Andrej Kramaric has extended his contract at Hoffenheim until 2025, the Bundesliga club announced on Saturday.

News of Kramaric’s new contract broke ahead of Hoffenheim’s 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich, a result that keeps the Sinsheimers on track for European football next season, and their 30-year-old talisman will be there for lead their challenge.

“It means everything,” said Kramaric bundesliga.com. “It feels like home here.”

Look: Kramaric on his “second home” in Hoffenheim

Kramaric, who joined the Sinsheimers in 2016, was reportedly out of contract this summer but there was never talk of not offering a ‘living Hoffenheim legend’ a new contract, in the sporting director’s words of the club, Alexander Rosen.

“For a player as extraordinary and ambitious as Andrej to extend his contract with us and thus start his eighth season for Hoffenheim from the summer shows on the one hand how strong a reputation we have developed and on the other apart, how much Andrej identifies with the TSG,” Rosen said.

“Andrej was one of the most consistent goalscorers in the Bundesliga for many years and he’s a player who can really make a difference. He’s a model professional and he’s already a living Hoffenheim legend.

“His experience, ability and exceptional character strengthen the whole team.”

The Croatian striker originally joined Hoffenheim on loan from Leicester City in the second half of the 2015/16 season, helping them avoid relegation against all odds under Julian Nagelsmann. The Sinsheimers went on to qualify for Europe in three of the next four campaigns, with Kramaric scoring 15, 13, 17, 12 and 20 goals in his first five full seasons with the club.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute here so far and look forward to an exciting future,” Kramaric said. “I never imagined that I would ever be considered among Germany’s best strikers, but it was only possible because I feel at home here.”

Kramaric scored 101 goals for Hoffenheim – 86 in the Bundesliga – in just over 200 appearances.

Best bets and predictions for the weekend’s matches in Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A.

Best bets

Nantes beats Troyes
BT Sport 3, 8 p.m.
1pt 6-4 general

Hoffenheim or no double chance against Bayern Munich
2:30 p.m.
1pt 11-8 BoyleSports, Hills

Sassuolo beats Salernitana 2 p.m.
1pt 5-6 bet365, Betfred

Overview

Troyes against Nantes

With the Coupe de France final to be expected in May and a top-four spot still a real possibility in Ligue 1, it’s shaping up to be a bright season for Nantes.

With Randal Kolo Muani and Ludovic Blas having 18 league goals this season, Nantes have great attacking options and opened PSG 3-1 in February with just 28 per cent possession.

However, they are also comfortable when dominating the ball and that could be the case when they travel to Troyes, who beat Bordeaux’s basement boys last time out but still only had that 38% possession in this contest and looks largely out of their depth in Ligue 1.

Troyes have already lost 14 games in the French top flight and only two of their six triumphs have come at home.

Hoffenheim-Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich refused to take their foot off the pedal in a 7-1 thrashing against Salzburg on Tuesday, but they could face more resistance from the top four contenders at Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Hoffenheim entered the Champions League qualifying table with four straight Bundesliga wins and they should be imagining their chances of avoiding defeat against the Bavarians.

Bayern are once again in pole position to claim a tenth straight league title, but they haven’t been without their flaws of late, having lost to Bochum and been held to a draw by Salzburg and Bayer Leverkusen since early February. . They seem to be worth picking up in the double chance market.

Salernitana v Sassuolo

Four successive draws suggested Salernitana could have half a chance of surviving in Serie A, but they were put in their place by Inter last time out, losing 5-0 at San Siro.

They are now best priced 8-11 for relegation and could struggle to contain Sassuolo when they meet next.

European football seems out of reach for Sassuolo but that hasn’t slowed them down lately as they have beaten Inter, Fiorentina and Venezia in their last three games, scoring at least twice in each of those wins.

Domenico Berardi, Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca are part of a dangerous attack and they should emerge comfortable winners at Stadio Arechi.

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FIRST PUBLICATION AT 1:05 PM, MARCH 11, 2022

Norway’s Bodø/Glimt matched their stunning 6-1 loss to Roma in the group stage by beating Celtic 3-1 on the opening night of the UEFA knockout stage Europa Conference League.

Elsewhere, Leicester City and Marseille got off to a comfortable start at home and Slavia Praha triumphed at Fenerbahçe, while neighbors Sparta Praha were undone by a late Partizan goal. UEFA.com wraps up the action.

Predictor: How did you do?

Leicester City 4-1 Randers

Leicester ended a five-game winless streak, with Wilfred Ndidi setting the tone with a finish after a clever brace with Ademola Lookman. Patrik Carlgren then made a string of saves to hold off Leicester, before Vito Hammershøj-Mistrati leveled again moments before half-time.

Harvey Barnes quickly dashed the visitors’ hopes after the break, and well-worked tap-ins from Patson Daka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall sealed victory.

Key stat: Daka (six goals) added to his tally as Leicester’s all-time leading goalscorer in Europe, while Barnes (five) overtook Riyad Mahrez (four) for second place on this list.

Celtic 1-3 Bodø/Glimt

Bodø/Glimt’s remarkable rise continued with a fine victory in Glasgow. The visitors to the Arctic Circle took the lead with seven minutes spent by Runar Espejord and extended their lead shortly after the break when Amahl Pellegrino showed good composure from close range. Daizen Maeda’s header gave Celtic hope, but Hugo Vetlesen struck almost immediately to leave the Norwegian side in control.

Key stat: It was Celtic’s second home defeat against a team from Norway – and only Bodø/Glimt’s second away win in European football this century.

Fenerbahce 2-3 Slavia Prague

Ibrahim Traoré opened the scoring for Slavia just before the break after Srdjan Plavšić touched the post. Dimitris Pelkas coolly equalized just before the hour mark, but Oscar Dorley’s spectacular smoothing shot and substitute Ondřej Lingr’s low drive capped a devastating three-minute spell for Slavia. Ferdi Kadıoğlu’s late and deflected curler gave Fenerbahçe hope for the second leg.

Key stat: It was Slavia’s first victory in seven away matches in UEFA competition.

Marseille 3-1 Qarabag

The in-form Arkadiusz Milik struck twice in a row in the first half, putting one away after his header was cleared off the line and then finishing calmly after Qarabağ was caught trying to try to play from behind. The Azerbaijani side rallied in the second half as Filip Ozobić hit a post before Kady’s goal rewarded a neat move. Dimitri Payet’s stoppage-time strike from fellow substitute Bamba Dieng’s cross eased the tension.

Key stat: Milik has now scored 12 goals in his last 11 appearances in all competitions.

PSV Eindhoven 1-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Cody Gakpo’s early arrival was enough to secure victory for PSV, but the Dutch side failed to convert their dominance into chances and deliver a more decisive blow ahead of next week’s second leg at Bloomfield Stadium. Dor Peretz brilliantly fended off Noni Madueke’s header and PSV’s Israeli striker Eran Zahavi sent a free-kick just a hair’s breadth away as the visitors maintained an equal score.

Key stat: Gakpo, 22, has appeared in each of PSV’s last three games: one in the Dutch Cup, one in the Eredivisie and now one in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Sparta Prague 0-1 Partizan

The hosts paid the price after failing to convert ball possession into meaningful pressure, with Partizan breaking through in the 78th minute in Prague. Saša Zdjelar threw a long ball forward and Queensy Menig chased it between two retreating defenders before passing Dominik Holec for the first time. The goalkeeper saved Miloš Jojić late to keep Sparta in the draw, and they almost managed to equalize after a last-minute corner kick.

Key stat: No team has scored more than once in Partizan’s last five European matches: that 1-0 win, two 1-0 losses and two 1-1 draws.

Midtjylland 1-0 PAOK

Joel Andersson’s well conceded goal in the 20th minute gave the Danish side a slim advantage to take in the second leg, right-back played by Evander before firing low from Alexandros Paschalakis. Midtjylland robbed PAOK of chances in Herning and almost doubled their advantage, with Brazilian midfielder Charles hitting the post from long range.

Key stat: Midtjylland remain unbeaten at home in Europe since the start of this season’s UEFA Europa League group stage (W2 D2).

Rapid Vienna 2-1 Speed

An action-packed opening minute began with Vitesse forcing Paul Gartler into a save, before Robert Ljubičić slotted in Ferdy Druijf to head in the first UEFA Europa Conference League goal to date. Marco Grüll’s quick feet scored a superb solo goal 15 minutes later, but Vitesse recovered with Loïs Openda’s powerful strike after Filip Stojković was sent off for Rapid.

Key stat: Rapid were winless at home in four games in all competitions tonight; Vitesse have now lost five in a row, conceding 18 in the process.

Liverpool take on defending Serie A champions Inter Milan in a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 series that combines two historically successful European clubs.

The Reds are six-time winners of the competition, lifting their last trophy in 2019 when they beat Tottenham in all of England’s finals.

They have enjoyed mixed success against Italian clubs in recent years, having faced an Italian side in every Champions League year since the 2017-18 season.

Below is a ranking of Liverpool’s top five wins against Italian sides in the club’s history. We’ll see if the Inter Milan-Liverpool Round of 16 battle makes the difference.

5. Liverpool 1-0 Napoli (2019)

Perhaps not the most iconic European night at Anfield, but very important and underrated nonetheless. Liverpool hosted Napoli for the final match of the 2018-19 group stage requiring a clean sheet victory, or a win by two clear goals to reach knockouts.

Part of a dangerous group that saw French pivots PSG, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade’s surprise package; Liverpool had faltered, losing to all three teams.

Facing Napoli was no easy test, but Liverpool registered 23 shots on the night and dominated the proceedings. Mohamed Salah’s individual brilliance gave Liverpool the lead, after a dazzling run past Kalidou Koulibaly that saw him score from a tight angle.

Napoli didn’t pose a real threat until added time. When, in the dying minutes of the game, a cross found its way to Arkadiusz Milik from five yards out and the Napoli striker looked set to break Liverpool’s hearts. After a brilliant first touch, he shot straight at Alisson, who had rushed to close the angle.

Not a vintage night at Anfield, but that moment from their Brazilian keeper secured their qualification for the knockout stages. That save is now considered invaluable, given that Liverpool won the trophy some six months later.

4. Liverpool 2-1 Juventus (2005)

Facing star-studded Juventus, Liverpool hosted the Italian giants at Anfield for the first leg of their 2004-05 Champions League quarter-final series.

The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Pavel Nedved and Alessandro Del Piero were edged out in a 2-1 win at Liverpool that gave the Reds a slim advantage going into the second leg.

Centre-back Sami Hyppia got Liverpool off to a great start with a fine left-footed finish from a corner, and that was followed by a superb long-range strike from Spaniard Luis Garcia 15 minutes later.

The Italian side pulled back a goal through Cannavaro, then hit the post and saw a seemingly legitimate goal ruled out for offside that would surely have been ruled out these days by VAR.

Liverpool held on after a 0-0 draw in the second leg. That series injected Liverpool with the belief to beat domestic rivals Chelsea in the semi-finals and go all the way after another epic showdown against another Italian side (more below).

3. Liverpool 5-2 AS Roma (2018)

It stands out as one of the most impressive semi-final first-leg wins in Champions League history. AS Roma arrived at Anfield for the first leg of the 2017-18 semi-finals after an iconic late victory against FC Barcelona.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was a former Roma player himself but showed them no remorse by scoring twice and assisting twice in a dazzling performance on the big stage.

The Reds took a 2-0 lead at half-time thanks to an unstoppable strike from outside the box from Salah. He then raced on the counterattack to chip away future Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker, in a brilliant move.

By the 68th minute, Liverpool were leading 5-0 and fans were already booking their tickets for the final in Kyiv. Roma then hit back with two late goals, but the damage was already done in a scintillating and mind-blowing half hour.

2. Roma 1-1 Liverpool ap (1984)

Liverpool won their fourth European Cup in the 1983-84 season when they beat AS Roma on penalties at their home ground at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico in a historic victory for the English side.

Having won three European Cups in the previous seven years, including three in five seasons between 1976 and 1981, Liverpool were at the forefront of European football and arrived in Rome hoping to add another European title to its growing collection.

For Roma, it was their first appearance in a European Cup final.

Phil Neal gave the England side a dream start after just 14 minutes, but the home side fought back just before half-time with a superb looping header from Roberto Pruzzo minutes before half-time.

Penalties were needed to separate the two sides, and Liverpool got off to a nightmarish start as Steve Nicol fired on first down. Thankfully, Bruno Conti returned the favor to keep Liverpool in the shootout.

It was striker Francesco Graziani who, surprisingly, also took the shot before Alan Kennedy came home to secure a famous European Cup for the Reds.

1. Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan AET (2005)

What is considered one of the most famous Champions League finals of all time saw Liverpool as strong underdogs when they faced mighty AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005.

Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League that season, while Milan boasted one of the best starting XIs in Champions League history, with most players going down in footballing history as legends Game.

The Italian side quickly prevailed in the match, scoring after just 50 seconds as Milan took a 3-0 halftime lead.

After one of Steven Gerrard’s most important goals as Liverpool captain, strikes from Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso pulled Liverpool from the brink to force extra time in a stunning turnaround.

After holding out for another half an hour, Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek was the hero, twice saving Ukraine leader Andriy Shevchenko from close range in the dying minutes of extra time as penalties loomed.

With both teams missing penalties, Liverpool were leading 3-2 when Shevchenko stepped in for Milan. But his weak penalty was saved by Dudek to hand Liverpool their fifth European Cup in one of the most dramatic finals in football history.

Arsenal and Newcastle United have suffered a blow in the race for Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca, with Inter Milan opening talks for the Serie A striker.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter transfer managers Giovanni Carnevali and Beppe Marotta have met over the past few weeks to discuss a move to Scamacca, with reigning champions Scudetto keen to sign the striker as well as his Sassuolo teammate Davide Frattesi.

According to the report, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig made moves for the 23-year-old in January, however, Scamacca were keen to stay with Sassuolo to continue his development, with Arsenal and Newcastle also eyeing the striker.

As FC Inter News reports, Premier League clubs are both keen on the Italian, who has been compared to Swedish and Serie A legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his attacking style of play.

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With Inter now moving to Scamacca, the news will come as a blow to the PIF-backed owners of Arsenal and Newcastle, with the forward being one of the most exciting talents in European football.

With nine Serie A goals this season, Scamacca is forging a strong reputation in Italy, and his style of play and obvious potential have been a strong indicator of why Arsenal and Inter are interested in the youngster.

Inter target Scamacca is a left-field option to save Arsenal forward’s problem

While Newcastle fulfilled their striker needs in January with Chris Wood, Arsenal did not sign anyone in winter to act as their long-term option to lead the line, and Scamacca could be a candidate if Inter fail. to sign the striker.

Athletic, ball-holding and impressive in build-up play, Scamacca could be a cheaper alternative to Alexander Isak and Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Arsenal this summer if Inter struggle to secure a deal for the 23-year-old. old this summer.

In other news, ‘I have no idea what he’s thinking’: Sky Sports pundit can’t believe Tottenham player’s mistake

Paul Merson says Arsenal need to show they have learned from past mistakes in terms of transfers and playing contracts, but the club’s rebuilding is in full swing.

It’s been a busy January transfer window as Mikel Arteta continues to shape his Arsenal squad. Six first-team members, including former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, have left Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners return to the Premier League on Thursday as they take on in-form Wolves, but sky sports Specialist Merson believes they are in a good place with their exciting young squad and better times are ahead.

Read on for the full Magic Man column…

Arsenal’s reconstruction is in full swing…

Arsenal have been cleared. They haven’t had European football for the first time in I don’t know how many years, and they’ve settled down.

If you keep doing the same things, you get the same results. It’s the same with everything in life. It’s what Arsenal have been doing for too many years now, and finally they’ve drawn a line in the sand.

They changed everything by getting rid of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and other players, who won’t get you closer to the Premier League‘s top four or even win the league.

It may take time now, but they started now and that’s a huge bonus. They have properly started the reconstruction now.

‘Consistency is key for the Gunners’

Arsenal bought very well last summer. Not a single player they bought last summer flopped. They have all been successful and they will now be working behind the scenes for next summer where they will again seek and secure the players they need.

This season, let’s see. They only have 17 games left and that’s a total of one game a week. They just need to have some consistency.

We were only talking a few weeks ago about them playing Manchester City out of the park.

Three weeks later and all of a sudden they can’t score at home against Burnley and except at the last minute they never seemed to score.

So it’s the inconsistency and over time these young players will learn to be more consistent.

These players now know they are going to play. These young players will be better for another 17 league games and next season instead of being nine out of 10 one week and five out of 10 another, we will start to see seven out of 10 and eight out of 10 more regularly.

That’s all you need. You need consistency and then you have players who can win you games. At the flick of a switch.

“Arsenal must show they have learned from past mistakes”

I think things are really positive for Arsenal at the moment. What they did can only be considered good for the club.

Now, if Alexandre Lacazette scores 10 goals before the end of the season, they can’t get lazy and just give him a new contract worth £250,000 a week thinking it could be his season next season. However, for me, Lacazette has had its day at Arsenal. Whatever he does by the end of the season, he got his chance at the Emirates Stadium.

What Arsenal need to start doing now is work on not letting happen what has happened too many times in the past when, as an Arsenal fan, you watch these bright young stars in action. , and then suddenly you see in the press that they only have one year left on their contracts.

This can no longer happen. They must continue to complete player contracts. They have good young players and they have to respect their contracts. They can’t get lazy and make players solve their contracts and end up leaving for free.

They need to show that they have learned from the mistakes of the past and link these players to play their best years at Arsenal.

They have a good young squad and if you can add a few more quality signings for next season I think there are happier times ahead for Arsenal. Positive times are around the corner.

(Reuters) – A study by governing body UEFA has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has cost European clubs seven billion euros ($7.91 billion) over two seasons, even as the Top team player salaries rose 2% to 11.9 billion euros ($13.45 billion) during the endpoint.

Top-flight clubs suffered losses worth four billion euros ($4.52 billion) in 2021, compared to three billion euros ($3.39 billion) the previous year.

The majority of losses are due to empty stadiums, with revenue from ticket sales having fallen by 88% in 2020-21. Transfer income also fell, falling by 40%.

British media said the report, which included 724 clubs across 54 top divisions in Europe, added that 900 million euros ($1.02 billion) had been awarded to broadcasters, while sponsorship revenue had fallen by 1.7 billion euros ($1.92 billion).

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, however, said there was reason to be optimistic with fans returning to stadiums.

“One of the lessons of the past two years has been that only by showing solidarity and working together can European football overcome existential challenges such as the pandemic,” he said. .

“This report provides sobering detail about the post-pandemic challenges ahead. But whether the pandemic lingers or goes away, European football will remain strong, stable and united in 2022.”

($1 = 0.8850 euros)

(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

UEFA has pledged to join the UN Race to Zero campaign, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at its events by 2030.

The decision to sign up for the UN-backed Race to Zero version of the Sport for Climate Action Framework follows the launch of the UEFA Sustainability Strategy 2030 last month.

UEFA is one of the founding signatories of the Sport for Climate Action Framework, which aims to support and guide sport stakeholders in achieving global climate change goals.

A renewed ambition to Sport for climate action was launched at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021 and is fully aligned with UEFA’s sustainability strategy, which shares the same goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 – towards achieving net zero carbon by 2040 within UEFA, through UEFA events and collaboration across European football.

“Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing society today and we have sadly witnessed how flooding and unusual weather conditions have recently devastated infrastructure across the world,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.

“The transition to a green and thriving economy is imperative and must be part of the solution. Football can play an important role in setting new standards in this regard and raising awareness around the world.

“We are committing to Race to Zero as part of our 2030 ambition to reduce the carbon footprint of European football.”

Race to Zero, backed by the UN, is a global campaign that aims to rally non-state actors – including businesses, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions – to take strong and immediate action to achieve net zero carbon in line with the Paris Agreement, with transparent action plans and strong short-term goals.

All Race to Zero signatories have committed to the same overall goal: to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2040 or earlier.

Lindita Xhaferi Salihu, Sector Engagement Manager (Sport for Climate Action) at UN Climate Change, said: “We congratulate UEFA for joining the ambitious strand of the Sport for Climate Action Framework for the climate. In committing to the ambitious and robust targets proposed in the framework, UEFA joins the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign. Just like in football, tackling climate change requires leadership, resilience and teamwork and we look forward to working with UEFA to apply these standards on and off the pitch.”

“In many ways, football requires the same skills that we will need to tackle the climate crisis: perseverance, agility and a truly collaborative approach from the whole team. UEFA in the Race to Zero campaign and encourages all football stakeholders to become climate champions, taking immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030. Together we can win the race to zero emissions” , added Nigel Topping, COP 26 High Level Champion for Climate Action.

Respect for the environment, which focuses on climate and advocacy, circular economy, event sustainability and infrastructure sustainability, features prominently in the recently released 2030 Football Sustainability Strategy. ‘.

By launching this strategy in December, UEFA is determined to be part of the solution to preserve and regenerate the environment and harness the power of football to raise awareness and catalyze action.

To help achieve its goal of achieving net zero carbon by 2040, UEFA will, among other things, measure the environmental impact of all UEFA events by 2024; encourage clubs and member associations to measure the impacts of national competitions; and work to integrate climate criteria into UEFA regulations, policies and guidelines.

“We have a great responsibility towards the millions of footballers and supporters and we feel all of this. Our actions and decisions have a huge impact on civil society and we must take care of it as an important part of the game of football” , said UEFA’s director of social responsibility, Michele Uva, “Through our strategy, we want to accelerate our actions to encourage and engage our stakeholders across Europe to prevent and reduce the deterioration of the environment through football-related activities, while leveraging football’s reach and visibility to advocate for the urgency of action.”

In addition to its partnership with the Sport for Climate Action Framework, UEFA also supports the European Climate Pact, which invites communities and organizations to help the European Union achieve the Green Deal and Europe’s transition. towards an economy with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In recent seasons, some of the Premier League’s top talent and promising youngsters have left England and moved to Italy to join a Serie A club.

Today we take a look at some of these players and ask why Italian clubs are turning to the Premier League market.

From the Premier League to Serie A

Maitland-Niles and Tuanzebe: the last to take the plunge

Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Axel Tuanzebe became the latest Premier League players to move to Serie A in recent years when they completed loan transfers last week to Roma and Napoli respectively.

To be more specific, the latest ‘Big Six’ players to be sent back to Italy after falling down the pecking order – in the case of Tuanzebe after falling out of favor on another loan spell at Aston Villa due to the reluctance of Steven Gerrard to select a Manchester United player (according to the player’s agent).

Both Milan clubs, AC and Inter, have looked to the Premier League for recruits – Chelsea and Manchester United to be exact. AC signed both Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud from the Blues last year while Inter, under Antonio Conte at the time, raided Old Trafford for any deadwood they could find – Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian, Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku. If they look again, they will find many more.

Juventus have been less open to buying Britons with Aaron Ramsey, their only Premier League signing of late, and he was seen as a coup when he arrived on a free transfer. Not anymore – he’s been described as an ‘outgoing player’, not in a social sense, by gaffer Massimiliano Allegri and is set to leave shortly.

Brexit trading partners

In these strange and surreal days of Brexit, Italy has quickly become the most reliable importer of English football merchandise.

No one, however, has been a better business partner than Roma, with no less than 12 Premier League players moving to the Eternal City since 2015.

Also add Jose Mourinho – sacked by three of the ‘Big Six’ in this spell and persona non grata in English football now, but someone from Roma jumped at the chance to land last summer.

Players fall like dominoes – starting with Szczęsny, followed by Salah

The first domino to fall was Wojciech Szczęsny – the Polish stopper joined Roma on a season-long loan from Arsenal following Petr Cech’s arrival at Emirates Stadium. This would be extended for a second year before Szczęsny moved to Juventus, reuniting with his old friend Ramsey and somehow being seen as a worthy successor to Gianluigi Buffon.

In 2016, Roma strengthened their options up top, with the signings of Edin Džeko and Mo Salah from Manchester City and Chelsea respectively. Both players had enjoyed contrasting spells in England, with Džeko integral to City’s early successes and Salah barely a part of Chelsea.

With a travel itinerary now established, fellow citizen Aleksander Kolarov and Tottenham Hotspur defender Federico Fazio were the next to take refuge in Rome in 2017 – in Kolarov’s case, after playing for the second time for long-distance rivals Lazio ahead of their move to Manchester.

Sting – An Englishman in New York, Smalling – An Englishman in Rome

2018 saw a now rare breakout year of British buying for the Giallorossi but that would more than make up for it in the next two years, as once again the Premier League’s damaged goods section was their favorite alley.

Loans would be the preferred deal in the summer of 2019 – Chris ‘Mike’ Smalling swapping the Trafford Center for the Trevi Fountain, and David Zappacosta (Chelsea) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal) simply swapping one capital for another.

Mkhitaryan, of course, was part of arguably the worst swap deal in history for Alexis Sanchez in January 2018 – both men were exiled to Serie A at the same time.

The Armenian captain would fare better in Rome, where, like his former United colleague Smalling, a career renaissance has been experienced. This led to both of their moves being made permanent the following summer.

Any chance of a similar story for Zappacosta ended when he suffered an ACL injury just nine games after returning to his homeland.

Flights from London to Rome are becoming even more popular

His return to sender in 2020 turned into something of an exchange of gifts, when Pedro, also from Chelsea, moved to Roma on a free transfer.

That fast-growing annual tradition has continued this season, as alongside Mourinho, Tammy Abraham, still from West London, and Portugal number one Rui Patricio have traversed this well-trodden track. Now they have been joined by Maitland-Niles.

On the other hand, Roma lost several big Premier League stars including Salah and Allison to Liverpool.

A sign of the times and the decline of Serie A

It’s a situation now where Serie A is losing its best players to the Premier League and reclaiming their remnants in return – a world a far cry from the golden days of Italian football when it was recognized as the best league in the world and the flat -shape on which the best have tested themselves.

A prime example of this would be the ‘original’ Ronaldo who moved from Barcelona to Inter in 1997. A slight outlier is the modern Ronaldo, but even then Juventus nearly emptied the bank to allow him no gain on the European scene.

Does anyone think Erling Haaland would consider a move to Italy this summer when he is likely to leave Borussia Dortmund? Concrete example.

But how did it happen and why did Serie A become the scrap metal of English football?

The growing financial disparity in European football is an easy place to start.

Except perhaps Juventus, no Italian club can compete with transfer fees and salaries in the modern market. Napoli lost Lorenzo Insigne, their star player and skipper, to MLS and Toronto FC for this rather depressing reason.

The league declined accordingly, going from the best of the continent to a battle for third place with the Bundesliga. Italian clubs have appeared in just two European Cup finals since Mourinho’s success at Inter in 2010-15 and 2017, with Juventus losing to Spanish opponents each time.

European success is becoming increasingly limited

Inter’s appearance in the 2020 Europa League final was the league’s first this century in Europe’s second-biggest competition. Before that, the trophy reflected a domestic cup, with 13 finalists and four Italian finalists in the years 1988 to 1999.

This makes the national team’s success at EURO 2020 all the more impressive. That he came against England at Wembley was the icing on the cake.

Good life and income opportunities for has-beens

For players whose careers have seemingly reached the end of the Premier League game, Italy represents a safe haven for a host of reasons.

The first is their ability to win – while Italian clubs may not be able to compete for the best, a recently introduced tax exemption on the first 50% of foreign players’ wages is a red herring for Premier players League, who can continue to earn comparable money in Serie A.

This rule made its debut in football when David Beckham moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2003, subsequently called the “Beckham Law”.

Retire to Italy?

The lower quality, as well as the slower pace, of Serie A also makes it an attractive proposition for players, both those nearing the end of their careers or those who lack the standard required for Premier League football. .

Italy has become a retirement home for stars, with Franck Ribéry and Zlatan Ibrahimović playing into their late thirties, and in Zlatan’s case into his 40s, and at a good level. It has been said that Italians have great respect for their elders, and this continued in football.

And let’s face it, the food, the weather, the wine – it’s not exactly the worst place to get your feet up.

Another year is upon us, and there are few certainties left in life except death, taxes and Premier League rejections that present themselves on Italian shores.

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