Capital: Rome Population: 57.2 million Currency: Euro Official Language: Italian Borders: Switerland (North), Austria (North), Slovenia (East), France (West) GNP per Capita: $20,170 (19th in world) Main Airport: Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) - Rome
The Italian peninsula stretches nearly 500 miles from the heart of the Alps into the Mediterranean Sea. The south is prone to earthquakes and volcanoes - some such as Mount Etna can be devastating. As a country it has not been too far away from scandal in the past. The country was rules as a fascist dictatorship from 1922 to 1945.
At the moment we are celebrating Italy's glorious World Cup victory. It has been a long time coming, after years of penalty and golden-goal heartbreak. On a much darker note, we are also awaiting news of the recent football scandal. From earlier articles on this site, you will have gathered that there were always suspicions about certain aspects of Italian football. We weren't too happy to be proved right, though. To judge by the speedy closure of the investigation, our personal suspicion is that a major damage limitation exercise is underway. We will know more in the next few hours or days. Current thinking is that Juventus will rightly receive the heaviest penalty. All current players, and the majority of clubs are likely to keep their reputations clean (think what you like about this).
We will update this website when we learn more. Right now no-one even knows which clubs will be able to compete in Serie A in the 2006-2007 season.
15 July: Scandal update It will probably take some time for the ramifications to be worked out - not to mention all the court cases which could arise from the sentences. But for the moment, here's how things stand:
AC Milan get off the most lightly of the four clubs investigated (owner Silvio Berlusconi has been busy lobbying for his club). They will remain in Serie A, but start the season with minus 15 points. They have also been told they can't play in Europe, like the other three clubs involved, but are arguing their case (BBC: Milan still harbour European hope). Lazio, Fiorentina and Juventus are all relegated to Serie B (Juventus were lucky to escape Serie C, and many will be surprised that their penalty is not much more severe than the other clubs). Lazio start with -7 points and Fiorentina with -12. Juventus, the prime movers behind this match-fixing scandal, have a 30 point penalty, and have been stripped of their last two championship titles. All the clubs are planning to appeal, although the deadline for European entries is approaching.
26 July: Good news for penalised clubs Not entirely surprisingly, the penalties imposed on Italy's scandal-hit clubs have been reduced on appeal. Lazio and Fiorentina are no longer to be relegated - they will remain in Serie A, but with points penalties of -11 for Lazio and -7 for Fiorentina. Juventus are still exiled to Serie B, but their points penalty has been reduced to -17. Milan are now - probably - permitted to play in the Champions League, and start the season in Serie A with a reduced penalty of 8 points.
The 2005-2006 season began with all the controversy and confusion typical of Italian football. The game in Italy may be superb, riveting, and worshipped by thousands, but its administration and finances stand on quicksand. Each year various clubs, their finances shaky or worse, are threatened with exclusion from the upper divisions. This year Genoa and Torino, two of Italy's oldest and greatest football clubs both paid the price for the parlous state of their nation's football. Along with a handful of other clubs they were threatened with enforced relegations and penalties, meaning their new starting point relates to off-pitch situations, not the football played last season. Both teams earned promotion from Serie B, but were still denied a Serie A place: Genoa due to fraud allegations (not the only club implicated in recent months) and Torino for their finances.
Torino were readmitted to Serie B, Genoa lost a court case (unlike luckier Messina) and have ended up in C1. Lucky winners were Ascoli and Treviso, who took their places in the top division. Serie A's credibility took another shaking, as promotion was seen to count for little, and the calendar was announced less than a fortnight before the first match. Legal arguments from penalised clubs hung over the establishment as the season kicked off. Oh, and most Serie B matches at the start of the season had to be postponed - the Football League wanted to schedule matches on Saturday afternoons, but the local authorities disapproved and refused to make their stadia available. While a few matches were played, lawyers were still working furiously.
To get an idea who plays where in Italy, go to Footiemap.com and have a look at their excellent Italian football map page.
