Turning tide

Italy leads challenge to Spanish supremacy in Europe

Spanish television is currently running an ad campaign promoting the Champions League which shows images of Bayern Munich, Manchester United and other clubs set to a mournful guitar tune.

The voiceover couldn't drive the point home any clearer if it used a sledgehammer.

"Don't be sad, guys. It's OK. One day you will be able to tell your grandchildren that you lost to a Spanish team in the Champions League..."

The implication is that La Liga is a notch above everybody else and that, inevitably, Spain will once again triumph in Europe.

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Sure, it's arrogant and jingoistic, but then, in the words of Kid Rock: "It ain't bragging if you say it and you back it up."

And, over the last five seasons, Spain has provided five of the 10 Champions League finalists, as well as three of the winners. Of the other five finalists, three have been German (Bayern twice, Bayer Leverkusen once), one English (Manchester United) and one Italian (Juventus).

So if La Liga is gloating right now, it¹s fair to say that it has earned its bragging rights.

However, this is not a good time for them to rest on their laurels, as the first group stage of the Champions League showed.

La Liga qualified all four of its teams to the second phase, as did Italy's Serie A (after three years of embarassing futility). The English Premiership managed three out of four, losing Liverpool along the way, while two out of three Bundesliga teams made the cut (the one who didn't -- Bayern -- was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the season so far).

With thirteen of the sixteen sides coming from Europe's Big Four leagues, it would appear that the gap between haves and have nots on the European stage is widening.

The second group stage should also help provide fodder for that neverending debate: which is the strongest league in Europe?

In reality, Champions League results alone can not satisfactorily answer that question, for the simple reason that they don¹t address the top-to-bottom strength of the domestic leagues, but rather simply the performances of the top sides when pitted against each other.

However, it is pretty much the only statistical information available and, on that evidence, the last few years have resoundingly belonged to La Liga.

Serie A supporters point to the fact that Italian clubs have more star power and that the Italian league is a tougher competition. The fact that so many players who have played in both leagues have been stars in Spain and anonymous in Italy ( Darko Kovacevic, Marcos Assuncao, Dario Silva, Fabian Ayala, Claudio Lopez, Gaizka Mendieta, the list goes on and on) does lend weight to this argument.

Ultimately, however, the point of soccer is to win matches. And it¹s an undeniable fact that, in head-to-head situations, Spanish teams have outperformed everybody else in recent years.

But the tide may be turning.

For the first time since UEFA adopted the two group stage format, Serie A has gotten all its clubs into the second phase, with three of them qualifying as group winners and the fourth (Roma) coming within 10 seconds of doing so.

After being a non-factor for so long, Serie A is now very much part of the mix to establish European supremacy.

Having won the Scudetto last season, Juventus is now entirely focused on the Champions League. The bianconeri don't dazzle opponents, they pick them apart with clinical efficiency and will only get stronger when top scorer David Trezeguet returns from injury.

Inter has bounced back from the trauma of losing Ronaldo, replacing him with Hernan Crespo , joint top-scorer of the opening phase with 8 goals. Hector Cuper's unit in some ways remains an enigma: it's packed with talent but it always seems to struggle before getting the best of its opponents. However, Cuper's track record shows he knows how to take teams far in the Champions League and if this team ever clicks like it should, it can beat anyone.

Milan has taken a different route entirely, opting for a front-loaded, attack-minded lineup featuring the skills of Rivaldo, Manuel Rui Costa, Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf, coupled with the scoring of Andriy Shevchenko and Pippo Inzaghi (the other phase one top scorer). It's a big break from the defensive tactics of recent season and a welcome one as well.

Finally, there's Roma, which is struggling domestically and managed just three goals in the Champions League, but still beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Francesco Totti has carried this team so far and, if things continue going awry in Serie A, it's possible that Roma will focus entirely on the Champions League, which may well give it the boost it needs to progress to the quarterfinals.

Will this be the year that Serie A finally challenges La Liga's supremacy?

Or will the men from Spanish television be proved correct, La Liga is simply out of this world?

Or will the Bundesliga and Premiership representatives, most of whom have plenty of Champions League experience turn the tide in their league¹s favor?

Or maybe, just maybe, can Ajax, Lokomotiv Moscow or even FC Basel strike a blow for the little guys of Europe?

Stay tuned. The battle lines have been drawn.

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK

GOOD: Real Mallorca, who won its sixth straight game, a 3-1 pasting of Alaves to soar into a tie for second place in La Liga. The plucky islanders appeared headed for mediocrity over the summer, but, once again, they¹re proving everybody wrong.

BAD: The Football Association of Ireland. First, coach Mick McCarthy resigns out of the blue, then first-choice canddate John Toshack snubs them to take over at Serie B Catania and then their general secretary Brendan Menton, resigns. Meanwhile, there is no indication that skipper Roy Keane is ever going to return to the team. Not the best way to build on their success at the World Cup.

GOOD: Christian Gross. Humiliated and crucified (unfairly, given that he actually earned more points per game than his successor, George Graham ) by the English media for his stint at Tottenham Hotspur, he got his revenge by knocking none other than Liverpool out of the Champions League. Revenge is sweet for the FC Basel boss.

BAD: Lazio, whose very survival looks bleaker by the day. It wasn't that long ago that the biancocelesti, boasting a dream midfield of Juan Sebastian Veron, Sergio Conceicao, Matias Almeyda and Pavel Nedved (not to mention Alessandro Nesta leading the defense and Sven Goran Eriksson pulling the strings) were winning the Scudetto and Cup Winners' Cup. Now, saddled with heavy debts, they are up for sale and close to bankruptcy. It's a case study in overspending, though some may argue that winning the title made it all worthwhile...

Gabriele Marcotti covers international soccer for CNNSI.com.

 

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