The goalless result characterized the Serie A championships until about thirty years ago, today it is only a flicker of light. The reasons are different
The 0-0 in Serie A
Lo zero a zero. In the early days of football it was considered “the perfect result”, a symbol of two strong teams capable of canceling each other out. Yet by now the goalless result has become a very rare case, and the fact that in last 124 races of the top flight has occurred only 6 times is a more than concrete demonstration of it. An interesting case worthy of further study. Why has people scored so easily in Italy for a few years now? The reasons are many. CONTINUA→
The 80s: 16 teams and the little dot “that moves the table”
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In the 1980s, peerless networks proliferated uncontrollably. After all, the Italian defenses are still among the strongest in the world and to take away the victory even in the most complicated fields you need to bend over backwards. Remember that success is worth two points, not three.And that Serie A is made up of 16 teams, 3 of which were relegated at the end of the year. That’s why the point is never disdained: it can move the rankings and lead to salvation.
In the 1980-81 they count 44 tied by 0-0, more than 18% of the total number of tenders. Brescia, out of 30 matches, draws 17. And they save themselves. In the 1982-83 the trend reaches its most exaggerated form. I am 47 Total matches ending 0-0: one out of five, in practice, sees no goals scored. And there are those who get married with equals: Udinese, out of 30 games, draw 20. And they come close to the European zone.
The whole decade is marked by the abundance of 0-0; then, in 1988a first change. The Serie A teams from 16 become 18 and the relegations are no longer 3, but 4. To save yourself, now, you have to win: the increase in relegations scares medium-lower-ranked teams who can no longer afford to draw one game out of two. The 0-0 swan song comes right in 1988-89: 58 equal to white nets, equal to 18,5 % of the total results. CONTINUA→
The 90s: victory is worth three points
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In the golden decade of Italian football, there is no longer time to settle for a 0-0 draw. From 1991-92 onwards the number of draws without goals systematically drops below 40. In 1992-93 we even get to 27 matches alone, accounting for less than 10% of the total results. A further factor that no longer encourages the draw comes in 1994-95: Victory is now worth three points, not two.
What does it mean? That the big teams, if they want to win the Scudetto, can no longer be satisfied with an away draw on provincial fields. But they have to try to win everywhere. You know it well Juventuswho in the first year with the three points drew only 4 games out of 34 and won the championship hands down.
The 0-0 is officially transformed: from a rule it becomes an exception. Serie A between 1997 and 2000 saw three different winners, but a very curious unicum in terms of a goalless draw: for three consecutive years the 0-0 occurs exactly 29 times, equal to 9.48% of the total results. CONTINUA→
The 2000s: the more we are, the less we go backwards
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The three points for a win seemed to have definitively defeated the idea of a draw as a convention. But a further change characterizes Serie A starting from 2004-05: the teams go from 18 to 20and the relegations, instead of increasing proportionally, decrease. We go from 4 to 3 relegations.
These are the years of the consecration of pay-TV and football as an industry: Serie A welcomes as many realities as possible to give visibility to all and maximize revenues. However, the quality of the championship will suffer, given the shortage of trophies won by our Italians in Europe in the last 15 years. Ties remain few and confined to almost extra-parliamentary percentages: in 2008-09 we touch the historical minimum of 0-0, only 17 (pari al 4,47 % of total results). CONTINUA→
VAR question
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The last big change in our football. The VAR, which still arouses controversy after controversy, lands in Serie A starting from the 2017-18 season. What are the consequences of technology that helps referees: for example, many more penalties are conceded, also due to the change in the regulation which penalizes all forms of handball in the area.
The draws, consequently, are reduced to a flicker. After an increase in 2018-19 (34), we return to very low numbers. The 0-0 comes out 21 times in 2019-20only 19 the following year up to 22 equal to last season’s white goals. After the first 29 rounds, the seasonal 0-0 are “only” 17.
April 8, 2023 (change April 9, 2023 | 00:00)
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