[ITA] Serie A 2015/2016 (26 Viewers)
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Italy coach Antonio Conte believes a lack of investment has seen Serie A drop from the most attractive league in the world to just the fourth best.
Conte won the Italian top flight five times as a player with Juventus between 1995 and 2003, claiming three more as coach of the Bianconeri before taking over from Cesare Prandelli as Italy boss in 2014.
Juve's dominance has continued under Conte's successor Massimiliano Allegri last term, while he also guided the Serie A holders to a Champions League final where they were beaten by Barcelona.
That was the first time an Italian side had made the final in five years and, despite a poor start to their Scudetto defence this term, Juve sit just two points off leaders Napoli and stand a good chance of maintaining their domestic dominance.
And Conte feels the status of the Italian league has fallen dramatically since his playing days, but feels it can be restored in the coming years.
"I think the best football matches are currently being played in England," he told Fifa Magazine.
"Then there's Spain and Germany, but Serie A comes after. The Italian league is in fourth place and there's no way out of that.
"It's not an issue of being sad or not, it's simply the truth.
"Before it was different. It Serie A was one of the most beautiful championships of the world.
"Everyone wanted to play in Italy. But today the club owners are not willing to invest so much in their teams. There is simply a lack of money.
"But I'm still optimistic for the future, we're on the road back to the top."
Conte won the Italian top flight five times as a player with Juventus between 1995 and 2003, claiming three more as coach of the Bianconeri before taking over from Cesare Prandelli as Italy boss in 2014.
Juve's dominance has continued under Conte's successor Massimiliano Allegri last term, while he also guided the Serie A holders to a Champions League final where they were beaten by Barcelona.
That was the first time an Italian side had made the final in five years and, despite a poor start to their Scudetto defence this term, Juve sit just two points off leaders Napoli and stand a good chance of maintaining their domestic dominance.
And Conte feels the status of the Italian league has fallen dramatically since his playing days, but feels it can be restored in the coming years.
"I think the best football matches are currently being played in England," he told Fifa Magazine.
"Then there's Spain and Germany, but Serie A comes after. The Italian league is in fourth place and there's no way out of that.
"It's not an issue of being sad or not, it's simply the truth.
"Before it was different. It Serie A was one of the most beautiful championships of the world.
"Everyone wanted to play in Italy. But today the club owners are not willing to invest so much in their teams. There is simply a lack of money.
"But I'm still optimistic for the future, we're on the road back to the top."
What a shameless piece of shit he is. And he says this when his former team were minutes away from possibly winning a treble last season. Revenue, money, top players bla bla bla. He's no different to the Benitez, Mazzarri's and Sarri's of this world.
It's going to be great when he fails spectacularly in his beloved EPL. I wish him nothing but the worse.
It's going to be great when he fails spectacularly in his beloved EPL. I wish him nothing but the worse.
It's not in terms of having strongest teams but it is super attractive and healthy league. Pretty much most besides players in few best clubs want to go there. There is a reason Ancelotti, Mancini, Ranieri etc talk it up so much as fun positive culture to work in. Compared to Italy it barely has downsides. Plus you have higher concentration of random quality players in minor teams and it will increase.
The fact the Manchester clubs and Chelsea dropped the ball completely as top clubs doesn't change what draws players, coaches and new fans to the league. Alot of it is money and marketing, but also overall package being quite ideal for most. La Liga obviously better by far, and us and Bayern better then any club there, but our league and Bundesliga loses players and coaches to their league and not the reverse, so it defenitely adds to the secondary status for sure.
The fact the Manchester clubs and Chelsea dropped the ball completely as top clubs doesn't change what draws players, coaches and new fans to the league. Alot of it is money and marketing, but also overall package being quite ideal for most. La Liga obviously better by far, and us and Bayern better then any club there, but our league and Bundesliga loses players and coaches to their league and not the reverse, so it defenitely adds to the secondary status for sure.
Of course it isn't. La Liga has shown year after year that they are the strongest league by a margin they have the best players there as well.
PL has been in a downward spiral just like Serie a for years now. Their strongest period was in the 2000s when Chelsea came along and United and Arsenal were still going strong. Even Liverpool had a decent team back then with Gerrard, Alonso and Mascherano in the midfield which was was proven by two CL finals visits.
PL has been in a downward spiral just like Serie a for years now. Their strongest period was in the 2000s when Chelsea came along and United and Arsenal were still going strong. Even Liverpool had a decent team back then with Gerrard, Alonso and Mascherano in the midfield which was was proven by two CL finals visits.
Tell me about it, makes me think sometimes that I could have been a legend myself when I see Montolivo captaining Milan. How the fuck did he even reach 62 caps let alone debuting for Azzurri is beyond me.
Tiago is/was tough player.
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Conte again taking a dig at Italian football and washing EPL dishes? Someone tell him Leicester just won the league dining with 5euros in their pocket.
Tiago is/was tough player.
- - - Updated - - -
Conte again taking a dig at Italian football and washing EPL dishes? Someone tell him Leicester just won the league dining with 5euros in their pocket.
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