The Serie A league has set the pace in European football since the creation of the conference league in the 2021/2022 season with their history defining achievement of producing 5 clubs in the semi-final of the three European competitions in the following season, making up 50% participation in the two major competitions which is the champions and Europa leagues, if you consider Roma are the defending champion in the conference league, while Napoli the most exciting team in Europe lost a nail biting all Italian quarter finals to the incumbent Serie A champions AC Milan, in the champions league, while winning the scudetto with a couple of games remaining, dethroning AC Milan a sort of consolation.it underlines their strength in depth. it is likely that a different opponent could have made it possible for Napoli to reach the semi finals matching the record of the 2002/03 season when 3 Italian clubs Milan, Inter(you guessed right) and Juventus plus Real Madrid were in the penultimate stage and an all Italian final match which Milan won on penalties against juventus becoming the second time two finalists from the same country played against each other and establishing a trend in victory which is still on.
This five star achievement at this stage is reflective of the progress that the Italian league has made in Europe although not quite like the golden era in Italian football when they produced champions in the various European competitions between the 80s and 90s which made them the strongest league in Europe at that time.
The Italian league has impressed, from the nine finals played in three seasons, the Italians have reached the most finals, six times with Spain, Germany and England reaching just 3. they have also reached all the finals of the three competitions at least once. although from the nine finals they have won twice, with only Spain with three(the mighty Real Madrid with two) surpassing them.
what has made this possible ?
A slow start from the Italians
We peek into their dominant 2022/2023 season, apart from the red hot Napoli, the others showed a slow start. In the first knockout stage of the champions league, from the big 5 leagues England and Germany produced 4 teams, a perfect turnover from the group stage, while surprisingly Spain had 1 with France. Italy provided 3 but circumstance started changing Germany’s 3 were knocked out by England, with City initially defeating Dortmund and topping their group, the Citizens then knocked out Leipzig and Bayern Munich while defending Europa league champions Frankfurt were knocked out by Napoli, Real Madrid accounted for the exits of both Liverpool and Chelsea,the blues had edged out Dortmund. Tottenham fell to Milan, Italy lost one of their teams before the knockout stage,their 4th team Juventus falling into the Europa league and took on Sevilla at the semi-final stage they had knocked out Nantes,Freiburg and Sporting Lisbon along the way. at the semi finals stage of the champions league Italy had 2, Spain and England with one each, in the match up between Italy and England at the group stage, Chelsea defeated Milan and topped their group while in the group of death, Napoli crushed Liverpool and came out top although the reds got some level of revenge in the reverse encounter, 7 times winners Milan lost in the semi finals against rivals Inter, They had earlier victories against Tottenham and Napoli. The duels among the big 5, had a fair share of victory for the Italians especially in the crucial stages with the most significant at the group stage was when Inter defeated Barcelona at the San Siro and drew at the nou camp. just like in the champions league, in the Europa league Italy produced 2 teams while Spain and Germany had one. Italy`s Roma then the defending conference league champions and Juventus while, Lazio was eliminated, the old lady defeated sporting Lisbon which eliminated Arsenal but lost to Europa league specialist Sevilla. Roma and Sevilla reached the finals while at the conference league Florentina represented Italy and west Ham, England with the Hammers lifting the title. City won the champions league title. in the following season Real Madrid went on to claim a record extending 15th title Sevilla won their 7th title but Italy`s Atlanta defeated Bayern Leverkusen to win the Europa league. Fiorentina was once again beaten finalist at the conference league losing to an inspired Greek side Olympiakos.
Factors for the Italians
In serie A, Clubs splashed out the cash although not at the level of the EPL but the prevailing factors for the Italians could be attributed to the following
Competitive balance between the best.
In the week after the quarter finals from the big 5 leagues, only the Italian and English leagues have their top ten clubs having a positive score but the Italian Serie A in particular have been very competitive for the league title and European places which started after the decline of Juventus which won 9 titles in succession (2011-2020)after that dominant reign,the champions have been alternated. the competition for the champions league places went to the wire the battle for the 2nd position was still possible for 6th placed Atalanta, the giant killer have also played their part domestically and internationally in the past couple of seasons producing breath taking football with lots of goals, such quality of competition improved the league’s level especially in Europe. Its hardly a surprise that the final of the Italian cup in the 22/23 season was between the two of the five semi finalist in Europe Inter and Fiorentina. even the following season it was between Atlanta and Juventus then Atlanta went on to dismantle Europe`s form team the unbeaten Alonso led Bayern Leverkusen at the Europa league finals.
The Italian clubs tactical structure also helped. reputed for their game management and organization. it clicked for the Italians at the knock out stages, Inter’s elimination of both Portuguese giants Porto and the impressive Benfica was instructive, their master class performance in the first leg in both encounters gave them a clear advantage, while Roma’s second leg comeback victory against Feyenoord was also worth noting.
Improvement in certain stars
Emerging stars had very impressive improvement such as Oshimen, Kvaraskhia, Leao, Onana taken their clubs to new heights Oshimen’s injury record was derailing his natural abilities and consistency but he has been able to adjust to the demands of the Italian league and with partner Kvaraskhia the Georgian both have provided the fireworks for Napoli’s outstanding performances -their first quarter final appearance in the champions league and first scuddetto title since 1990 with Diego Maradona, Leao has also been devastating for Milan with several match winning displays and Onana has been effective for inter between the sticks with a laudable performance in the champion league helping Inter reach the finals,Bastoni and Di marco were named in the team of the season in the champions league while Di Maria has also added quality and experience to Juventus since the world cup win with Argentina.
Grit from England
Conte came back to Italy and recruited Young, lukaku, Moses, other English imports joined the Italian league such as Dzeko, Milkhritayan, Smalling, Abraham, Tomori and Damian. This introduction from England was a deliberate tactical upgrade of experience of talented individuals from the most demanding league in the world they may not be pioneers but an acknowledgement and reinforcement of quality, improving the respective clubs and the league in general. He is again at the helm of another Italian club Napoli and may repeat the same strategy, Lukaku`s reunion is almost inevitable the Belgian has hit the ground running.
The Mourinho factor
Mo is the only coach to win a treble in Italian football and also, the only manager having won all the current three European competitions, some of his gamesmanship, desire to win, ability to attract players, during his time in Spain,Ramos credited him for Real Madrid’ s improvement at the champions league, for those set of players before his arrival they have been consistently knocked out in the second round, he led them to three semi final stages and with the experience to maintain that level, subsequent coaches built on and made them champions. At la Liga they were able to challenge Barcelona which were the best at that time. in his first coaching stint in serie A, he won the champions league,serie A and coppa italia at Inter, presently, he led Roma to her first European title. the Portuguese does not need much detailed explanations on how he builds success into any team. the only club that Mourinho and then Conte did not achieve silverware with was in England a club with a reputation for taking things differently in comparison to their successful rivals hardly both managers fault. winning has an altitude and Mourinho during his time was a symbol of success.
it all added up positively for the 2022/2023 season the preceding season Italian football did not reach those heights in the champions league, the three Italian clubs fell at the early knock out stage Inter lost to Atletico Madrid in the round of 16, Napoli lost to Barcelona and Lazio to Bayern Munich, at the Europa cup Milan and Roma overran Slavia Prague and Brighton respectively both met in the quarter finals with Roma prevailing in both legs to join Atalanta as the Italians in the semi finals.Atlanta went all the way, at the conference league Fiorentina knocked out Maccabi Haifa,Viktoria Plzen and club Brugge to reach the finals. it was better than the previous european season because they won a title adding to the inaugural conference league title won by Roma and having a solid performance in comparison to the Big 5 and other European leagues. the highly competitive nature of the domestic competition aided their improvement enabling them to set the pace in Europe. if the total spend and revenue of the major European leagues is compared they have certainly pulled above their weight.
