Inter came out flying for their Champions League semi-final against Milan, but the evening was really a reminder of Italian club football’s recent revival.
For some of us who grew up (or – cough – were young adults) during the 1990s, Italian football became a very big deal indeed. Shortly after Sky Sports paid £304m for five years of Premier League rights in 1992, Channel 4 paid £1.5m for a season’s worth of live action from Serie A.
On Saturday mornings, the magazine show, Gazzetta Football Italia, would have a round-up of all of the previous week’s action and news, presented by James Richardson and with voiceovers by Kenneth Wolstenholme. On Sunday afternoons would follow a live match, usually with commentary from the late, great Peter Brackley. The Premier League was still rebuilding after decades of neglect. Serie A felt like the most glamorous league in the world.
There have been many reasons why this situation has changed over the last thirty years. Municipally-owned infrastructure built or last renovated for the 1990 World Cup – or in many cases earlier – was never properly maintained, which has been a key factor in the league attracting smaller crowds than others. The average attendance in Serie A is 29,000. In the Bundesliga, it’s just over 42,000 and in the Premier League, it’s just topped 40,000 for the first time.
This doesn’t affect the biggest clubs. Milan and Inter both average over 70,000 for their home matches. But other factors have impacted them. Repeated financial scandals or issues related to match-fixing have had a negative effect on the reputation of the league.
Serie A hasn’t been able to keep up in terms of broadcasting revenues, either. The Premier League’s current broadcasting contract is worth £1.6bn a year. Serie A is worth £825m, just over half as much. As recently as this week, the Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani admitted that his club are having difficulty competing with all Premier League clubs in the transfer market.
It has become easy to forget in recent years, particularly in relation to Milan and Inter. But these two clubs have won ten European Cups or Champions League between them, and both have won it this century; Milan in 2003 and 2007, and Inter in 2010. And the two clubs aren’t even guaranteed Champions League football for next season, either.
As they took to the pitch for this match, Inter were in fourth place in Serie A and Milan were in fifth, with four games of the season…
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