Posted by Frank Tigani - serieaweekly.com

For Italian football the last five years have been troublesome. Forget the triumphs of Inter and Milan in the Champions League, Calcio has been falling behind in Europe in more ways than one. Financially, it is light years behind the successes of the English Premier League. In popularity, no Italian club enjoys the attention of so many fans that either of the two Spanish heavyweights, Barcelona and Real Madrid, both demand. This season even the Bundesliga has eclipsed the Serie A in the UEFA Coefficient Rankings.  


But, just as it happened seventy years ago when the Americans arrived on the peninsula to augur in a brighter future, the arrival of the American tycoon Thomas Di Benedetto as Roma’s new owner promises just as much for the future of Calcio.  


Italian football has been in need of some positive change for some time now. The game has needed new ideas, new stadiums and, most importantly, new financial resources. Di Benedetto’s arrival in Italy as the new President of AS Roma promises to deliver on all these three fronts.  


Talking at his first press conference, the American with Italian origins explained that he aimed to have the same impact and success that Silvio Berlusconi has enjoyed since overtaking Milan back in the mid 1980’s. It is an ambitions statement of intent that is for sure. As the boss of Milan, Berlusconi has become one of the most successful club President’s the game has ever seen. One imagines that if Di Benedetto can guide Roma to half that success, its fans will be more than pleased.  


One idea that Di Benedetto has brought with him is his plan to develop local talent in the Rome region. This is an idea that resembles that implemented when Barcelona built their now famous La Masia youth academy. The Catalan club’s aim was to produce local Catalan talent and today it is clear that the club has achieved this with resounding success.  


Youth development in Italy, or lack of it, has come under focus in recent times as a result of the less than impressive displays of the Azzurri in South Africa and the seemingly lack of talent coming through the ranks.  


But, if Di Benedetto achieves his goal of producing quality young talent from the central region than it will not only serve to benefit Roma but the Italian national team also. Italian football will be the real winner.  


The game of football is slowly changing and next year UEFA is set to introduce a system of financial fair play rules that will make it hard for clubs to spend big. Therefore, the American’s plan to focus on youth is perceptive. No longer will new owners be able to buy football clubs and spend their way to success, like Roman Ambramovich has done with Chelsea. Instead, youth development will become a more important focus for any club wishing to maintain a competitive team and this is what Di Benedetto plans to do with Roma.  


Nonetheless, as the takeover of Roma slowly came to its successful conclusion there had been much talk of star players the club is now interested in signing. While the club will have to consider the new rules of play, it appears that Di Benedetto remains keen to bring in a few star players to fasten the process of building a strong Roma team. Financial resources will not be a problem to do this.  


In recent years as the state of the Italian game has slowly declined, the world’s best players have become increasingly attracted to playing elsewhere, particularly, in England and Spain. But, with the financial resources Di Benedetto will bring with him, playing on the peninsula may become more attractive again for the game’s stars. It may also prove to be the catalyst for other clubs’ to look beyond Italy for the money to bring in their own star players. Such a result would augur well for the Italian game as it would help increase the quality of the game and the competitiveness of Italian clubs in Europe.  


One of Di Benedetto’s other aims is to build a new stadium for the Giallorossi. There has been much talk of plans of clubs from around the peninsula to build new stadiums. But, apart from Juventus who are in the process of building a new stadium, unfortunately, talk is about all that it has been. Admittedly, there has only been talk from the American too. But, unlike it is with Lazio, money is not a problem for Di Benedetto and therefore his promises to build a new stadium appear much more creditable. In addition, as the incoming President he will be under much more pressure to deliver on his promises.  


While Di Benedetto’s arrival in Italy promises as much as a new and brighter future for the Italian game, he will not achieve half of his goals if he is unable to navigate himself through the many obstacles, both political and legal that Italy will present to him.  


Italy is one of the most conservative countries in Europe and this transcends into the national game. Foreign ownership of an Italian club is something many Italians, particularly, some of those in the high positions of the game, will not look favourably upon.  


In addition to having to deal with a difficult administration, Di Benedetto will also have to contend with the country’s tax system which has long time the bane of Italian clubs.  


The American has set himself a tough challenge with his takeover of Roma and his ambitious statements of intent. He has delivered himself into in to the heart of a fickle national game that is rife with its trials and tribulations. But, surely, he already knew this and this can only mean that Di Benedetto is game. If this proves to be the case then certainly a new era in Calcio beckons.

Frank Tigani is a writer for Italian Football Website, Serie A Weekly.com. He is also the creator of acmilanblog.net and is a editor for the Canadian Soccer Magazine publication, 11 Players. Originally from Australia, Frank covered Australian football and Australia’s World Cup campaign during the 2010 South Africa FIFA World Cup for, just-football.com.