The decision had been called into question in recent weeks, in particular by the open opposition of Inter, accompanied by the more hidden doubts of other clubs
Yesterday’s news confirmed the final four formula for the Super Cup also for 2025. A choice that found Inter decidedly against given the great congestion of the calendar next year: “The decision had been questioned in recent weeks in particular from Inter’s open opposition, accompanied by the more subterranean doubts of other companies. For this reason, a discussion was necessary in yesterday’s meeting of the Lega Serie A via video link. It was not a real vote, because the matter falls within the competence of the Council which will now ratify. A round of opinions took place in alphabetical order. Juventus was a little perplexed by this method which made the opinion of those who spoke later almost irrelevant, due to the initial letter.
The orientation had essentially already been defined even by those who do not participate in the European cups and will not go to Saudi Arabia. The Juventus club ended up adapting, but highlighted the need not to separate the Italian Super Cup topic from the overall discussion on the increasingly dense international calendar and the reduction of Serie A to 18 teams, carried out together with Inter, Milan and Roma but opposed by the other 16. Inter was the only club to clearly take a stand against repeating the final four in Saudi Arabia. According to the Nerazzurri managers, in the absence of a split in the 18-team championship, perseverance on this formula is irreconcilable with the new Champions League (with two group days in January) and the Club World Cup.
The championship recoveries, scheduled for February, end up overlapping with the Champions League round of 16 without leaving any more windows in the event of other postponements for unforeseeable reasons from March to May. The will of the other clubs to have a showcase for Serie A in the Middle East prevailed, as well as the hope of sharing the 23 million prize money for each edition: 7.8 million to the winner, 4.7 to the loser of the final, 1 .5 to whoever is defeated in the semi-final. But also 140,000 each at 4pm who stay at home. The majority of Serie A clubs, as well as those of other European Leagues, think that the best way to reduce the workload of their players is to ask FIFA to eliminate international friendlies. In that case, however, the championships would still have to stop because there would be official matches in those windows. So only part of the problem would be solved.”
