Coppa Italia: Time to Shake Things Up in Italy
The Coppa Italia has become one of those tournaments that only gets truly interesting at the semi-final stage, similar to how the UEFA Champions League only becomes noteworthy in the Quarterfinals. Today Fiorentina, or should I say Mohammed Salah, put Juventus to the sword for only the Bianconeri’s fourth loss in 93 matches at Juventus Stadium, while yesterday Lazio and Napoli found themselves battling it out at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to a 1-1 draw. Manolo Gabbiadini, once again showing Benitez why he needs to be starting, scored to negate Klose’s goal that had gave Lazio the lead. Both games were fantastic for not only the viewers in attendance but also for those watching at home. Is there anything more that can be done to make this tournament more appealing? Serie A in particular would love to draw more revenue and also raise its global appeal to take the league to new heights. Let’s examine a system that would make that vision a reality.
More from Serie A
- Update on Leonardo Bonucci’s legal action against Juventus
- Romelu Lukaku and the betrayal of Inter Milan
- Report: Piotr Zieliński set to sign a new deal with SSC Napoli
- The man rumored to replace Kim Min-Jae: Who is Napoli target Robin Le Normand?
- Are Napoli finally Scudetto-bound? It sure looks like it
Schedules are already jam packed throughout the season between European and/or World Cup Qualifiers, not to mention Champions League, Europa league, and International Friendlies. Add in the Coppa Italia and you have a season where the players are steadily being stripped of their best form and increasing the risk of injury due to exhaustion. This is where teams with deeper pockets tend to flourish in major tournaments, because it allows for greater squad rotation. We know Serie A is on the rise again, but what can the Lega Calcio do to provide its teams more opportunities to possess fresher squads for major tournaments?
Let’s look at the financially powerful Premier League as an example. There is both the FA Cup and the Capital One Cup held during the campaign. For the sake of argument let’s reflect on the Capital One Cup. Having a major sponsor like Capital One signed on to be the marquee name behind this tournament is beneficial for all parties. Serie A would like to have similar sponsorship and follow the Premier League’s model.
The Serie A season regularly begins the second to last week in August. During summers of major tournaments it begins the last weekend of August or first weekend in September. Out of all the major leagues throughout Europe, Serie A is one of the last leagues to get the ball rolling under the lights of stadiums and in front of television cameras. This doesn’t have to be a problem anymore if it follows the Champions League or Europa League form.
Proposed New Coppa Italia Format:
Timing. The tournament should be Lega Calcio’s preseason tournament to have a coach feel out his roster and continue experimenting. This will give clarity to transfer market objectives and a less crammed season schedule.
Sponsorship. Samsung, Fly Emirates, Microsoft, or Pepsi are just a few brands that would perhaps tie their name to the Coppa Italia tournament and would bring a bigger global appeal than TIM, which currently sponsors both Serie A and the Coppa Italia. The league has a chance to see a bump in revenue if they open the door to changing the sponsor of this tournament.
Location. Take this tournament abroad every year to nation’s with large Italian populations and also to areas with emerging markets. The United States & Canada, Australia, China, and Brazil would be ideal traveling locations.
Format. The tournament should begin domestically with clubs from Serie D and Lega Pro at the earliest stages. Once the tournament reaches the Third round when Serie A clubs begin taking place it should be moved abroad. This is where a group system should be made with the Serie A teams get placed in Pot 1 and Pot 2 just like the Champions League and Europa League lottery. The teams will be ranked based on the previous season’s standing. This gives us the chance to have a ‘Group of Death’. Now, Pot 3 and Pot 4 will contain the teams that survived from Serie B and the lower leagues. What does this do? It provides these lower leagues and teams a chance to have international exposure, and give their young players a bigger stage. This will benefit the FIGC immensely in their quest to grow at the international level once more.
Schedule. Have the tournament begin just when preseason begins for most teams during early July. By mid-July qualifying teams should be identified and drawn into their groups where they will be set to begin at the tournament’s hosting nation. The games can be played just as they would during a World Cup at different venues, with the World Cup schedule put into practice with teams playing every four days. The tournament should conclude with three weeks to spare before the Serie A season begins, allowing coaches more time to structure and the players to rest up a bit.
Television. Currently Coppa Italia games in the United States are televised on beIN Sport and Mediaset (with a subscription). Lega Serie A and Lega Serie B can work on a deal to bring this tournament to national television stations such as: Fox, NBC, CBS, or ABC (ESPN) during months where these networks lack sports to broadcast.
Youth. Young players are forced to participate in Primavera tournaments across Italy, but that does not raise their development level. A tournament like this would force managers to use their young talent in order to rotate their players avoiding any injuries. The sector in Italy that needs the most help is youth and this format will see that addressed with immediate impact.
Fine clubs like Como, Sassuolo, Atalanta, and Modena don’t exactly have the largest support groups across the globe, but why not use this stage to raise awareness and market talent? Teams are filled with players from all around the world and that’s sometimes enough for fans to buy a ticket and urge on their countrymen. You might see Napoli taking on Brescia in the Group Stages and in Italy this game would be played at Napoli where the Brescia supporters would only be about 3,000 out of a possible 70,000.
So is there really a difference whether this tournament is hosted in Italy or abroad?
Quite simply the answer is no. The sport is seeing growth faster than it ever has before and more businessmen from around the world are trying to become part of the game in some way. Should both Lega Serie A and Lega Serie B take this route and raise its exposure status in major emerging markets, if it would mean foreign investment and lead to more funding? Doing so would allow the leagues to bridge the gap in salaries paid in the Premier League compared to Serie A.
With these changes, Italian teams would have a better chance of flourishing in European tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. It is time Serie A begins to be the trend setter and envy of leagues across the world just as it was in the 80’s and 90’s. ‘The Golden Age’ of Italian football will inevitable return and this is the start.
The sky is the limit and there needs to be more reform in soccer in Italy.