Thirty eight scudettos and ten European cups probably make Milan the most successful city in Europe. Though times have changed and for the first time in decades the scudetto is likely to have a different look with neither team from Milan being considered as a serious threat to the Old lady from Turin. These are testing times for both the Nerazzuris and the Rossoneris, we decipher the reasons for the downfall of the two great clubs and more importantly look at answering the bigger question – “Is this a transition or the end of a dynasty”?
The blue half of the San Siro
What’s striking is that both the rivals seem to be facing common issues and the most important of them happens to be an ageing squad. Inter still seem to be recovering from the hangover of success they achieved under Jose. In two years since Jose’s departure the club has seen 4 managers being sacked but what’s more bemusing are some of the choices made. Benitez and Ranieri are competent managers but they aren’t the winners that you look for after the most successful year in the club’s history and that makes Moratti the second issue for the club. This isn’t the first instance when Moratti has erred in decision making with no less than 18 managers being fired in his 17 years at the helm. He famously sacked Luigi Simoni in 1997 much to the shock of everyone considering Simoni had just won manager of the year award in Italy the year before. Andrea Stramaccioni has a tough job on his hands and with likes of Maicon and Cesar departing he may have his chance to induce fresh blood but what’s equally challenging is having an erratic boss at the helm.
The red side of the San Siro
Milan is considered by many as the bigger club of the two and most of it could be attributed to the illustrious past and the seven European cups. The club has seen some legends of the game with the likes Van Basten, Baressi and Malidini donning the red and black shirt. Times have changed and given their financial crunch the club was forced into selling two of its most priced assets (Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva) to PSG. The sale of these stars may have helped them financially but adequate replacements are tough to come at a reasonable price today. In addition there were also notable departures of long serving players with likes of Nesta, Gattuso and Seedorf leaving the club. Signs of an ageing squad have been evident for the last few years with the club being unable to make any substantial push for European glory and there hasn’t been any investment in youth either to help things. The club today faces its biggest challenge in terms of managing the transition phase and its finances while being competitive at the same time.
Juventus looks likely to runaway with another scudetto and add to its dazzling total of 38 scudettos. The Serie A in itself isn’t the most attractive league in the world today and what it certainly doesn’t want is the demise of two great sides and losing probably its biggest blockbuster in Derby della Madonnina.
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