[Bluesummers]

Berlusconi: English European Dominance Like A Dictatorship
Milan President Silvio Berlusconi has described the Premiership dominance in the Champions League as like a dictatorship, and believes it will continue for a long time.


Much has been said about the English supremacy in the Champions League this year, with four squads reaching the quarter finals, three making into the semis, and Manchester United and Chelsea contesting the final in Moscow. 

The view around the continent is that the reason for this dominance is because the rest of Europe simply cannot contest with the Premiership financially, with English clubs being able to offer significantly higher transfer fees and better wages. 

Berlusconi agrees with this point of view. 

"The English are dominating in Europe because they have the stadiums that allow more revenue, as well as the economics that work well. That is why I believe that the cycle will last a long time," he explained. 

"For us it was a miracle last year to be able to rebel against this English dictatorship, as in the semi-finals we were the only club that were not English.” 

Milan lifted the Champions League last season after defeating Man Utd in the semi final 5-3 on aggregate, before overcoming Liverpool 2-1 in the showpiece in Athens.

silvio please with all due respect, dont worry about what other clubs do. As long as you invest and refreshen the team we will make sure the dictatorship gets shattered into pieces.

(Don't edit it back this time if you don't want to get in trouble.) Max

This post has been edited by pKillerMax: May 2 2008, 09:26 PM

[Zed.D]

Well said Bluesummers!

[Bluesummers]

thanks zd (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

This post has been edited by Bluesummers: May 2 2008, 07:38 PM

[m1ke]

^^ That still doesn't change the fact that what he says is true - and the gap (in financial terms) will only continue to widen.

I think we sometimes forget how lucky we are to have Silvio at the top. Looking at the recent report from Forbes, even Spurs, a mid-table Prem team have a higher operating income than Milan at the moment

It's not going to guarantee them success, but it's going to make it a lot easier to obtain.

[Bluesummers]

^^ That still doesn't change the fact that what he says is true - and the gap (in financial terms) will only continue to widen.

I think we sometimes forget how lucky we are to have Silvio at the top. Looking at the recent report from Forbes, even Spurs, a mid-table Prem team have a higher operating income than Milan at the moment

It's not going to guarantee them success, but it's going to make it a lot easier to obtain.

(IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Zed.D]

Maybe Italian teams should do what EPL teams are doing, and sell their souls? seems like patriotism doesn't get you anywhere these days...

[Jack Sparrow]

Well guys....ask yourself this question...do you think Roman Abramovich intends to keep funding his team even after 20 years? It's one thing to buy an impoverished team, put some funds in, get it operational and then reap the benefits. That's business. That's Roman's intention when he bought Chelsea. Because I refuse to believe a Russian oligarch wishes to advance the cause of English football. Ditto with the Glazers.


But Silvio here, is forced to pay even now for our transfers. And the reason is we're still not able to have much operating income. Well...when your stadium income is at 40%...that's not saying much. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

The fact is EPL has got a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE stake in Asia. Like you won't believe. The Anglo-culture prevalent in Asia has worked wonders there. As opposed to the Spanish and the Italian leagues. Even the Spanish league is telecast to some extent, but the timings are really erratic. Plus, there are a lot of Spanish players in the EPL.

As opposed to the Serie A which is a more closed league as regards nationals.

Serie A simply cannot compete with the reach of EPL at the moment and this is irrespective of the perceived quality of football, regardless of where you stand on this. Maybe not even for the next 10 years. Unless you were to see a complete implosion from the English sides.

[Rossoneri7]

^^ That still doesn't change the fact that what he says is true - and the gap (in financial terms) will only continue to widen.

I think we sometimes forget how lucky we are to have Silvio at the top. Looking at the recent report from Forbes, even Spurs, a mid-table Prem team have a higher operating income than Milan at the moment

It's not going to guarantee them success, but it's going to make it a lot easier to obtain.

So true ... The EPL is a money machine in comparison to other leagues. Forget about the TV contracts, shirt sales, and tickets income. Barklays bank alone pays teams in the EPL according to their position in the table. I mean the teams that stay up in the EPL earn more than their counterparts in other top leagues.

It's just a richer league. As for Milan, the fans should be grateful for this man .. If it's not for him, we wouldn't have even met (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/96.gif)

[kurtsimonw]

Maybe Italian teams should do what EPL teams are doing, and sell their souls? seems like patriotism doesn't get you anywhere these days...

What the EPL has done isn't just something that can be done. The fans over herere (For most teams) are paying ridiculous prices, and they still sell out stadiums. Italy, even with much cheaper prices, are struggling to sell tickets - you can't just 'create' football fans, they have to want the football first.

[m1ke]

^^ I'm not sure I'd agree with the idea that an English fan 'wants' football more than their foreign counterparts (if that was your point). They're certainly more inclined to fill the stadiums every weekend though. I'm not sure why - I've never lived anywhere apart from London so it's difficult for me to put it into perspective.

I don't think it's a culture thing as the numbers have been on a declined in Italy for some time now - they used to be very good. I read somewhere that impressive TV coverage of Serie A could be a factor, but we've got Sky here too.

Maybe fans simply don't want to go to the stadiums because they're not a nice place to be. Most Italian stadiums are pretty old, with few or no amenities - throw the Ultra and other idiots behavior into the mix and it doesn't seem too appealing. The quality of policing between English and Italian games differs incredibly.

[KillerMax]

There is such a thing in EPL and that's called order. In Serie everything is all over the place... They have to build friggin walls to prevent the "fans" from causing serious trouble for themselves and the players... They make bullet proof glasses and the "fans" still break their chairs out and smash through the glass... Parents are hesitant to bring their family to the games... There is no such thing as a safe environment... People get killed by cops... Cops get killed by people... Bullets get sent in mail and Juventus go to Serie B for cheating other teams get penalized... Serie A gets delayed... referees lose credibility... The new ones lack experience... and etc.. etc.

Shall I go on?

[morgoth]

What the EPL has done isn't just something that can be done. The fans over herere (For most teams) are paying ridiculous prices, and they still sell out stadiums. Italy, even with much cheaper prices, are struggling to sell tickets - you can't just 'create' football fans, they have to want the football first.

Are you serious? You really think the Italian and Spanish fans don't "want" football?

I think it has to do with the fact that in England you earn more and therefore are willing to spend more, haven't you seen in Athens the proportion of diverpool fans compared to ours?

[I_Rossoneri]

The EPl is all about hype and jingoism. Because Sky were the instigators of the prem it is in their best interest to constantly remind viewers of all the good games they have shown and forget about the bad ones. One of the most used phrases on Sky is "this is why we love the prem" I mean FFS just because they might show one good game it doesn't mean the league is the best. Funny that they never mention the fact that there has been more goals scored per game in the Serie A compared to the prem for about three seasons now (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

And another thing, I find it highly hypocritical how Italain teams are labelled 'boring and defensive' yet when a prem team(or scottish team because we support scottish teams as well! (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) ) plays the same way they are clever - hypocrisy at its worst (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[kurtsimonw]

Are you serious? You really think the Italian and Spanish fans don't "want" football?

I think it has to do with the fact that in England you earn more and therefore are willing to spend more, haven't you seen in Athens the proportion of diverpool fans compared to ours?

I'm not saying other countries don't want football, but they clearly don't want to go to the games, the attendance figures show this. It may be true that people in England earn more, but the cost of living over here is ridiculous. But I don't know what it's like in other countries, so I can't really compare. But I myself wouldn't say I have alot of money, being at college reduces my job opportunities, but I can still afford to go to all the games, and you also have to remember that I go and see an EPL team every week, so I'm sure the majority of Serie A teams would be even cheaper.

Last seasons average attendances:
1: Bundesliga 37,644 (Germany)
2: Premier League 34,459 (England)
3: La Liga 28,838 (Spain)
4: Ligue 1 21,817 (France)
5: J-League 19,018 (Japan)
6: Serie A 18,473 (Italy)
7: Championship 18,221 (England)

Now something must be wrong. Italy have similar attendaces to that of Japan, and Englands 2nd division. With all due respect to those 2 leagues, the quality of football is much better in Italy, so why on earth aren't people turning up! My personal opinion is that alot of it is down to safety, the police don't exactly help, in fact they seem to do the opposite.

This is something Serie A needs to get sorted, invest heavily in security measures and it will eventually pay off.

Funny that they never mention the fact that there has been more goals scored per game in the Serie A compared to the prem for about three seasons now

Except for this season. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

And what Sky does is great. It's their job to advertise and make people want to watch their football, the fact that people do shows that they're doing their job well. What do you want them to say "That game this morning was awful, don't bother watching the one tonight, it'll probably be just as bad"? (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

This post has been edited by kurtsimonw: May 2 2008, 10:55 PM

[I_Rossoneri]

Funny that they never mention the fact that there has been more goals scored per game in the Serie A compared to the prem for about three seasons now

Except for this season. (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

And what Sky does is great. It's their job to advertise and make people want to watch their football, the fact that people do shows that they're doing their job well. What do you want them to say "That game this morning was awful, don't bother watching the one tonight, it'll probably be just as bad"? (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

But Channel 5 don't feel the need to constantly criticise the prem! And I don't think I've ever heard a C5 commentator say "This is why we love the Serie A" fact of the matter is that the prem is based on hype. All style and no substance you could say (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) .

As for the goals per game ratio, this season is not over yet so until it is you can't really compare + there isn't a Derby County in the Serie A to raise the average goal ratio (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)