Which World Football League Is The Best Of The Best
Serie A, La Liga, and the Premiership all voice strong
claims to be the finest football league in the world today. However, which of
these has the most genuine claim. The recognition of being the best is an honor
that dictates not just bragging rights, but also the ability to draw the finest
players and sponsorship contracts to secure the mantle yet further. There are
countless factors to consider; the players the leagues have now, the trophies
won by their clubs, the quality of football played, and the stature of their
various sides. Does that tactical catenaccio of the Italians outweigh the
physical pressure of the Premiership? Would the top-heavy flair of La Liga
continually overcome the strength of an English midfield? How do the
Mediterranean cousins compare? In comparing these various brands of 'the
beautiful game' we must consider the many factors that make them great
individually. The history, the present, and the future are all crucial in
contrasting these various brands and eventually building a perception of whether
one does stand above the others.
Players
The first and often the most favored way of fans comparing
championships, who has the best players? The natural assumption following this
is that Spain holds the upper hand in this argument; especially given that both
World (Ronaldinho) and European (Fabio Cannavaro) Players of Year play in La
Liga. Also, Spain can boast many other great talents; Madrid has van
Nistelrooy, Raul, Robinho, and Beckham, Barca can boast Ronaldinho, Deco,
Messi, Eto'o, and Zambrotta. Other clubs have similarly immense performers,
David Villa and Joaquin Sanchez at Valencia, Riquelme at Villarreal to name but
a few. Italy can boast a similarly impressive list of galacticos, however,
possibly due to the more pedestrian nature of Serie A the players tend to be of
slightly more advanced age. Internazionale (or Inter) boast the most impressive
roster; Crespo, Ibrahimovic, Veron, Stankovic, Figo, and Samuel all ply their
trade for the Nerazzurri. Their city rivals Milan also have a cornucopia of
stars; despite losing their talisman Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea in the
summer, they have one world-beater in Riccy Kaka'. Also players as renowned as
Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Nesta, and Alberto Gilardino front a cast that
contains talent enough to challenge for any trophy. Also worth mentioning is
that the Milan rear-guard still contains the legendary Paulo Maldini as
captain. With the shadow of Calciopoli hanging over the Italian top flight,
what should be mentioned is the exodus from Serie A that occurred over the
summer saw many of their finest individuals leave the division. Zambrotta and
Thuram left Juventus for Barcelona, likewise, Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson
joined their Bianconieri coach Fabio Capello in Madrid, and former Serie A favorites
like Alessandro del Piero, Gigi Buffon, Pavel Nedved, and David Trezeguet have
all decided to stay loyal to the old lady and ply their trade in Serie B for a
season. As mentioned, Shevchenko also left the Rossoneri for Chelsea. Whilst
discussing Chelsea we must clearly outline that they are the major player in
European football today. The premise that currently exists in football is that,
when it comes to the transfer market, the Premiership champions are the team
that all others must follow. Due to the seemingly unlimited funds stumped up by
their Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, Chelsea has amassed a team of
stars to match any other club in the world. With Terry and Lampard already
present before the Russian benefactor's input, players like Arjen Robben,
Didier Drogba, Joe Cole, and, as discussed, Shevchenko. The Premiership can
also boast some of the world's finest players in Thierry Henry and Cesc
Fabregas at Arsenal; Rooney, Rio, and Ronaldo at Manchester United and
Liverpool's talismanic skipper Steven Gerrard. The important thing to outline
when comparing the undoubtedly huge talents on show in these various leagues is
that although we are examining them from the perspective of now, the future is
also a vital factor. As we discussed Serie A does tend to boast more seasoned
galacticos whereas the Premiership can argue that, in Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne
Rooney, and Cesc Fabregas, they have some of the most promising talents.
Spanish football could also argue that their spread is encompassing youth, with
youngsters such as Sergio Aguero and Fernando 'el Nino' Torres at Atletico,
Lionel Messi at Barca, and one name to watch in Matias Fernandez, a Chilean
playmaker due to join Villarreal in January.
Marketing
Football in the Twenty-First Century is far more than the
game it was in previous decades. It is now a business and one of the world's
biggest at that. Transfer prices are now such that it appears any 'Tom, Dick or
Harry' is worth £15 million. Player's wages have also experienced astronomical
rises. This is to the extent that £3 million per year is not considered to be a
completely outrageous wage for a top international player. With the costs to
clubs continually rising, somebody is required to fulfill these extravagant
fiscal demands. Sponsorship, television rights, and marketing revenue are now
utilized by top clubs that are now selling a 'brand' rather than a sport. From
product association to shirts emblazoned with trade names, the marketing aspect
of major clubs and leagues is paramount to the strength therein. Annually an
accountancy firm called Deloitte release details of top European club's
financial incomes over the previous season. Essentially a 'rich-list' of sides,
comparing their viability and market strength in today's football world. The
most recent edition of this list is from the 2005 season and the zenith of the
list is almost totally dominated by our 'big three leagues'. The 2005 rankings
dictate that the world's market leader in football terms is now Real Madrid.
The previous years had been dominated by the Manchester United marketing
machine; however, the Castilian club took the mantle from their English rivals.
Much of this change in fortunes has been put down to the 'David Beckham
factor'. Former England skipper David Beckham is as famous for his private life
as he is for his football. Married to a 'Spice-Girl', the midfielder looks more
like a pop star than a footballer, sporting numerous tattoos, continually
outrageous hairstyles, and a multiplicity of product endorsement contracts.
Described as being the 'most photographed sportsman ever', Beckham is worth his
weight in Euros to his club side. The fact that Manchester United, who
previously topped the rich-list, was dethroned by Beckham's new club Real
Madrid is regarded as proof of the man's value from a marketing perspective.
However, it is worth mentioning that Madrid's on-field performances have
declined while their finances improved, and a more recent list may also hint at
Beckham's on-pitch decline as a force in world football. The top ten teams in
the list are, except for Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, all from Spain, Italy,
or England. The majority is dominated by the Premiership as we see Manchester
United (2nd), Chelsea (5th), Liverpool (8th) and Arsenal (10th), this is
followed by three Serie A clubs in Milan (3rd), Juventus (4th) and Inter (9th)
and Spain's La Liga only have two top ten entries, despite Real topping the
list being followed by rivals Barcelona in 6th. In viewing these figures, we
must first emphasize that they are not as up to date as we would like, also
should a more recent list be compiled we would surely see the effect of
Calciopoli on the Italian sides.
Style
The extent to which a league entertains depends vastly upon
how you like your football. The three brands all vary in their traits greatly
and the taste is a vital factor within this, after all, one man's pineapple is
another man's poison. The main differences in these leagues are inherent in the
style of football played in each respective country. Although on the surface
this may seem obvious, when we consider the extent to which domestic football
has become incredibly multicultural, it is positive that these leagues maintain
their own identity despite this. The brand of football played in the leagues
differs greatly. As mentioned earlier, the Italian game is one based on
technique, control of possession, and patience. The catenaccio of today's
Italian game is not as negative as that of sides during the mid-twentieth
century, wherein five defenders would be used to enforce a stringent man-marking
system with a 'libero' slotting in behind as a ball-playing sweeper.
Unfortunately, the system in its original state is now outdated, given that
both the zonal marking system has almost uniformly become the status quo of the
modern game and that sweepers are now very scarcely employed. However, the
football played in Serie A today is one that echoes this system. Calcio is
often regarded by those in Northern Europe as being dull, but those closer to
the Mediterranean as being a purists game that encapsulates a higher standard
of football than any other. Football in Italy has been likened to a game of
chess, with a more systematic approach than that of other countries. Defenders
are often as gifted in possession as any other position, a trait not found
elsewhere in football. The style football played uses lots of short passes
designed to open pockets of space, rather than longer balls targeting taller
forwards. The game requires a very high level of technical ability, with the
art of controlling and passing paramount. Detractors of the Italian game often
point to its lack of pace and time-consuming attacking play as its flaws. Goals
are notoriously hard to come by, a fact further embellished by examining Luca
Toni's impressive thirty-one goal season last year, the first player to score
over thirty goals in Serie A for forty-eight years. As such many prefer the
hustle and bustle of leagues like the Premiership.The Premiership is a very
fast and furious division; emphasis on strength, pace, and drive. This is even
though a very high standard of football can be seen in England's top flight,
however by and large the game is dictated in a very physically demanding
manner. English football was much maligned in the eighties and nineties for a
predominance of 'long ball' football. The theory being that long, direct passes
into forwarding areas would create chances for purposefully employed big,
physical strikers. This style was often considered to not be graceful and was
lambasted by critics. Even though the English league has developed since,
similarly to the catenaccio roots of Serie A, this style still exists to some
extent today; even league champions Chelsea have been criticized for employing
such a style. Despite not being at a higher level of the technical level, the
Premiership is often billed as being 'the most exciting league in the world'
due to its non-stop action-packed intensity. In contrast, La Liga has a style
of its own entirely. Borrowing much from a South American ethic of flair
football, the Spanish league is famed for its fast, flowing attacking brand of
play. Spain's Primera Division has won many admirers over recent years, firstly
thanks to the Zidane inspired galacticos of Madrid and more recently the
exploits of Ronaldinho Gaucho for Barcelona. The emphasis in Spain, more than
any other in Europe, is on attacking play. Formations are based around ball-playing
midfielders and skillful wingers. This does produce a very open brand of
football; however, this does often expose defensive frailties. With the
occasional exception (Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol) Spanish defenders are not
generally as strong as their counterparts in farther reaches of the game. This
combined with the ability of attackers does make La Liga very enticing from a
spectator point of view. Notwithstanding the stereotypes that we have examined,
there are clear exceptions to every rule, and this instance no different.
Despite being usually solid and defense-orientated, Carlo Ancelotti's Milan has
been praised for their attacking football in Serie A. Also, and potentially the
finest example of this, there is Arsenal. Arsene Wenger's men continually
produce some of the most free-flowing football in world football today.
However, for obvious reasons, the North London outfit could be reasoned to be
the exception to the rule as they have a side almost totally dominated by
foreign players. To the extent that, since the departures of Sol Campbell and
Ashley Cole, it is unlikely that an Englishman will, should the Gunners be at
full strength, feature at all.
Competitiveness
What makes a league exciting is often based not only on the
vastness of the occasion or the protagonists involved but the closeness of the
competitors. In all leagues, as with walks of life, there are historically
bigger sides with larger financial acumen, but where there is no competition,
there is no spectacle. The Premiership has been dominated by the wealth of
Chelsea over the past two seasons, even though it takes more than just money to
dominate a league (although it helps) and it is a credit to both players and
coaching staff that they have taken the past two successive titles with
consummate ease. This season, however, is painting a different picture. The
wily old Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is now producing the
results that his talented array of stars are capable of, and at this point stand
a commendable eight points clear of Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. Beyond the top
two, we see something that has been apparent for some time in the Premiership.
The gap between the top teams and the chasing pack could be justifiably
described as chasm-like. Previously there was a top-four that added Liverpool
and Arsenal to the current table-topping rivals, but unfortunately for the
neutral, this gap has extended to these clubs as well. However, this does
create what can be seen as almost a 'second league' in which clubs behind
Manchester United and Chelsea vie for the remaining places in Europe's
prestigious Champions League. This chasing pack includes both Liverpool and
Arsenal, followed in the strength of squad by Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham
Hotspur but effectively any other side that can put together a good run of
results can infiltrate the group, as was the case with last season's surprise
package of Wigan Athletic, who almost secured a UEFA Cup berth despite being
touted as relegation favorites before the season began. Spain can also look to
the domination of one club over the past two seasons as being the main debating
topic. Barcelona's back-to-back titles have not, however, received anything
like the treatment that Chelsea's similar achievements have. Whilst the
'boo-boys' have been out in force 'pooh-poohing' the wealth, attitude, and
style (or lack thereof) of the Premiership's titleholders, Barcelona's success
has been lauded as a 'victory for style over adversity'. From many purists'
perspectives, the brand of flowing football that Barca exhibit is very pleasing
to the eye, and the fact that Los Cules are considered footballing royalty,
rather than the nouveau riche of Mourinho's men, could be a factor. The Primera
Liga at present still sees the Catalonian giants on top, a mini-renaissance
from their bitter rivals Real Madrid has been temporarily halted as the
surprise package of Sevilla look to 'upset the apple cart'. Traditional
bridesmaids Valencia appear to have moved back to a position more akin to an
usher as Atletico Madrid and Zaragoza enjoy the good form. Unlike the
Premiership, La Liga does not usually purvey the gulf between the topsides and
their competitors. Such is the nature of Spanish football, that although
unexpected, the top teams are more often beaten by their less illustrious
competitors. In the Italian top flight, again the competitiveness is affected
by the match-fixing scandal. From the season's opening, it seemed that it would
be a two-horse race. In previous seasons this has been the case, with Juventus
battling Milan for lo scudetto. However, with Milan docked points and Juventus
having to cope with life in Serie B, it has left Roma and Inter to battle for
the title. Inter, the perennial underachievers of calico, have amassed one of
the world's strongest squads and as such currently stand a clear distance ahead
of their rivals. Nine consecutive wins for the Nerazzurri (an Italian record)
see Mancini's men looking down the barrel of their first actual title (they
were handed the 2006 title by default of being the highest placed side guilty
of no wrongdoing in the Calciopoli scandal) in over ten years.
In Conclusion
Upon first attempting to tackle this question, I can
honestly state that I did not conceive quite what I was undertaking. All three
leagues are packed with all things that make football the world's biggest, and
in my opinion best, sport. Rather than scrutinized with a cynical eye, we
should be embracing these bastions of passion, flair, and ability, rejoicing in
the pleasure that millions of fans get from these three small collections of
twenty teams. However, I set out on a journey, a journey that took longer than
anticipated, but a journey, all the same, to root out which I believed to be
the best. If that assessment leaves all of the league's attributes equal then
the next separates. Money and marketing are bigger in the Premier League than
in any other non-American sport and the financial credence there eclipses
anything that Spain or Italy can boast. However, the argument in this instance
must remain, how important (bragging rights aside) is the money? This leads us
to the question, is money not potentially the ultimate undoing of these
leagues? Using Italy as a prime example, the great football broadcaster James
Richardson cites this as the reason for Serie A's downturn in fortunes; he
believes that money that was spent around the turn of the century was
effectively 'promised' funds for projected future television rights that sadly
never materialized. However, in the Premiership, the money just keeps rolling
in. Finally, we draw to the final issue of competitiveness, and with Calciopoli
forcing Serie A to dismount its jockey leaving a two-horse race. In this issue,
I am setting my stall out early and backing the Premiership. With no disrespect
to Real Madrid, but I cannot see Barcelona being usurped this season. From
watching football for many years now, you learn to know when a resurgence is
threatening, and Madrid's is not that. Manchester United however is the English
top-flight, for the first time in a while, looks as though it will draw to a
truly nail-biting conclusion. Overall, as I have mentioned throughout, it is
with regret that I concede that Italy, given all of its difficulties, cannot
compete. This upsets me, as it was Serie A where I gained much of my development
as a football supporter, spending years enjoying the delights of the
Mediterranean game, watching exotically monikered players with equally
glamorous abilities. The average Italian top flight footballer is true of
higher fundamental ability than his English counterpart, but the stigma of
scandal is too apparent in the current Serie A climate for them to be
considered. I hope that we see a renaissance in Italian football and that over
the coming decade we see a nation rejuvenated and again rivaling their Spanish
and English counterparts. So it comes to the final two, and in truth, it could
not be tighter. However, it is the Premiership which I believe to be the best.
It is by the width of a flea's reproductive organs, but the Premiership has the
lot. It has, in my opinion, the most exciting crop of young players, the most
competitive title chase, and the best supporters. It has the biggest worldwide
audiences and is (marginally) the strongest nation in the worldwide transfer
market. This is not to detract from La Liga, a league of endless attacking
improvisation, flair, and adventure, a league that has a history, has
impossibly gifted players, has Ronaldinho, but its flaws are too clear. The
hapless defending is one such example of this and too much bigger issue to be
ignored. For me, the Premiership has only recently secured the mantle it has
sought since its creation. For the Baggies, van Basten's, Papin's, Maldini's,
Batistutas and friends in Nineties Serie A to the Zizous, Figos, Rivaldo's,
Ronaldos, Rauls et al of Noughties La Liga, there has always been something to
separate English Football from the top of the tree, however now it is clear
that the FA Premier League is THE major force in world football today and given
the money and following dedicated to retaining that mantle, I foresee that this
will be the case for years to come.
The author is David Hardy who writes for
http://www.football-rumours.com A large, frequently updated football/soccer website
dealing with all facets of the game. The above article is only half the
original due to the 3500-word count of this article's site. This article can be
read in its entirety at http://articles.football-rumours.com
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