Two decades ago, Serie A was home to many of the world’s greatest players and the Premier League the grateful recipient of its cast-offs.
While Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, George Weah, Javier Zanetti, Gabriel Batistuta, Roberto Baggio and Zvonimir Boban were all plying their trade on the peninsula, the likes of Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Paolo Di Canio moved to England either in the twilight of their careers or after being discarded by clubs in Italy.
Serie A was the place to be and the Premier League just could not match its more glamorous European rival.
In the 20 years or so since, Italy and England’s top flights have swapped positions. The best stars today tend to congregate at Real Madrid and Barcelona but, otherwise, the Premier League has a pull that Serie A – and most other competitions across the continent – cannot match.
The attraction of the English league has been in evidence again this summer, with Andre Ayew, Yohan Cabaye, Dimitri Payet and Georginio Wijnaldum among those who turned down the chance to play European football elsewhere to move to mid-table Premier League sides.
The Italian top tier, conversely, has often had to resort to picking up “rejects” from other divisions in recent years.
The term is harsh and does not leave room for nuance, but it is true that players such as Ashley Cole, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra only moved from England to Italy when it was clear that their time was up in the Premier League.
The situation was not necessarily a bad one for Serie A. Paul Pogba, who is one of the most promising and coveted young players in world football, was picked up by Juventus after being frustrated with how little game time he was getting at Manchester United, while Carlos Tevez, Nigel de Jong and Gervinho all proved their value in Italy after being let go by English outfits.
There have been signs in the past few months, moreover, that things are gradually improving on the peninsula.
While such declarations may have been premature, events since have suggested that the strength in depth, which saw seven different sides win the title in 13 campaigns between 1989 and 2001, may be about to return to Serie A.
AC Milan and Inter Milan have both encountered difficulties during the past few years, but the pair's transfer activity this close-season has hinted at a possible return to the elite.
Carlos Bacca (Milan), Luiz Adriano (Milan), Joao Miranda (Inter) and Geoffrey Kondogbia (Inter) are not footballers from the top drawer, but all four rebuffed suitors from elsewhere to move to Italy’s second city.
Persuading more players to choose Serie A over other destinations is important if the competition is to reclaim its place alongside the Bundesliga, Premier League and Primera Liga.
More generally, Serie A is crying out for a prolonged title race this term. Juventus, who have won the past four championships, strolled to the scudetto in 2014/15 and Milan, Inter and Rudi Garcia's Roma will all be expecting to push them harder this time around.
The dominance of Bayern Munich in Germany and Paris Saint-Germain in France has harmed the public perception of both leagues, and Italy must avoid being seen as another division lacking in competitiveness at the top end.
Aside from those who follow Juventus, Italian fans will want to see a different name on the title at the end of the upcoming campaign.
Were that to happen – or were Juventus forced to fend off a sustained challenge – Serie A could take another small step to recapturing some of the magic associated with it in the 1990s.
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