Due to lack of fan support and bad TV contracts, Italy's glamor clubs have been purchased by oil sheiks and forced to compete in elimination matches to win back their freedom.
In terms of actual action you didn't miss much, because the fucking Italians even out-French the French in terms of not working. The Serie A has been off since December 22, and doesn't resume until the weekend. While the EPL's finest have been playing a marathon schedule in freezing cold weather on terrible pitches in front of less than enthusiastic support, Italian footballers have been enjoying a bit of R&R in Dubai.
To remind those who haven't been paying attention, Inter are currently running away with the league, sitting on 43 points, seven up on nearest rivals Roma. Juve are third, despite slumming it in Serie B last year. The only real shock has been the terrible play of the newly crowned World Club Champions, AC Milan, who currently sit in 12th place, 25 points behind their cross-town rivals. Inter underlined the point on the last weekend of play in December, when they beat the Rossoneri 2-1 and pretty much ended any wild thoughts that Silvio Berlusconi had about a miracle second half run to claim the Scudetto.
The story of the season so far has been the play of Inter Milan, who have only lost one game. And yet the casual observer/EPL fan probably can't even name two players in the starting eleven. In fact, most Italians probably can't either, given the lack of Italian players on the team. Everyone knows about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but then the mind draws a blank? Cambiasso, Julio Cruz, Zannetti, Emerson, Vieira, Figo. The latter two have been hurt and not really contributed much to the team's success. An injury to Walter Samuel means that Marco Materazzi (check out this video of his finer work) will get to show off some of his diabolical tackles to worldwide audiences. Perhaps Inter can put together a decent run in the Champions League, which they haven't won in 42 years. They play Liverpool next month, and Scousers should start sweating already.
With the league pretty much decided, the rest of the Serie A lacks a bit of sizzle. Sure, its nice to see Totti leading Roma to strong second place. But the real intrigue surrounds AC Milan, who will unveil over hyped wunder-Brazilian Alexander "the duck" Pato to the world this weekend. Milan have been mostly terrible this year, and if the poor form continues, the rumors that a certain J. Mourinho could be taking over the manager's job will only intensify.
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