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CL Debate: Burden Falls On Fiorentina As Serie A Remains In Danger Of Losing Champions League Place To Germany
The effects of la Viola’s result against the Bavarian giants could be felt across the Peninsula should they fall.
Mar 8, 2010 6:00:00 AM
By Anthony Wright
As is well documented in the world media, Italian sides have continued to falter in the knockout stages of the Champions League in recent years. Roma’s Max Tonetto missed the vital spot kick in their penalty shootout against Arsenal in the last 16 last year, while Juventus and Inter also fell at the same hurdle against English opposition. Only AC Milan have recently given Serie A a degree of respectability as Carlo Ancelotti led them to two Champions League victories (2003 and 2007) and also guided them to another final (2005) and a semi-final (2006).
The lack of longevity in European competition has been mirrored in the UEFA Cup. Only Udinese made it beyond the Round of 32 last year, while Fiorentina were Serie A’s sole representatives in the latter stages in 2007/08 as Palermo and Empoli failed to make it past the first round. The last Italian side to win Europe’s secondary club competition was Parma in 1999, and none of Serie A’s representatives have reached the final since. The omens do not bode well for this year either as Roma, Lazio and Genoa have already bowed out of the competition, leaving Juventus to stand alone in the Round of 16.
Combine both factors and the problem becomes clear. As Serie A stumbles, the Bundesliga has been thriving in the last five years – the period of time in which UEFA’s co-efficients are based. Wolfsburg, Hamburg and Werder Bremen remain in the Europa League, and all will pose a threat as the competition nears its climax. The latter duo played out a memorable semi-final in last year’s UEFA Cup before Werder were beaten in extra time by Shakhtar Donetsk, and the Weserstadion side also made it to the last four in 2007. Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich have also reached the semi-finals – in 2006 and 2008 respectively – and this has been the groundwork on which the Bundesliga has built its claim for a fourth Champions League spot.
FCB have not been left to plough it alone in Europe’s premier club competition, as Werder Bremen (last 16 in 2006) and Schalke (quarter-finals in 2008) have also reached the knockout stage in the past five years. Barcelona have recently proved to be an insurmountable hurdle as they knocked out die Konigsblauen two years ago, while Bayern Munich suffered the same fate last year.
In an extravagant game of grandmother’s footsteps, the Bundesliga has steadily encroached Serie A in the co-efficient rankings and is now ready to pounce. Since Milan’s Champions League-winning season of 2006/07, German sides have outperformed their Italian counterparts according to the all-important UEFA co-efficients.
This season, German clubs have attained a co-efficient of 14.083 after their achievements thus far in the Champions League and Europa League, with only Spain’s La Liga ahead of them in this season’s co-efficients, compared to Italy’s 13.000. Crucially, Germany have only lost Hertha Berlin from their European representatives, while only four of Italy’s seven sides are still standing. As such, the Bundesliga is set to overtake Serie A in third place in the UEFA Country Rankings, with their respective co-efficients standing at 60.207 and 61.910.
The perennial threat of Bundesliga sides remains in the Europa League, where Hamburg face Anderlecht, Wolfsburg take on Rubin Kazan and Werder Bremen tussle with Valencia for a place in the quarter-finals. In the Champions League, Stuttgart must travel to Barcelona after securing a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but the crucial tie is between Bayern Munich and Fiorentina.
Louis van Gaal’s team hold a 2-1 advantage over the Gigliati courtesy of Miroslav Klose’s offside goal at the end of the first leg. Should they also win the second leg, Germany’s seasonal co-efficient would rise to 14.583, while a draw would take it to 14.417. The latter scenario would take Germany’s overall co-efficient to 60.541, rising to 60.707 in the case of a Bayern victory.
Given the delicate situations facing both Inter and Milan, this could be disastrous for Serie A. The Italian champions hold a 2-1 lead against Chelsea going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge, while the Rossoneri lost 3-2 against Manchester United in San Siro. If Fiorentina – statistically Serie A’s best performing side in Europe this season – can eliminate FC Hollywood, it would certainly boost Italy’s chances of holding onto the coveted fourth Champions League spot.
A 1-0 victory would suffice for la Viola, thereby increasing the Italians’ co-efficient to 13.429. Should the Nerazzurri attain a draw at Stamford Bridge and qualify for the quarter-finals, the co-efficient rises to 13.714. At a swoop, the Serie A co-efficient moves to 62.624, a little over two points more than the Bundesliga.
The Europa League should not be discounted. Germany has had representation at the semi-final stage in the last four tournaments, and another run to the last four for one of the German trio would increase the Bundesliga’s co-efficient to 15.417. This figure is calculated on a win in the home leg and a draw in the away leg. Combined with a win for Bayern against Fiorentina, it rises to 15.917, while a draw takes it to 15.750. The former case takes Germany’s co-efficient to 62.041, superseding Italy in the race for the fourth Champions League place.
For the moment, these are hypotheses and ‘what if’ scenarios. Juventus could also lend Serie A a helping hand by continuing their run towards the Europa League final after eliminating Ajax. The crux of the issue remains the Champions League tie between Fiorentina and Bayern Munich, however. Serie A is threatened with losing the golden pot of a fourth Champions League place to the Bundesliga, and the match at the Artemio Franchi could have a large part to play in deciding its destiny. Italy holds its breath.
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The lack of longevity in European competition has been mirrored in the UEFA Cup. Only Udinese made it beyond the Round of 32 last year, while Fiorentina were Serie A’s sole representatives in the latter stages in 2007/08 as Palermo and Empoli failed to make it past the first round. The last Italian side to win Europe’s secondary club competition was Parma in 1999, and none of Serie A’s representatives have reached the final since. The omens do not bode well for this year either as Roma, Lazio and Genoa have already bowed out of the competition, leaving Juventus to stand alone in the Round of 16.
Combine both factors and the problem becomes clear. As Serie A stumbles, the Bundesliga has been thriving in the last five years – the period of time in which UEFA’s co-efficients are based. Wolfsburg, Hamburg and Werder Bremen remain in the Europa League, and all will pose a threat as the competition nears its climax. The latter duo played out a memorable semi-final in last year’s UEFA Cup before Werder were beaten in extra time by Shakhtar Donetsk, and the Weserstadion side also made it to the last four in 2007. Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich have also reached the semi-finals – in 2006 and 2008 respectively – and this has been the groundwork on which the Bundesliga has built its claim for a fourth Champions League spot.
Werder were beaten in last year's UEFA Cup final
FCB have not been left to plough it alone in Europe’s premier club competition, as Werder Bremen (last 16 in 2006) and Schalke (quarter-finals in 2008) have also reached the knockout stage in the past five years. Barcelona have recently proved to be an insurmountable hurdle as they knocked out die Konigsblauen two years ago, while Bayern Munich suffered the same fate last year.
In an extravagant game of grandmother’s footsteps, the Bundesliga has steadily encroached Serie A in the co-efficient rankings and is now ready to pounce. Since Milan’s Champions League-winning season of 2006/07, German sides have outperformed their Italian counterparts according to the all-important UEFA co-efficients.
This season, German clubs have attained a co-efficient of 14.083 after their achievements thus far in the Champions League and Europa League, with only Spain’s La Liga ahead of them in this season’s co-efficients, compared to Italy’s 13.000. Crucially, Germany have only lost Hertha Berlin from their European representatives, while only four of Italy’s seven sides are still standing. As such, the Bundesliga is set to overtake Serie A in third place in the UEFA Country Rankings, with their respective co-efficients standing at 60.207 and 61.910.
The perennial threat of Bundesliga sides remains in the Europa League, where Hamburg face Anderlecht, Wolfsburg take on Rubin Kazan and Werder Bremen tussle with Valencia for a place in the quarter-finals. In the Champions League, Stuttgart must travel to Barcelona after securing a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but the crucial tie is between Bayern Munich and Fiorentina.
Louis van Gaal’s team hold a 2-1 advantage over the Gigliati courtesy of Miroslav Klose’s offside goal at the end of the first leg. Should they also win the second leg, Germany’s seasonal co-efficient would rise to 14.583, while a draw would take it to 14.417. The latter scenario would take Germany’s overall co-efficient to 60.541, rising to 60.707 in the case of a Bayern victory.
Klose puts Bayern in the driving seat
Given the delicate situations facing both Inter and Milan, this could be disastrous for Serie A. The Italian champions hold a 2-1 lead against Chelsea going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge, while the Rossoneri lost 3-2 against Manchester United in San Siro. If Fiorentina – statistically Serie A’s best performing side in Europe this season – can eliminate FC Hollywood, it would certainly boost Italy’s chances of holding onto the coveted fourth Champions League spot.
A 1-0 victory would suffice for la Viola, thereby increasing the Italians’ co-efficient to 13.429. Should the Nerazzurri attain a draw at Stamford Bridge and qualify for the quarter-finals, the co-efficient rises to 13.714. At a swoop, the Serie A co-efficient moves to 62.624, a little over two points more than the Bundesliga.
The Europa League should not be discounted. Germany has had representation at the semi-final stage in the last four tournaments, and another run to the last four for one of the German trio would increase the Bundesliga’s co-efficient to 15.417. This figure is calculated on a win in the home leg and a draw in the away leg. Combined with a win for Bayern against Fiorentina, it rises to 15.917, while a draw takes it to 15.750. The former case takes Germany’s co-efficient to 62.041, superseding Italy in the race for the fourth Champions League place.
For the moment, these are hypotheses and ‘what if’ scenarios. Juventus could also lend Serie A a helping hand by continuing their run towards the Europa League final after eliminating Ajax. The crux of the issue remains the Champions League tie between Fiorentina and Bayern Munich, however. Serie A is threatened with losing the golden pot of a fourth Champions League place to the Bundesliga, and the match at the Artemio Franchi could have a large part to play in deciding its destiny. Italy holds its breath.
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