by From Despair To Where? »
03 Oct 2021 13:30
I was looking this up just this morning in reference to another thread. Serie A generally averaged about 2 - 2.1 goals a game when it was 2 points for a win. We hit the 90s and suddenly this immediately jumped up to over 2.5 game, partly I think fueled by the influx of world class attacking players from abroad but also by going to 3pts for a win. I get the impression Italian football was awash with money after Italia 90. This also coincided with English clubs still being banned from Europe. I suppose the Taylor Report also meant English clubs were diverting spending away from players. Dont think the Bundesliga was that strong at the time either.
A throwback to the Inter team of the 60s that dominated Europe by sneaking a goal then sticking 10 men behind the ball and kicking lumps out of the opposition. Thus was born the Catenaccio system that dominated Italian football for the next 3 decades.
Gazetta was a great programme though. Don't think James Richardson really knew the first thing about football but it didn't matter, he understood the culture. He was an excellent presenter.