Serie A: Things Will Never Be The Same Again (1 Viewer)

dpforever

Prediction Game Champ 2003 & 2005
Jan 12, 2002
3,794
#1
Once upon a time, the Gazzetta Dello Sport would boast in the face of the Daily Mirror and Marca about the mighty, yet beautiful, 'Seven Sisters' who once resided in Italia and made the Calcio very much compelling and enjoyable.

However, out of those seven sisters only three seem to be able to survive the meager conditions that have rocked the world of football lately.

Fiorentina, once the nemesis of Juve, had a champion and hero in the form of Gabriele Omar Batistuta. Florence also thrived for Rui Costa's fancy moves that easily ridiculed opponents while Toldo saved their goal with immense braveness. However, the team fell from the Champions League to the fourth division after financial mismanagement from their 'sugar daddy', Vittorio Cecchi Gori The youngest sister 's abrupt fall have left the loyal fans dismayed with nothing but memories from the old days.

Parma, sixth in order between the sisters, also seem to be following Fiorentina's footsteps. The two times UEFA Cup winners have been sucked into Parmalat's black hole thanks to president, Stefano Tanzi. Even though the team has awakened on the harsh reality that it no longer has an owner to pay for expenses and take care of the club, but Parma has coped well and is sure of Serie A survival for next season at least. But will Parma earn the same respect it did from opponents when nearly all stars are offloaded to other teams in an 'open market' during the summer?

Then comes Lazio. After the trouble that Cragnotti brought to the club with his farfetched dreams and search for glory, Lazio seem to be finally a stable ship once again. However, the team is so financially stricken that no more 'stars' are expected to join the club. For those types of players there is only one way, Out. Eventually, stars of the team will be heading towards the end of their contracts and the club would have no choice but to either sell them or lose them for nothing a la Stankovic. That's why Lazio is getting weaker every year. Not a very good sign for the Biancocelesti fans.

There are still remnants in the streets of Rome from the famous and wild celebrations that continued for months after the 2001 Serie A triumph. However, the future looks bleak for this side of the Eternal City too. The Roman Gladiators haven't received their wages for months now and the club is expected to release one or two of its jewels (Emerson/Totti) in the summer to finance the club. In fact, Sensi is expected to step down and sell the club all together soon due to the dire conditions of his club. He even got away with providing forged bank guarantees at the start of the season.

That leaves us with the remaining three sisters.

Only fans of those teams can dream of the future with stability and optimism.

Admittedly, Inter haven't been successful lately but are still bankrolled by Moratti and would thus be signing world class players every year without fears of impoverishment.

The empire of Juve shows no signs of weakness either. The Old Lady follows a tight policy that ensures the club operates with a profit at the end of the financial year and still win some trophies here and there.

Fans of Milan must be Livin' La Vida Loca. After the famous European triumph in Manchester in an all-Italian final, the team is on course for more success this term. Thanks to Senior Berlusconi's millions, that is.

But what happens if the wealthy owner steps down and the cash runs away? Will the joy easily turn into pain as the other sisters discovered? And what will happen to the fallen giants, will they remain asleep until an Abramovich knocks their door?

Teams like Chievo and Atalanta have tried to save some face for Italy during the past seasons with some worthy efforts. However, everyone in Italy knows it: things will never be the same again in Serie A.


Post Edited :)
 

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Respaul

Senior Member
Jul 14, 2002
4,734
#5
Things Will Never Be The Same Again
Once upon a time, the Gazzetta Dello Sport would boast in the face of the Daily Mirror and Marca about the mighty, yet beautiful, 'Seven Sisters' who once resided in Italia and made the Calcio very much compelling and enjoyable.

However, out of those seven sisters only three seem to be able to survive the meager conditions that have rocked the world of football lately.

Fiorentina, once the nemesis of Juve, had a champion and hero in the form of Gabriele Omar Batistuta. Florence also thrived for Rui Costa's fancy moves that easily ridiculed opponents while Toldo saved their goal with immense braveness. However, the team fell from the Champions League to the fourth division after financial mismanagement from their 'sugar daddy', Vittorio Cecchi Gori The youngest sister 's abrupt fall have left the loyal fans dismayed with nothing but memories from the old days.

Parma, sixth in order between the sisters, also seem to be following Fiorentina's footsteps. The two times UEFA Cup winners have been sucked into Parmalat's black hole thanks to president, Stefano Tanzi. Even though the team has awakened on the harsh reality that it no longer has an owner to pay for expenses and take care of the club, but Parma has coped well and is sure of Serie A survival for next season at least. But will Parma earn the same respect it did from opponents when nearly all stars are offloaded to other teams in an 'open market' during the summer?

Then comes Lazio. After the trouble that Cragnotti brought to the club with his farfetched dreams and search for glory, Lazio seem to be finally a stable ship once again. However, the team is so financially stricken that no more 'stars' are expected to join the club. For those types of players there is only one way, Out. Eventually, stars of the team will be heading towards the end of their contracts and the club would have no choice but to either sell them or lose them for nothing a la Stankovic. That's why Lazio is getting weaker every year. Not a very good sign for the Biancocelesti fans.

There are still remnants in the streets of Rome from the famous and wild celebrations that continued for months after the 2001 Serie A triumph. However, the future looks bleak for this side of the Eternal City too. The Roman Gladiators haven't received their wages for months now and the club is expected to release one or two of its jewels (Emerson/Totti) in the summer to finance the club. In fact, Sensi is expected to step down and sell the club all together soon due to the dire conditions of his club. He even got away with providing forged bank guarantees at the start of the season.

That leaves us with the remaining three sisters.

Only Juve, backed by the Agnelli family who built up the FIAT group, European champions Milan, backed by billionaire businessman turned prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Inter Milan, who enjoy the patronage of the wealthy Moratti family, can still be considered firm members of the elite.

Only fans of those teams can dream of the future with stability and optimism.

Admittedly, Inter haven't been successful lately but are still bankrolled by Moratti and would thus be signing world class players every year without fears of impoverishment.

The empire of Juve shows no signs of weakness either. The Old Lady follows a tight policy that ensures the club operates with a profit at the end of the financial year and still win some trophies here and there.

Fans of Milan must be Livin' La Vida Loca. After the famous European triumph in Manchester in an all-Italian final, the team is on course for more success this term. Thanks to Senior Berlusconi's millions, that is.

But what happens if the wealthy owner steps down and the cash runs away? Will the joy easily turn into pain as the other sisters discovered? And what will happen to the fallen giants, will they remain asleep until an Abramovich knocks their door?

Teams like Chievo and Atalanta have tried to save some face for Italy during the past seasons with some worthy efforts. However, everyone in Italy knows it: things will never be the same again in Serie A.
jus out of interest dpf...

When did you write this? Jus i seem to remember reading a similar article with a couple of identical sentences a few weeks ago on rueters

So my question.. did you write them both... did rueters copywrited article steal your words or did you steal theirs
 
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dpforever

dpforever

Prediction Game Champ 2003 & 2005
Jan 12, 2002
3,794
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread Starter #6
    ++ [ originally posted by Shadowfax ] ++


    jus out of interest dpf...

    When did you write this? Jus i seem to remember reading a similar article with a couple of identical sentences a few weeks ago on rueters

    So my question.. did you write them both... did rueters copywrited article steal your words or did you steal theirs
    I wrote most of it Shadow. I was inspired from that article you probably read and used some of the sentences.
     

    Respaul

    Senior Member
    Jul 14, 2002
    4,734
    #7
    ++ [ originally posted by dpforever ] ++


    I wrote most of it Shadow. I was inspired from that article you probably read and used some of the sentences.
    Only asking... I have a thing about plagiarism (hope you had permission)
    You should really give credit to the other writer ass they effectively co-wrote "your" article

    One of The articles i meant was from jan9th about parma

    Parma latest of 'seven sisters' to hit trouble
    Posted: Friday January 9, 2004 9:10AM; Updated: Friday January 9, 2004 6:03PM





    MILAN (Reuters) -- They were known as the "seven sisters" -- the giants of the Italian game who, thanks to the backing of millionaire businessmen, could be guaranteed to be among the contenders for the Serie A title and European trophies.

    Yet within the space of just two years, three of the elite group of Italian clubs have been plunged into crisis as their owners' financial empires fell to pieces, leaving only the stark reality of a loss-making business.


    Fiorentina, Lazio and Parma may still be big names in European soccer but their financial woes mean they can no longer be considered to be in the same bracket as AC Milan, Inter, Juventus and AS Roma.

    Fans of twice UEFA Cup winners Parma are the latest to discover that a wealthy benefactor can bring as much pain as joy -- when the cash runs out.

    On Thursday, Italy's industry minister gave the go-ahead for the club to be put up for sale at the end of the season and two or three of their players placed on the transfer list straight away.

    Parma, currently sixth in Serie A, have been thrown into crisis by the multibillion-euro accounting scandal that has hit their owners, multinational food company Parmalat.

    It was the millions invested by Parmalat's founder Calisto Tanzi that helped transform the club in the 1990's from a lower division provincial outfit into a serious force in Europe capable of attracting some of the world's top players.

    But now that Tanzi has been arrested, having admitted to diverting about 500 million euros from Parmalat to family companies, all that remains are debts and a very uncertain future.

    FAMILIAR TALE

    It will all sound very familiar to fans of Fiorentina who fell from the Champions League to the fourth division after the financial mismanagement of their 'sugar daddy', film mogul Vittorio Cecchi Gori, led them to bankruptcy in 2002.

    Despite selling top players, such as Rui Costa and Francesco Toldo, Fiorentina were unable to pay their players wages and after relegation to Serie B they were formally declared bankrupt.

    Fans of the Florence club rallied round and created a new club which after winning promotion to Serie C1 bought the rights to the name Fiorentina and the club's crest and colours.

    In a chaotic restructuring of Serie B during the close-season, Fiorentina were handed a place back in Italy's second division but the not so distant days when they were beating Manchester United and Arsenal in the Champions League still seem far from reach.

    Lazio's troubles have been less dramatic, with coach Roberto Mancini guiding them to a Champions League qualifying slot last season, but they have still to be fully resolved.

    The Rome side won the title in 2000, finally delivering the 'scudetto' to president Sergio Cragnotti who had invested millions in top players during a decade long search for glory.

    But Cragnotti was forced to stand down last season as the financial problems at his food company Cirio impacted on the football club, which like most in Italy, is running at a loss.

    Players went without pay for long stretches of last season and although they accepted shares in return for a cut in their back pay, the absence of a new backer leaves the club still facing an uncertain future.

    ROMA SPECULATION

    Even Roma, current leaders of Serie A, have lost their purchasing power in the transfer market and the likelihood of their owner and president Franco Sensi standing down at the end of this season has fuelled speculation about the club's future.

    Roma were caught up in a scandal over forged bank guarantees during the close season and while they denied any wrongdoing the problems they had in paying Dutch club Ajax for Romanian defender Cristian Chivu and an international ban from transfers imposed due to an unpaid fee also raised questions about their financial health.

    In terms of financial power and stability, the 'seven sisters' have been reduced to three.

    Only Juventus, winners of the last two titles and backed by the Agnelli family who built up the FIAT group, European champions AC Milan, backed by billionaire businessman turned prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Inter Milan, who enjoy the patronage of the wealthy Moratti family, can really be considered firm members of the elite.

    While their fans can justifiably feel secure in the knowledge that Berlusconi's billions and Massimo Moratti's millions can continue to bring in big name players even they will surely have taken note of what can happen when the benefactor falls and the money runs out.

    Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
     
    Dec 27, 2003
    1,982
    #9
    The myth of the Seven Sisters, an expression coined by the inimitable Carletto Mazzone, lasted roughly 2 seasons (say, from 1999 to 2001).

    I for one am happy that the Seven Sisters are no more, because had they endured we might have ended up with a league split between the "haves" group and the "have-nots" group, with the seven richest clubs dictating their wishes to the others. Granted, the rift between the top teams and the rest keeps widening, as Milan has collected 9 times as many points (!) as Ancona after day 18, but it's refreshing to see the likes of Chievo, Sampdoria or Udinese still up there with the best.

    I also think that it is no coincidence that the reign of the Seven Sisters corresponded with italian clubs' poorest record in European competitions for two decades.

    The beauty of the serie A is that although you will always have a Milan or a Juventus to play the role of the favourites, you can also always rely on a Napoli or a Sampdoria to be the spoilsport.
     

    Respaul

    Senior Member
    Jul 14, 2002
    4,734
    #11
    I have a question...

    Why is it when a mod edits his post to remove something after hes caught out ... The fact the post was edited is hidden.

    So outside of my initial quoting of his post my replies make no sense as that particular peice is now missing from "his" article
     
    OP
    dpforever

    dpforever

    Prediction Game Champ 2003 & 2005
    Jan 12, 2002
    3,794
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread Starter #12
    ++ [ originally posted by Shadowfax ] ++
    I have a question...

    Why is it when a mod edits his post to remove something after hes caught out ... The fact the post was edited is hidden.

    So outside of my initial quoting of his post my replies make no sense as that particular peice is now missing from "his" article

    Hope this makes you feel much much better :D

    ++ [ originally posted by dpforever ] ++
    Post Edited :)
     
    Aug 1, 2003
    17,696
    #18
    this sucks.
    not the copyright thing, but the way parma, fiorentina, lazio, roma are going down ...

    glory days seem to be over ... but Italians could prove the world wrong .. that day would come, make sure of it ..
     
    OP
    dpforever

    dpforever

    Prediction Game Champ 2003 & 2005
    Jan 12, 2002
    3,794
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread Starter #20
    ++ [ originally posted by sallyinzaghi ] ++
    glory days seem to be over ... but Italians could prove the world wrong .. that day would come, make sure of it ..
    I hope that's true, especially that football means alot to Italians.

    It will also be nice to see Napoli back and stable in Serie A. But as mentioned in the article, even if the likes of Fiorentina and Napoli got back to Serie A they won't be the powerhouses they used to be.

    -----

    fred, I wrote the whole post after reading that article. Its true I copied that sentence but meant to change it. Something slipt my mind and so I left it exactly the same. Big deal, huh?

    :D

    But at least my posts are usually more than 1 sentence and make sense :dontcare:
     

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