Italy's Triple Crown

  American horse racing is not the only sport to have a Triple Crown.  There are several in international soccer too, and one of them is the focus of a great deal of attention this year: national title, national cup, and European soccer club title.  For this year, Internazionale FC has won them all.  In just over two weeks, Inter edged out Roma to claim both the Italy Cup and the Italian title; and then strolled over Bayern Munich for the Champions League.  Winning the Triple Crown is no small feat, and only a handful of clubs have managed to do so.  Last year, Barcelona made the clean sweep, the first in almost two decades.  Spain has recently dominated in the European club cups: Barcelona claimed two Champions League trophies in four years as well as a Triple Crown; and Spanish teams took home three UEFA cups out of the most recent six.  Indeed, Spain also won the 2008 European cup with relative ease.  This speaks volumes about Spain's international standings, as her position has risen dramatically.  What does the Triple Crown say about the position of the Italian championship and national team on both European and world levels?

  Even before the 2006 World Cup began, many had said that Italian soccer was in decline.  They pointed to numerous scandals: Calciopoli, alleged referee payoffs, administrative doping, and false passports, just to name a few.  In 2006 Juventus- an illustrious club that has won the most national titles, a top contender for the Champions League for several decades running, and home to some of the best players in the world- became the symbol for everything shady in Italian soccer.  After Juve won its 29th title, it was immediately taken away, and Juve was relegated to Serie B for allegedly paying off referees.  Many thought that the Italian national team would buckle under the weight of this scandal and exit the World Cup early.  Many even poo-poohed Luca Toni's 2006 Golden Shoe.  He was the first Italian to win, and with a mere 26 goals at that.  Afterward, Italy's World Cup triumph was still viewed with skepticism.  Italian soccer would surely collapse after the momentum of the victory died.  

  

  While it did show signs of strain, Italian soccer continued to make headlines.  Francesco Totti won the Golden Shoe the following year.  There were reams and reams of polemic written about Roberto Donadoni, the coach who stepped into Lippi's shoes for the 2008 European cup.  Half the country didn't think Italy would even qualify, the other half was infuriated when Spain knocked out Italy in the quarter-finals (a 0-0 draw that ended in penalties; the only team Spain did not score against or defeat in the tournament).  Italian teams have had spotty performances in both European club tournaments, as only Inter managed to reach two semi-finals and one final.  Inter has also claimed its fifth straight Scudetto (including Juve's 29th after it was stripped away from La Vecchia Signora).  It has been four years of bright light and deep shadow for Italian soccer fans.

  If European and national club play are markers for measuring performance, then I would say that Italy is in a solid position for claiming the World Cup title again.  Inter, this year's Triple Crown winner, is an unusual team.  It gets a lot of heat by sports pundits and national press because of its apparent lack of Italian players.  They argue that Inter is not an "Italian team."  They insist that Inter is a "foreign team," as many of its big-named players are South American.  In fact, winning the Triple Crown is a sure sign that foreign players dominate the Italian league and the international scene.  

   I believe that it is the league in which a team plays that influences a player's personality the most.  I would like to point out that it is thanks to Italian league play, on the eve of the 2010 World Cup, that this "foreign team" won the Triple Crown.  While Inter has no Italian players on the World Cup squad, Italy's national side represents at least 15 teams, all of whom have played against Inter and have considerable experience against these "foreigners."  Many of Inter's world-class players will play in the World Cup too.  I think this is a testament to the rigors and challenges of Serie A.  Where would Diego Milito be this summer without his prolific goal-scoring runs in both Serie A and B?  Three years ago, before becoming top scorer in Serie B with Genoa, he was nobody.  He was an unknown player traded for a low price to a middling-sized team.  Now he is one of Argentina's brightest stars and a strong contender for Fifa World Player and Balon d' Or.  A good many other players have made their national squads thanks to their performances in Serie A and B.  In my opinion, Italian soccer has quietly and discreetly developed over these past four years in ways that promise to give World Cup pretenders a run for their money.

  I think that Italy will do very well at the World Cup this year, and much of this will be thanks to Inter's collection of top world players.  The Italians have trained all year against top internationals in Serie A, Champions League and Europa League.  They have just as much experience with the competition, if not more.  If Inter is the Italian team most in form, then let us rejoice that the "Italian" players in best form play for a dozen different teams, some of which are not even participating in the World Cup; and some players were left scandalously at home (Xavier Zanetti and Estaban Cambiasso).