Re: Italian matchfixing

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro and A Season With Verona both discuss the Italian culture of favours. Il sistema. "If we don't need a result but you do, here you go - and you can do us that favour in return when we need it". As it is across much of Italian politics and society too.

The biggest reason for Italy's success at international level over the years (though not right now, obviously), is they never take it out of themselves when they don't need to. Why go full pelt in the group stages and leave yourselves spent for the knockouts? So they don't, and laugh at those who do, like us.

In football, this meant that on the final day of 2000/1, every single side in the race to avoid relegation were favoured by the bookies, and all of them won: all beating opponents much higher in the table, but which had nothing to play for.

In 1994, Piacenza were relegated when Reggiana won away to Champions Milan in the last match. It was live on C4; my jaw dropped when I realised what was going on. Learning from this, Piacenza left themselves that little bit higher in the league in future seasons, meaning they were the recipients of favours from the likes of Parma instead.

Then, there's the question of referee influence. That's what Juventus were demoted for: not match-fixing per se, but trying to influence the selection of referees. Juve fans will maintain forever and ever that they were innocent; or at worst, that they were doing what everyone else was. But as an onlooker who watched a terrible Milan side somehow beat a brilliant Lazio to the title in 1999 via copious dodgy penalties and injury time winners, then an equally appalling Juve almost do it again to Lazio in 2000, I know what my eyes were telling me.

Of course, there's always the odd exception. As Lazio shocked Inter 4-2 on the last day of 2001/2, handing the title to Juve, Marco Materazzi wandered up to his Lazio opponents and loudly berated them. They had nothing to play for; what did they think they were doing?! It's difficult to imagine a similar scene ever unfolding in England, to put it mildly.

Posted By: thebigfeller, Mar 12, 18:40:26