Rome, 30 April 2024 – An institutional clash has taken place in the last few hours between Roma and Lega Serie A. Subject of the dispute: the postponement of the match against Atalanta (read here). The Giallorossi club, with an official letter, had asked the highest bodies of the championship to move the match against the Bergamo team, scheduled for 12 May, by 24 hours, to better prepare for the Europa League semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen. Request rejected to sender. They didn't take it well from Trigoria: “This is a blow to the integrity of the championship.” Also considering the fact that the date of Atalanta-Fiorentina is still unknown, postponed due to the illness of Viola general manager Joe Barone. The chances that it will be recovered once the championship is over and, therefore, after the games are over are very high. And this is precisely the crux of the matter.
Serie A, are 20 teams too many? The big companies are aiming for reduction
It is necessary to go beyond the current dispute between Roma and the League. The latter, in fact, has its hands tied. Atalanta is the only Italian team in the running for all 3 competitions: on Thursday they will play the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Marseille, on 15 May they will play the final of the Italian Cup against Juve and are in full swing for the Champions fight. In short, there are no free slots. Atalanta doesn't even have a free midweek. Because too many championship matches are played, which often affect the performance of Italian teams in Europe. And now, as if suddenly, it is back in vogue the reduction of Serie A to 18 teams. Because, although we can make predictions about the future, it is impossible to predict the imponderable. All it takes is one variable gone crazy and everything becomes chaosto the point of not finding useful dates to recover a fundamental match for the Champions League race.
Low quality of the championship
The theme of reduction, true objective of the big teams, this is nothing new today. It has been debated for at least 20 years. The big ones push to reach the goal, but the so-called “small” ones don't want to hear about it. Anyone who doesn't do the cups would suffer a heavy backlash. Budgets, often in the red, would worsen. In short, enormous economic damage . It is therefore impossible to get everyone to agree. Indeed, on a mathematical level the big teams are at a disadvantage: there are many fewer.
On the other hand, however, over the course of these 20 years many teams have not proven themselves up to the task of the category. Teams that won 1 or 2 games were effectively relegated as early as Christmas. Once upon a time they were called “mattress teams”, that is, the ones everyone hoped to meet. Either because they have not been able to make an adequate market (between Serie A and Serie B, it crosses the ocean), or because the television rights are not distributed in the English way (the Premier League is at the forefront on the subject). But anyway, the quality is not that of the top Serie A championship.
In conclusion: Roma and Atalanta are keeping the honor of Italian football high in Europe, and on Thursday they will play the first leg of their respective semi-finals. But they are forced to use up their energy or have to deal with inconceivable dates (What match would it be, for example, if a hypothetical Atalanta-Fiorentina resumed in June, with who knows how many players already in the national team to play in the European Championship?) There are many questions but the answers, at the moment, few. But the issue is on the table. (Photo: legaseriea.it)
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