The success at the World Cup in Germany, however, could hardly affect the decline in spectator interest in football in Italy. But facts are a stubborn thing. Only three and a half months have passed since the day when “the thunder of victory was heard”, and half a million tiffosy flooded the streets of Rome in order to stormily greet Marcello Lippi's squad.
Meanwhile, over the past time, the average attendance in the major Italian league after seven rounds was only 19,511 people. Which is the lowest in Serie A over the past 36 years, it is almost half the average attendance in the English Premier League (34084) and only slightly exceeds that in the championship, second English echelon (17368). Even more Italian football officials are worried about a decrease in stadium occupancy by 8.7% compared with the same period last year. The figures are, frankly, shocking. It is incomprehensible to the mind that what is happening in a country where football has always been an invariable attribute of national identity, and where a ticket to the Milan derby - an event of European scale coming this Saturday - can be bought for ridiculous 14 euros.
The general opinion boils down to the fact that the drop in spectator interest is primarily due to summer events, namely the scandal with contractual matches, which to a large extent undermined the accumulated trust of fans for years, who spared neither finances nor emotions for the sake of their favorite clubs. But that would be too simple an explanation. In fact, attendance in Serie A has been falling since the 97/98 season, when an average of 31,161 people went to football. "Calciopolis" only added fuel to the fire of an already burning trend. Despite the panic of some analysts, it’s also not worth shifting all the blame to the abundance of television broadcasts that is characteristic of all the largest football leagues in Europe. Among the Big Four championships (England, Germany, Spain and France), a decrease in attendance compared to the same period of the last season was recorded only in the Bundesliga and Tricolor League 1. And only by 1%. At the same time, a slight increase in the number of spectators, for example, in the English Premier League, is most likely due to an increase in the capacity of Arsenal and Manchester United home arenas.
Former Italian national team coach Arrigo Sacchi, in his column at Gadgetta Dello Sport, believes that the observed outflow of Michelangelo’s descendants from football arenas cannot be explained by one single reason. Fans have to deal with stadiums, which, according to Sakka, are morally obsolete and not spoiled with cordiality, but from the point of view of architecture, they were built in the image of the Coliseum. In addition, the number of hooligan, including racist, Ultras fan groups, which make the lives of ordinary fans unbearable and “which would have no place in any civilized country in Europe,” is increasing, annoyed Sakki. The clubs themselves pushed fans away from themselves not only by participating in contractual matches (the Calcopoli scandal in Italy was not the first - for similar offenses, Genoa was already expelled to the lower division in 2004), but also by falsification of legionnaires passports and incessant financial fraud that led to a number of clubs go bankrupt. What did not stop them from later resurrecting is already under a different, slightly changed name.
There are other reasons inherent in the current state of affairs. For example, the absence of Juventus in the elite. “Old Signora”, despite the relatively low attendance at home games, gave the league special appeal and gathered a significant audience during away matches. Her presence is still felt in series B, where now “pots are burning” and such eminent clubs as the 9-time champion of Italy “Genoa” and “Napoli”, and attendance after eight rounds has doubled compared to last season. , alas, can’t be said about Serie A. But the current season in the once-strongest league in the world is one of the most interesting in recent years. His magnificent game at the start of the championship and in European competitions has already managed to cause genuine delight, confidently stepping into Palermo’s company of grandees, and hardly anyone will dare to give a firm answer to the question “who will win the Scudetto”. The era “after Moji” has come, when there are no winners or losers in advance. To unite efforts to return fans to the stands, you can’t imagine a better moment. But, regrettably, the hope that has arisen during the World Cup, but is gradually dying away, seems to be turning into another missed opportunity.
Translation by Andrey KARNAUKHOV