Juventus, Napoli & Udinese rewarded for flair & a lack of fear against AC Milan & Inter

“The report of my death was an exaggeration,” Mark Twain once wrote, and there have been countless examples of other premature obituaries since the American author set everyone straight back in the late 19th century. Similarly, recent claims of an early demise for Serie A have been blasted out of the water in the last four weeks, as a rip-roaring start to the 2011-12 season has made a mockery of the doubters who were tipping Italian football for a landslide towards disaster.

The loss of a fourth Champions League spot earlier this year was cited as a barometer of the struggles in the peninsula. With Italy’s clubs either not performing or not caring – or both – in the Europa League, European Cup successes for AC Milan and Inter counted for little in Uefa’s great co-efficients lottery as Germany usurped the Bel Paese based largely on the achievements of the Bundesliga’s clubs in the junior competition.

But the week-on-week standard of Serie A’s football had arguably seen a rise in quality last term, and so far this season it has gone through the roof. With the most sparkling displays now being rewarded with spots at the top end of the league for the likes of the flair-filled Juventus, Udinese, Napoli and Palermo, there has been a clear power shift between those who play high-energy, pressing, creative football, and those who don’t.

PROMISING START | This season's best five games in Serie A so far

Palermo 4 - Inter 3
Napoli 3 - Milan 1
Novara 3 - Inter 1
Inter 0 - Napoli 3
Novara 3 - Catania 3

More goals are being scored in the tighter games, and a greater number of teams are being rewarded for their ability to stretch play and increase the tempo. Coaches are sending out their sides with more daring, and those that are doing so are generally bearing the fruits. It all makes for fascinating viewing.

There have been countless examples already this term of sides lacking purpose missing out on the points, with the current struggles of Milan and Inter a prime case in point. No longer are teams showing too much respect to the bigger names, and their difficult starts – though no doubt part self-inflicted – are a sign that there are increasingly fewer gifts on offer in Serie A. Nobody is scared of attacking the big boys anymore.

And it’s not just in the difficulties of some and the excesses of others that the league’s value has increased. There has been a much more appealing level of play in games in general so far. The six-goal draw between Novara and Catania on Sunday was just the latest match in which the balance of the game changed hither and thither with wonderful regularity. Games involving the likes of Lazio, Fiorentina, Genoa and Cagliari have also presented excellent spectacles, with greater variety now on show.

ALL-ACTION | Serie A goals this term

Round 2 35
Round 3 20
Round 4 28
Round 5 17
Round 6 28

TOTAL 128

Total in games won by two goals or less 111 (2010-11: 104)

This past weekend’s absorbing encounters between Inter and Napoli, and Juventus and Milan, have dominated the headlines for various reasons, but the better team, the more dominant team, the team with the greater brevity of ideas and of freedom succeeded in both fixtures. And it is becoming a trend.
It’s a state that can only help when it comes to the crossover into the Champions League too, with the three victories for the Italian representatives last week showing that there’s every chance the trio can progress. And even before that, Udinese outplayed the much-lauded Arsenal for three-quarters of their play-off tie.

Once the Friulani were knocked out, there was much talk of them ‘doing a Sampdoria’, but their league start has shown that they have the ideas and the players to challenge for another crack at Europe’s big boys next term. The easy transfer of the pressing, counter-attacking style of Udinese and Napoli from league play to the Champions League has also proven that Italian clubs are capable of playing exactly the kind of fast-paced football it is regularly claimed they are too stuck in their ways to demonstrate.

Add in the impact made by Juventus’ move to their new stadium and the sudden rush of clubs looking to follow suit – with Roma likely to be the next outfit to build their own home – and there is suddenly a much more progressive outlook in evidence.

More goals, more flair, more fans and more hope across the board. The reports of Serie A’s death were greatly exaggerated.


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