It was almost quarter to eleven, when Mauro Bergonzi blew the final whistle and the players and coaches were sent to their respective dressing-rooms to take a warm shower. However, Bergonzi’s whistle did not end just the derby della Madonnina, but also marked an end to one of the dullest weeks in the history of Italian football.
The whole mess started on Thursday where at their own stadium, Juventus FC were eliminated by Benfica. Despite attempting no less than nineteen shots, seven of which were on target, none of them managed to hit the net, and eventually they had to surrender to the Portuguesa champions, who having secured a 2-1 win at their home grounds, progressed to the final. There were times when Italian teams were feared by the rest of Europe, but this year it had been a huge mess for them, with only AC Milan reaching knockout stages of the cup with big ears, which unsurprisingly were demolished by Atletico Madrid with a 5-1 aggregate.
Less than forty-eight hours had passed until for some minutes, the city of Napoli became the centre of attention as supporters engaged in fighting outside the Olimpico Stadium. The match was delayed and a minimum of three people were wounded after being shot by the Italian police. Let’s admit, Italian football never had a good reputation. Totonero (1980) and Calciopoli (2006) are just two symbols of dirtiness in Italian football, as there are a lot of rumours going around which link Italian footballers with match fixing. As funny as it might seem, one of the players frequently mentioned is the captain of the Italian team, Gianluigi Buffon, who played a crucial part in Italy’s conquest of the World Cup in 2006.
But it was not over yet, as on Sunday evening, men gathered inside their houses with their wives and kids to watch the Milanese derby. A few years ago, the world would stop to see the match between the two Italian giants. In these years, anyone watching the derby would expect world class saves from Dida, brilliant runs from Sebastian Veron, crucial interventions from Paolo Maldini and a torrent of goals by Christian Vieri and Andriy Shevchenko. The same derby that for long years consisted of few of the best players around the world, now is made up of free-transfers and low-cost players such as Jonathan and Constant, two players who in different times would have never entered inside any of San Siro’s changing rooms, let alone playing inside it.
It is indeed a pity to see the same league which produced four golden ball winners in the first decade of the 21st century, stooping so low. The only thing which can lift Italian football from its knees is money – money which will bring world class players, better stadiums and money which, at the end of the day, will bring joy and fantasy back to Italian football.
