked by an ongoing match-fixing scandal, no longer has the same standing in European football as it used to, according to Juventus president Andrea Agnelli. And unless there are improvements on and off the field, it will stay that way.
“If you go back about 10 or 15 years, it was the dream of every international footballer to come to Serie A,” Agnelli said.
“It was the destination for top players. When I was a kid studying here in England you used to watch live Serie A games broadcast here. The English League was not what it is today.
“Now the German League is building on what it has achieved in the last 10 years, the Spanish League has its own unique environment and has two of the world’s most successful worldwide global brands, Real Madrid and Barcelona. France has benefited from overseas investments.”
Agnelli said Italy’s lack of financial muscle was proving detrimental to its stature. “Look at AC Milan, they had to give away (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic. We need to have greater economic strength.”
Italy has slipped from second to fourth in the UEFA coefficient ranking system since 2006, meaning it has only three clubs in the Champions League instead of four. Last season they only had two teams in the competition proper after Udinese lost in the qualifying rounds.
“You must be in the Champions League because that is where you have the international exposure,” said Agnelli. “However, we need reforms in Italy. We have to look at our stadiums, that is where the difference is made, on ticketing and on income streams. That is our No.1 reform, and that is where the broadcasters come in.
“If we have a good show in the stadium and show it off to the full, that is the way to increase the broadcasting income, and that is just the start.”
Even at international level, things need to improve. Although Italy have won the World Cup four times, Agnelli is concerned about the future, not least when it comes to bidding for major tournaments.
“If Italy goes and bids for something, Italy should get it. But our federation needs to increase its standing. Italy has lost its leadership. England, Germany and Spain are ahead of us.
“Our League has lost its drive and we need to spend a lot more time thinking about how we can improve domestically and internationally.”
Contact the writer of this story at andrew.warshaw@insideworldfootball