I have been intrigued by the outrage sparked by Rafa Benitez's comments on the respective "size" of Liverpool and Everton. I suspect there has been a bit of media manipulation of the story but it got me thinking. How do you measure which is the "biggest" club? Is it support? Is it success? Is history more important than the present? Let's take Italy.
Juventus v Torino. You would say no doubt Juve is the bigger team on all counts. But, then again, they tell me that in Turin itself the Bianconeri are not the best supported side.
Milan v Inter. On domestic glory there is not much to choose between them but on the European front the Rossoneri are streets ahead. I think they also get a bigger average support so maybe the red and black half is bigger. Or is it?
Roma v Lazio. I'd be inclined to say Roma on all counts. They have won more in Italy although without a great deal of Euro glory. Also they have spent a lot less time in the lower divisions than their city rivals.
Sampdoria v Genoa. That one is a bit like past versus present. There is no doubt that the Doriani have been a major force in recent times but the Grifone is our oldest club and has many more honours in its locker. I'm inclined to give it to the Rossoblu.
Fiorentina v Anyone else in Tuscany. No brainer. Ale Viola.
Venezia v Vicenza. I don't really care I just put it in for Venezian and as an excuse for another favourite proverb. "Veneziani gran signori, padovani gran dottori, vicentini magnagatti, veronesi tutti matti". Venetians fine gentlemen, Paduans great doctors, Vicentini cat-eaters and Veronese all mad". Apparently Venezia gave cats to Vicenza to combat a problem with mice. The cats were never returned - prompting the "gran signori" to speculate on what happened to them. Apparently Vicentini themselves say "finché ghe xe gati se magna" - as long as there are cats we will eat!
Anyway, anyone think of any other interesting my club is bigger than yours comparisons?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
OK here goes. GULP... Liverpool ARE a bigger club than Everton. Benitez was right. It's a universal truth and it's pointless to deny it. Let's move on, quickly !!
Juve v Torino : Well it has to be Juve, they are a universal giant - and wealthier than Man Utd now according to the latest Deliotte wealth table. It's similar to the old Man City/Man Utd debate (i.e. no true Mancunian would support Man Utd). But, you can't doubt who is the bigger club.
Milan v Inter : I'm going with Inter based on their larger (worldwide) fan-base. Milan may have a sublime record in Europe (and the coolest shirts in Football) - which should give them the edge - but to me it's about bums on seats and the numbers who take an active interest in your club.
Roma v Lazio : Without doubt it's Roma. The whole world knows where Rome is. Ask the average assh*le where Lazio is and you'll get some strange answers. A clubs soul is determined by its location and its location being KNOWN (having said that, I wonder how many people know where Juve are based ?).
Genoa v Samp : Genoa without a doubt. They have the bigger history. Also, many of my colleagues would kill me if I said otherwise !
Fiorentina v Tusacany : Well Siena has the better stadium (apperently) and it is a beautiful city but I have to apply the "bums on seats" argument again. Only Livorno run Fiorentina close.
Venezia v Vicenza : Any pervert who likes the taste of cat desrves to go unrecognised. I'll also apply the "where the hell is Vicenza !" argument. Quite near to Venezia would be my guess :oD
Grrrr... I'm going for a gargle...
...whoops, I have another one for the list.
England v Scotland : Engerland win this one hands down. Not so fast, let me make my case. We have manager (manager being the correct word here) who is well versed in the PR and media skills associated with the job but who is technically clueless. We have a bunch of generally over-rated, over-paid, and technically sub-standard players. We have a media (for that read the BBC, Sun, Daily-whatever) who build a myth around a poor team (i.e. Golden generation, blah blah blah). We have a public who don't believe in them. And finally, a fan-base who get a strange satisfaction in seeing their team fail. Let's face it the world loves to watch England. No ? You're right. It's tedious to the extreme :oI
Juve (boo!), Milan, Roma, Genoa, Fiorentina and I'd better say Venezia.
Celtic v Rangers? 10,000 more fans at home games, higher turnover, a global brand and unmatched European success. No contest.
I always rather loved the giant slogan on the wall of the pub next to goodison which says 'money makes clubs bigger, history makes them greater.' ahhh... I feel all nostalgic for my goodison-going days as a faux toffee now.
Juve outside Turin, but Torino have a really glorious history which should be acknowledged. Milan, Roma (obv), Genoa, la Viola... and of course the mighty Venezia-Mestre. ahem.
Rangers-Celtic are for me identically sized though outside of Scotland Celtic are clearly much much bigger.
Also Arsenal not Spurs. also obviously.
...ok one more. Who's bigger out of
Liverpool Red Sox v United White Sox (at the Nike Bsll-park Arena)
Apologies. I had to get that out of my system.
I'm going to be boring and agree with everyone - Juve, Milan, Roma, Genoa, Fiorentina and of course the grandi arancioneroverdi! (Incidentally, I don't like the sarcasm that seems to have been used by everyone when picking us over Vicenza!! We've won a Coppa Italia you know! The Grande Torino side was built from that cup winning team!!!...Sorry, rant over!)
From the perspective of somebody who doesn't really follow football unless it's on a European/World scale, I would agree with Benitez. I knew of Liverpool before I came to live here, but Everton? Who are they? (and you can say that with a cheeky Scouse accent if you like).
Love that proverb (I'd never heard it before, not the story behind it. Nasty vicentini, though, eating the kittens...)
Excellent views, one and all. And there is no sarcasm here about Venezia - especially since you used to be our bogey team whenever we had the misfortune to be in the same division as you. So, no sarcasm - only dislike!
Post a Comment