This time last month, calcio was in chaos. The Player Association (AIC) and the Lega Serie A refused to sign a new contract over a collective bargaining dispute, and as a result the opening week of the new season had to be postponed. By the time the teams took to the pitch, it was September.
This meant that AC Milan’s second game of the season (excluding the Italian Super Cup, played in early August) was against Barcelona in the Champions League. It was clear that the players lacked the match practice they would need to face the best team in Europe. This raises a question: should the Italian football season start earlier?
In a strike situation, it would certainly help. The Lega Serie A and the AIC were pressured to come to an agreement because one round of fixtures had already been postponed, and the fans were getting restless. Had the first week been missed at the beginning of August, the conflict would have been resolved more quickly, and by September the season would be well underway.
But there are other problems related to such a late start to the campaign. Footballers plying their trade in the peninsula suffer from the lack of competitive action, and Italian teams often fare badly in European games in August and September. In the end, Milan fared quite well against Barcelona, drawing 2-2. But the same cannot be said for Roma, who were knocked out of the Europa League qualifying stage in August, at the hands of Slovan Bratislava, or Palermo, who lost to FC Thun (who were then thumped 5-1 on aggregate by Stoke in the next round).
It is telling that the Slovak and Swiss top flights started on the 15th and 16th of July respectively, while Palermo and Roma had not played a league game yet. The effects are not restricted to domestic games. Some of the Italian national team’s worst results have come in late August/early September, when the squad is rusty.
The Azzurri edged past the minnows of the Faroe Islands by one goal to nil on the 2nd of September this year, and drew 1-1 with Lithuania on the same date five years ago. And the only defeat in Marcello Lippi’s famously successful first stint as Italy manager came against Iceland in mid-August 2004, and with Buffon, Nesta, Zambrotta and Gattuso all playing, the 2-0 reverse could hardly be put down to inexperience.
Naturally, it would be unrealistic to start Serie A as early as the Slovakian, Swiss, Lithuanian and Icelandic leagues, as players from these smaller leagues tend to miss out on the major international tournaments and so can start their domestic responsibilities earlier. But even in comparison with most of the other big European leagues, the Italian top flight starts very late on.
So why does the season begin when it does? It is all to do with the high Mediterranean temperatures. While the Premier League can begin in early August as the British climate is cooler, the belief is that Serie A matches played in such hot conditions would be uncomfortable for players and fans alike.
A simple solution: most of the matches in the early rounds of the league could be played in the evening. Evening matches are the norm in Spain, in winter as well as summer. It should not be a big ask to schedule the majority of matches from early August to early September at, say, 7:45 pm.
In England, Fabio Capello complains of player fatigue as a cause of the national side’s poor displays in tournaments. Serie A ends at more or less the same time as the Premier League as it is. An earlier start would mean an earlier finish, so there would be absolutely no problem of tiredness at the World Cup or Euros. And when Serie A’s winter break is considered, the players shouldn’t suffer from mid-season fatigue.
If the right conditions are in place, an early-August start to Serie A would benefit everyone.
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