Serie A must cut out comfortable mediocrity

The Italian Government is pushing to cut Serie A from 20 teams to 18 and the relegation day drama was further evidence to Susy Campanale that this is an essential step for the good of Calcio.

I am old enough – just about – to remember when Serie A had only 16 sides and ruled European competition, in 1990 lifting all three major UEFA trophies. The expansion to 18 was bad, but up to 20 was nothing short of disastrous and it gets more and more damaging with each passing year. Now that the Champions League is inflating and we could end up with nine Italian teams in Europe next season, the situation is more critical than ever.

It was dramatic and exciting to see Davide Nicola achieve yet another miraculous comeback to keep Empoli safe at the 93^rd minute, but Frosinone truly have nobody to blame but themselves. I feel almost a little sad that we’re stuck with another season of Udinese doing the absolute bare minimum to remain in the top flight, usually without a single Italian in the starting XI, no core identity as a team and still a very small fanbase. They’re hardly going to win over any new supporters with performances like the ones they tend to churn out and I doubt the club will change tack next term.

Frosinone went into the final weekend in the strongest position of all, knowing they only needed a draw to survive. That was ultimately their downfall, because when you try to merely scrape by, your fingernails sometimes lose their grip. That has been their approach pretty much since midway through the campaign, having started strong with an attack-minded team and the performances of Matias Soule on loan from Juventus. Then they looked at the table, got comfortable and by the time they had to climb back on their feet, it was too late to turn the momentum.

Serie A is bloated with teams doing the bare minimum

At least Sassuolo have gone down and can now finally begin to think of a team that is not entirely reliant on Domenico Berardi. The wins against Inter, Juventus and Milan felt like flukes this season, or maybe those were just the only games a crowd bothered to turn out for.

For too many years now, this tiny club that once punched above its weight has settled into comfortable mediocrity, content to sit just a handful of points above the drop zone, confident in the knowledge another Serie A side would be worse.

That is precisely the problem. Serie A has become not survival of the fittest, but rather being not the worst team in the league. It is bad for competition, extremely bad for entertainment and generally damaging to the league as a whole. As the big clubs get squeezed dry by a ridiculously packed fixture list, playing someone content to reserve all their energy for a few head-to-head battles near the bottom feels futile.

Udinese managed to survive in Serie A winning six games all season. SIX! They ought to be embarrassed rather than proud. Lecce and Cagliari didn’t do much better with eight victories, while the Sardinians ended up with a goal difference of -26, yet they were safe with a couple of weeks to spare.

The Government has to take action, because if it’s left to the 20 clubs to vote, naturally they will not give the all-clear to cutting their cash cow short. Inter, Milan and Juventus want the division reduced to 18 teams, but have no power to make it stick. If we want a strong Serie A, then we need a competitive league where only the best can flourish.