Is Serie A exciting?

I was brought up in the Serie A golden years, my Sunday afternoons would consist of waiting for my lunch whilst watching James Richardson on Channel 4 with my Dad. Seeing players like Zidane, Ronaldo, Veron, Batistuta, Ortega, on my tv every week was nothing short of a privilege and as the years went on all of these great footballers either went abroad or retired. Once Channel 4 stopped their Football Italia show, Serie A seemed to drop off the map for us, there were no more superstars in that league and the quality of the English game was ever improving. Soon enough Serie A was labelled that "boring" league. I will be the first to hold my hands up and say that I was one of those people who shunned it. The league that I'd fallen in love with and once followed so closely was nothing on what it used to be, the Premier League held the keys to my heart. It was more competitive, the game was faster and the quality of football seemed higher - it was unrivalled, in my eyes.

You missed this, don't pretend you didn't

I now live in Italy and within about 3 weeks of being over here I'd already taken note of how Serie A was different. I'd always kept my eye on how the league was going and who was doing good or bad but Juventus dominated the 00s and it frankly was no fun to follow, their team was better than the rest, only Milan could rival them. Serie A looked to be making a comeback and 2003 there were two Italian teams in the final of the Champions League! It was Juventus versus Milan and as the world waited for what could have and should have been an excellent event it turned out to be possibly the most boring final of all time in any competition, ever. I don't wish to cast your minds back to that awful evening but it was a bore draw after 90 minutes and then we suffered through another half hour of the same monotonous, closed, defensive rubbish. The game was settled on penalties (it finished 2-3) and Milan won their sixth Champions League. Both teams so rich with history, a rivalry that stemmed back 100 years and so many good players, yet they couldn't manage a goal between them after 120 minutes of football. It really put the decisive nail in coffin for anyone who was still debating if Serie A was exciting as it once was, the answer was no.

The most forgettable final, ever

Serie A this year really has been crazy so far! Inter Milan; treble winners in the 07/08 season, sit in 16th place. Napoli, high fliers in Europe but in the league are 7th. Juventus, back from Serie B, reshaped and top of the table with a game in hand. It really looks to be wide open at this point and I've been paying some real close attention to the league and I've been sucked back in. Sure, the names I'd throw out won't get your heart racing or even spark a debate among most football fans but there is some real quality and many exciting prospects playing in the league now. Edinson Cavani, who really knew about him before Napoli entered the Champions League? We may have a few people who will roll out with their excellent footballing input - "Yeah, I signed him on my Football Manager game in 2008 and he became really good so you know..."
It has to be said, at this point he was already in Serie A and scoring goals for a good Palermo side so the comment from the Football Manager scout of decade is nothing short of idiotic babel. Either way, there are so many players in Serie A who really are top drawer footballers but get little recognition on the world stages because the league that they play in is now marked as inferior, not only by public opinion but also by UEFA who have allocated only 3 spots in the Champions League to Serie A teams.

Cavani's first goal in Serie A. Not a bad way to introduce yourself.

Footballing legends from the Serie A of old are a dying breed, Del Piero is retiring, Nesta's career has been riddled with injuries, Totti is getting no younger... The glamour may appear to have worn off but the league has never been so action-packed. Serie A is possibly the second most competitive league in the modern game, after the Premier League. There are so many teams battling it out for the top spots whereas in neighbouring countries such as Spain, France and Germany, there is much less. Maybe it's because the top clubs in Italy have fallen and are no longer untouchable, maybe it's because the standard is getting higher among the "lesser" clubs... All I know is, Serie A has been a very competitive league to watch this year and if you're looking to invest your time in any other foreign league - make it Italian.