Lets face it, the decline of Italian football has been imminent, and it’s just starting to materialize itself in ways like Germany catching up to Italy in the UEFA co-efficient, and Portugal overtaking Italy’s fourth spot in the FIFA ranking. And while some might be crying about this, I  see it in a more positive way; this can be the springboard, the wake-up call, the trigger, for Italian football to pull itself back up to where it used to be.

After winning the World Cup in 2006, Italy seemed truly unbeatable, with a fantastic defence, and emerging Luca Toni, and much more, Italy were riding high on their win in Berlin, enjoying the first spot in the FIFA rankings. But now, just about 4 years later, it’s strange to see the former World Cup winner wallowing at 5th place. And Italy is by no means in the race for first, the difference between 5th and 1st is 419 points, while the difference between 5th and 10th is just 132 points. It’s astonishing to see this happening to what was once a great side, but this fall of results and statistics isn’t limited to the national team.

Italy’s Serie A has suffered hard times with the Calciopoli scandal, and Italian club football seems to really be suffering the consequences now, whether it be Italian teams failing to advance in the Champions League, or glamour players leaving Serie A for La Liga and the EPL. Just to put things in perspective for you, the Serie A is currently third in the co-efficient, about 14.5 points behind Spain’s La Liga, and La Liga is about 2 points away from the English Premier League. Right behind Italy is the German Bundesliga, less than 1 point away from overtaking the Serie A for the fourth Champions League spot. If the Bundesliga were to take over the Serie A, it would take some great performances in the Champions League to turn that around, and right now only Inter Milan seems capable of delivering. Yet things aren’t all doom and gloom, because from the very bottom of the pit, you can only look up…

This could help Italy move on from it’s past scandals, and rebuild towards better stadiums and facilities, lowering price tickets to raise attendances, and bring in foreign investment to economically stimulate the Serie A. If Italian football were to think of the future by building better academies like Barcelona’s and Arsenal’s, we would bring through better players, not only raising the league’s status, but the quality of the national team. And hopefully, in maybe 5, maybe 10 years, Italy can shine again as the great footballing nation it was not so long ago.

For me it’s time to bring in foreign investment if Italy wants to move forward, what do you think? Comment below!