InterSpac President Carlo Cottarelli feels that the fact that both Inter and AC Milan are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League should not be confused with a sign of any growth or progress by the clubs at the European level.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, Cottarelli gave the view that, despite the fact that the Nerazzurri and the Rossoneri have both earned a spot in the last eight of Europe’s top competition, the real trend is still that they are falling behind teams in the Premier League in terms of revenues.
Serie A will be well-represented in the latter stages of the Champions League this season, with not just the Nerazzurri and the Rossoneri but also Napoli in the quarterfinals.
This will have come as something of a surprise to many given that the overall trend has seen Italian teams lose a lot of their financial foothold, causing them to struggle to compete at the very top.
From Cottarelli’s perspective, however, this is not a sign of any sort of underlying change, and rather the reality remains that Inter and Milan are not at the top table in terms of revenues.
“I would like to see a derby, but in the semifinals,” Cottarelli suggested.
“Better to wait for it, and also best to avoid City too after their 7-0 win against Leipzig.”
He noted that “I’m happy for Inzaghi, who has been criticized unfairly harshly, but I hardly think that the fact that the Milan teams and teams from Italy are in the quarterfinals is a sign of growth in Italian football.”
“In terms of revenues, for example, we’re still well behind the Premier League.”
“The same is true in terms of stadiums,” he noted.
“I take the fact that the Milan teams are going far in Europe as a hopeful note, though,” Cottarelli concluded, “hopefully we can grow.”
