The 2009 season, when we were chasing the scudetto, I found myself wondering, "what then? This is not enough." For so many years I strutted, confident in the knowledge my club was best, most historic, in the top league in the world. But Serie A is no longer the top league. To go from best in the tops, to best in an also-ran, that can never be enough for me because it is less than what I had. How can Juve ever reclaim the glory, when Italian football as a whole seems so diminished?
Arsenal never won a European title and yet they gained fans by the legion; Inter did win a European title and it felt like Borussia Dortmund winning a one-off, the narrative was Barca's loss, not Inter's win. Milan beat Liverpool; but not like Liverpool beat Milan. In financial papers I often read about team valuations, and revenue, and the fact the Juve are always in there somehow only seems to underscore how much more valuable Barca are, how much more revenue United pull in. Inter and Milan may be able to land top players, but all the young guys with huge potential all seem to want English Premiere League. Money isn't the only reason; there is a buzz and hype about that league that Serie A cannot match.
And of course we have lost a Champions League spot. It is as if Serie A's decline is being officially recognized by UEFA. "Coefficient." It is such a cold and relentless word, that term. What can one do agaist "coefficient"? It is mathematical, it is inescapable, one can only submit.
This was all happening long before calciopoli. There was a grand convergence of big media, big corporations, and a burgeoning global audience, and Serie A seems never to have caught the wave. It was not a fall, except by comparison; others went higher while Italian football stayed put. For a decade now I have seen countless countrymen who despised soccer-football become Arsenal fans, United fans. I now see young Latino lads wearing Chelsea jerseys, Gerrard jerseys. And with the rise of Javier Hernandez, United red now seems a required uniform for playing in the park on weekends. Milan, Inter, Juve, these are not to be seen, those names are not to be heard.
I almost feel like I've come full circle. I was introduced to Serie A by an old Italian immigrant, my earliest days of following Juventus were not matches televised live on FSC or streamed on ESPN3, it was sitting in a tiny barbershop listening to old men discuss the Gazetta and Tuttosport, with VHS highlights doled out in stingy doses on a tiny tv in the corner. I took it from there, going from glossy magazines like Footballer, to the www, to satellite tv. It was a march to the future, and with each new era, Juventus were there, not just keeping pace, but leading the pack. But now? Now it feels like a vacation in Vegas a while back with a writer friend, sleeping at the historic but scheduled to be demolished Stardust, hanging out with old cabbies and local grinders who remembered the Brat Pack, listening to stories of the days when the mob ruled the Strip, not Sony and Time/Warner. Serie A to me now has that feel, of Sinatra photos on a wood paneled wall in an era of Lady Gaga remixes at the Palm. I feel like I'm back in Enzo's shop. This no longer feels modern.
I hope all this is an American perspective, shaped by the fact that this is an English speaking country with a natural affinity for the Premiereship, that in Europe, Serie A is vital as ever, and Juventus as popular as ever. I have this dreadful feeling this is not the case though. I have seen the television share ratings in countries like Singapore, Japan, and Korea, and Serie A is simply not there. The Latino kids here should have no natural affinity for Anglo-Saxon football and yet that is the league they follow.
So where does this leave me? For so many years Serie A was for me a gallery of enemies and chumps. If I wasn't hating on the other side on match day, I was laughing. No more. For me, Juve must win not only for itself, but for Serie A and all Italy. And as a Juve fan I now root not only for Juventus, but for Serie A and Italy. These will not be popular positions here, in fact this will be sacrilege, but I was glad Inter beat Barca; I was crushed when Schalke humiliated Inter only to be manhandled by United. I don't even want to talk about Milan's collapse in 2005 when I lost the right to boast of Italian defense. I would even love for Balotelli to lead EPL in scoring. If Juve can't have it, then I want a Serie A team to have it, if a Juve player cannot shine, then let it at least be an Italian. I don't want Berlusconi to fall no matter how creepy he is because I fear what would happen to Milan. I have even ordered Berlitz Italian on Amazon.com so I can follow Tuttosport.
Whew sorry bit of a rant, actually a lot of a rant. I get this way around this time of year as of late. But does anyone else have this sort of feeling going on? Or is it same as always for you guys and you simply don't see the decline I speak of? All I know is I want the swagger back, I want my old conceits back, and as things stand now, the scudetto alone won't get me there. I have no idea what would, or if it's even possible.
Arsenal never won a European title and yet they gained fans by the legion; Inter did win a European title and it felt like Borussia Dortmund winning a one-off, the narrative was Barca's loss, not Inter's win. Milan beat Liverpool; but not like Liverpool beat Milan. In financial papers I often read about team valuations, and revenue, and the fact the Juve are always in there somehow only seems to underscore how much more valuable Barca are, how much more revenue United pull in. Inter and Milan may be able to land top players, but all the young guys with huge potential all seem to want English Premiere League. Money isn't the only reason; there is a buzz and hype about that league that Serie A cannot match.
And of course we have lost a Champions League spot. It is as if Serie A's decline is being officially recognized by UEFA. "Coefficient." It is such a cold and relentless word, that term. What can one do agaist "coefficient"? It is mathematical, it is inescapable, one can only submit.
This was all happening long before calciopoli. There was a grand convergence of big media, big corporations, and a burgeoning global audience, and Serie A seems never to have caught the wave. It was not a fall, except by comparison; others went higher while Italian football stayed put. For a decade now I have seen countless countrymen who despised soccer-football become Arsenal fans, United fans. I now see young Latino lads wearing Chelsea jerseys, Gerrard jerseys. And with the rise of Javier Hernandez, United red now seems a required uniform for playing in the park on weekends. Milan, Inter, Juve, these are not to be seen, those names are not to be heard.
I almost feel like I've come full circle. I was introduced to Serie A by an old Italian immigrant, my earliest days of following Juventus were not matches televised live on FSC or streamed on ESPN3, it was sitting in a tiny barbershop listening to old men discuss the Gazetta and Tuttosport, with VHS highlights doled out in stingy doses on a tiny tv in the corner. I took it from there, going from glossy magazines like Footballer, to the www, to satellite tv. It was a march to the future, and with each new era, Juventus were there, not just keeping pace, but leading the pack. But now? Now it feels like a vacation in Vegas a while back with a writer friend, sleeping at the historic but scheduled to be demolished Stardust, hanging out with old cabbies and local grinders who remembered the Brat Pack, listening to stories of the days when the mob ruled the Strip, not Sony and Time/Warner. Serie A to me now has that feel, of Sinatra photos on a wood paneled wall in an era of Lady Gaga remixes at the Palm. I feel like I'm back in Enzo's shop. This no longer feels modern.
I hope all this is an American perspective, shaped by the fact that this is an English speaking country with a natural affinity for the Premiereship, that in Europe, Serie A is vital as ever, and Juventus as popular as ever. I have this dreadful feeling this is not the case though. I have seen the television share ratings in countries like Singapore, Japan, and Korea, and Serie A is simply not there. The Latino kids here should have no natural affinity for Anglo-Saxon football and yet that is the league they follow.
So where does this leave me? For so many years Serie A was for me a gallery of enemies and chumps. If I wasn't hating on the other side on match day, I was laughing. No more. For me, Juve must win not only for itself, but for Serie A and all Italy. And as a Juve fan I now root not only for Juventus, but for Serie A and Italy. These will not be popular positions here, in fact this will be sacrilege, but I was glad Inter beat Barca; I was crushed when Schalke humiliated Inter only to be manhandled by United. I don't even want to talk about Milan's collapse in 2005 when I lost the right to boast of Italian defense. I would even love for Balotelli to lead EPL in scoring. If Juve can't have it, then I want a Serie A team to have it, if a Juve player cannot shine, then let it at least be an Italian. I don't want Berlusconi to fall no matter how creepy he is because I fear what would happen to Milan. I have even ordered Berlitz Italian on Amazon.com so I can follow Tuttosport.
Whew sorry bit of a rant, actually a lot of a rant. I get this way around this time of year as of late. But does anyone else have this sort of feeling going on? Or is it same as always for you guys and you simply don't see the decline I speak of? All I know is I want the swagger back, I want my old conceits back, and as things stand now, the scudetto alone won't get me there. I have no idea what would, or if it's even possible.
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