Debate: Is Kaka’s re-emergence proof of Serie As decline? The Brazilian has made an instant impact for AC Milan, but does the ease of his transition from Real Madrids bench show that Italys top league has never been weaker? By the time Real Madrids accountant assesses the damage, Kaka will likely have cost the club somewhere close to €150 million, one of the most calamitous transfers in history. But yet hes enjoyed a modest revival upon returning to Serie A, one of a number of players moving there this close season who are currently enjoying positive spells of form. Is this an indication of a wider drop in standards in the league? Or is Serie A regaining some of its strength in depth? First of all, let’s make something very clear; Kaka has not taken Serie A by storm since returning to Milan. The Brazilian has made six appearances, scoring and assisting once, during which time the crisis-hit Rossoneri have won just one game. His debut at Torino was a disaster, while his best match ironically was against Barcelona. Serie A may not be what it was in the 1980s and 90s, but on the playing side it has nothing to envy from its competitors. If we look at the eight biggest international superpowers (Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, England, Brazil and Argentina), only the Premier League supplies more players for these national teams than Serie A. In the last international window, the peninsula provided 39 players to La Liga’s 25, the Bundesliga’s 20 and Ligue 1’s 18. If we examine the other top World Cup seeds, this trend continues. Serie A has more players in the Uruguay and Colombia squads than any other championship, while over the last 12 months only the Bundesliga and Premier League have delivered more call-ups for Switzerland and Belgium respectively. Italys Champions League results have dipped since Inters 2010 triumph partly because the talent in Serie A is not shamefully monopolised by two or three teams as it is in Spain, Germany and France. It is easy to construct trophy-winning sides when you poach all the best players from your painfully predictable championship. Roma and Fiorentina are both absent from Europe’s premier competition, but these clubs with top class stars such as Daniele De Rossi, Miralem Pjanic, Mario Gomez, Giuseppe Rossi and Juan Cuadrado are light-years ahead of their equivalents from every league barring the EPL. And this season, Napoli have already outplayed and defeated Champions League runners-up Dortmund while Juventus were the better team against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu until Giorgio Chiellini’s scandalous red card. The idea that Serie A is on its knees is a myth.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 10:13:02 +0000
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