Thursday, March 01, 2007

Luca: Time For Football To Come Home

Gianluca Vialli has backed England's 2018 World Cup bid in a recent interview with Bloomberg News. With a resume as distinguished as his, including coaching stints at Chelsea and Watford, it's always interesting to hear what the ex-Italian international has to say. He touches on a variety of topics, centering on the state of the game in both Italy and England.

There's one answer to the question of money in the EPL that I think should be taken into account when we moan about the discrepancy between England's haves and the have-nots. This is Vialli's response to how money, specifically Chelsea's, affects the game:
Money allows you to go out and get the best players. (Roman) Abramovich also made a great choice convincing (Jose) Mourinho to come in as it is down to the manager to decide what players to buy, to train them and get results. Not all clubs start from the same playing field, as with more money it is easier to buy players and win games, but of course football is a business. I think, though, the smaller clubs in England have more chance of competing with the best than in Italy.
With the collective TV contract that we see in England, Vialli is right, the smaller clubs are better positioned to fight it out with the "giants" in the EPL than they are in Serie A. Until the Italians stop allowing each club to negotiate their own TV contracts, the gulf between rich clubs and poor clubs will continue to be the same.

Vialli Says Italian Soccer 'Is in Limbo' Amid Off-Field Woes [Bloomberg]

-ac

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