Disclaimer: this was written for an audience of intellectual dickbrains, and as such may not be befitting of CWC standards:
Whilst the dreadful remake of the classic 1960s Michael Caine film is currently topping the movie charts, last seasons Champions League was also something of an Italian Job . Italy provided three of the four semi-finalists, and a strong counter-argument to those observers of the continental game who had been praising Spains La Liga as the best league in European football. In the first week of this seasons Champions League, all four Italian sides won their matches. Is this season going to be another of Italian dominance?
Domestically, Italian football has been in chaos for some years now, mirroring the political instability of the country as a whole, and this shows little sign of letting up this year. Whilst Fiorentina has reformed after its bankruptcy in 2001, Roma and Lazio remain in deep financial trouble, and Napoli, formerly home to greats such as Maradona and Careca, could soon also go under. The real controversy at the outset of this season however concerns Italys second tier, Serie B. At the end of last season the Catania club were relegated to the regional league Serie C1, but appealed its relegation as an opponent in one of its final games, Siena, had played a player who was supposed to have been serving a suspension. In a move worthy of the Irish Leagues more bizarre administrative decisions two FIGC (the Italian Football Federation) tribunals confirmed Catanias relegation, but a third upheld their position in Serie B. So Catania, owned by the maverick Luciano Gaucci (who also owns Perugia, of which more later) appealed to the Italian regional court. This court also upheld Catanias position, only for the Italian Federation to appeal, and the Appeals Court to relegate Catania. Following this so far? Good. Obviously the Italian courts werent, as in the next appeal they confirmed Catanias relegation and appointed Salernitana to take its place. Quite bizarrely, as Salernitana finished bottom of Serie B, and there were at least two sides (Genoa and Cosenza) more deserving of a second division place than it. To cut a very long story short, the season has kicked off with 24 teams in Serie B rather than 20, Catania has kept its place, as have Genoa and Salernitana, and strangest of all, with Cosenza going bankrupt, the reformed Fiorentina has been promoted two divisions at once to take its place. One suspects that there may be more litigation yet before the situation is resolved&
Turning to matters of greater import, this summer has seen less transfer activity than normal in the usual bullish Italian market, another indicator of the downturn in Calcios economic fortunes. Champions Juventus remain favourites for the title despite only making two notable purchases, that of Chievos Italy stopper, Nicola Legrottaglie, and Brescias Ghanaian midfielder Stephan Appiah. The sensation of the season though could well be their tricksy inside forward Fabrizio Miccoli who burst into Giovanni Trappatonis national squad whilst on loan to Perugia last year. It could be a season too far, however, for Juves veteran defensive line, with Montero, Ferrara and Thuram now well into their thirties.
The Milan giants have made more notable sales than purchases. Milan have acquired Romas raiding right back, Cafu, and another Brazilian, the exciting forward Kaka, but have released Sam Dalla Bona, erstwhile of Chelsea, and anchorman Demetrio Albertini whilst Brazilian superstar Rivaldo also looks set to hit the bricks. Internazionale, meanwhile, famously sold Hernan Crespo to Chelsea and have also let go Sergio Conceicao and Luigi di Biagio. Coach Hector Cuper has sought to counter accusations of negative tactics by purchasing very winger he can get his hands on, including Ajaxs Andy van der Meyde, destroyer of Arsenal, the Senegalese Fadiga of Auxerre, and Luciano of Chievo. Both Milanese teams will do well to maintain simultaneous challenges in Europe and at home.
The only sides even remotely likely to disrupt the dominance of the above trio of Northerners are the Roman teams, AS Roma and Lazio. Both have seen a downturn in their fortunes since their respective title successes in 2000 and 2001, and both look set to fall further behind this season. Roma have lost the above-mentioned Cafu and also Gabriel Batistuta, and have only reinforced by purchasing Ajaxs fine Romanian defender Cristian Chivu and taking Valencias giant Norwegian striker John Carew on loan. Lazios most notable achievements in the transfer market were holding on to its present stars Jaap Stam, Claudio Lopez and Dejan Stankovic were all retained despite being courted by more solvent suitors.
As ever in Serie A, the most newsworthy transfer dealing came from afore-mentioned Luciano Gaucci at Perugia. Not content with being front page news across the world following his sacking of South Koreas Ahn Jung-Hwan after Italys World Cup exit last summer, this time Gaucci has excelled himself. As well as taking Jay Bothroyd, rejected by First Division Coventry City in England, and turning him into a Serie A player, Gaucci again made headline news by giving Al-Saadi Ghaddafi a contract. You may not recognise Ghaddafi for his exploits in the central midfield of the Libyan national team, but you will almost certainly have heard of his father, one Muammar Ghaddafi, Libyan President and one-time nemesis of Ronald Reagan. And as if that wasnt enough, Gaucci now claims to have signed the captain of Swedens WOMENS football team and plans to play her in the first team before Christmas&.
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