5 Serie A teams who deserve ‘The Last Dance’ treatment

While sports fans ponder what to do on Sundays once”The Last Dance” concludes, here are five Serie A clubs that can lay claim to being the best of the ’90s.

“The Last Dance” is a docu-series meant to showcase the Chicago Bulls’ claim that they were not just the best NBA team of the 1990s, but the best ever. It also gave fans who lived during that era a nostalgic look at the ’90s and how Michael Jordan forever changed the sport.

The 10-part series has gotten so much global attention that even AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic went on Twitter to praise Jordan’s leadership.

Likewise, soccer went through a transformation during that decade. The European Champions’ Cup was renamed the Champions League and expanded to include more of the best teams from the continent.

The game changed, allowing clubs to get richer thanks to a series of decisions. The Bosman ruling, for example, allowed for the free flow of European players across national borders, while improved technology, satellite TV rights and increased marketing dollars meant more revenue for teams. FIFA made a series of rule changes to speed up play and a World Cup was played on American soil in 1994, where the upstart U.S. defeated pre-tournament favorites Colombia.

In Italy, Serie A went from being the best domestic league in the world (something that began in the late 1980s), only to see its influence and dominance slowly whittle down as the ’90s came to an end. As a result, other domestic competitions, specifically the Premier League, became the world’s best tournament. It arguably remains so to this day.

Nonetheless, several Italian clubs dominated throughout the ’90s. AC Milan and Juventus, two traditional powers, had a very strong decade. After capturing nearly every major national and international title, both can lay claim for being the best team of the decade, if not ever.

Others teams, such as Napoli and Lazio bookended the decade by being surprise league champions in 1990 and 2000, respectively, but neither did enough to compete for best team of the decade. If anything, Napoli slumped in reputation after Diego Maradona was suspended for drug use in 1991.

Sampdoria, an emerging power in the late ’80s, and Parma certainly put together very strong runs throughout the ’90s, creating a seismic imbalance both in the race for the scudetto and in European competition. Interestingly enough, Roberto Baggio, the best player in the first half of the 1990s, would play for four teams during that decade (Juventus, AC Milan, Bologna and Inter Milan) before retiring with Brescia in 2004.

More than ever, sports during a global pandemic is about watching documentaries (ESPN announced recently it moved up the date of its “30 for 30” on the Maguire/Sosa 1998 homerun race to next month), rewatching classic games, debating who was the best and reliving the tensions on and off the field that made teams either good or bad.

While we wait until June 13, when Serie A is scheduled to restart from its coronavirus suspension, here are five Italian teams that each deserve their own documentary — “The Last Dance” treatment if you will  — as the best team of the ’90s. Only two from this list (AC Milan and Juventus) can potentially lay claim to being the best in Italian soccer history.

AC Milan

What they achieved: Five league titles, two Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups and one InterContinental Cup.

Best player: Marco van Basten

Biggest frustration: The forced retirement of van Basten in 1995 at the age of 31 after spending two years on the sidelines with an injured ankle.

First under manager Arrigo Sacchi, then Fabio Capello, AC Milan dominated the game like no other team starting in the late ’80s. Scudetto winners in 1992, ’93, ’94, ’96 and ’99, the Rossoneri gobbled up titles and bought the world’s best players thanks to the deep pockets of its billionaire owner Silvio Berlusconi. While those great players included van Basten, his early retirement did nothing to stop the club.

The Rossoneri, anchored by the defensive duo of Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini, purchased Liberian striker George Weah to replace him in attack, helping the club win trophies for the remainder of the decade.

Juventus

What they achieved: Three league titles, one Champions League, one UEFA Cup, one European Super Cup and one InterContinental Cup

Best player: Alessandro Del Piero

Biggest frustration: That Juve’s trophy cabinet was swelling thanks largely to the help of referees, something that would become a scandal a decade later during Calciopoli.

The mid-90s saw Juventus dominate both in the league and Europe under manager Marcello Lippi. Armed with some of the decade’s best attacking players such as Del Piero and Gianluca Vialli (who had joined the team from Sampdoria), the Bianconeri won the league in 1995, ’97 and ’98.

Capturing the Champions League in 1996 made this side one of the best in the club’s storied history. Nonetheless, pulling the strings was Luciano Moggi, the controversial powerbroker who a decade later would be banned from the game for life following a scandal involving referees.

Sampdoria

What they achieved: One league title, one Coppa Italia title, one Italian Super Cup and one Cup Winners’ Cup.

Best player: Gianluca Vialli

Biggest frustration: The inability to win the Champions League in 1992, losing the final in extra time to Barcelona 1-0.

Before becoming a star at Juventus, Vialli was already one with Sampdoria. Alongside Roberto Mancini in attack, Vialli helped Sampdoria win its first, and to date only, Serie A title in 1991. Once Vialli was gone, the Genoa-based club continued to stun opponents.

Owner Paolo Mantovani pumped millions into the team, acquiring Argentine internationals Juan Sebastian Veron and Ariel Ortega, along with Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf. But money and success ended and the team was relegated to the second division in 1999.

Parma 

What they achieved: Two Coppa Italia titles, two UEFA Cups, one Cup Winners’ Cup, one European Super Cup

Best player: Gianfranco Zola

Biggest frustration: Succeeding in Europe, but failing to win the scudetto.

Another club propelled by money and leading the trend of clubs hailing from smaller cities succeeding on a larger stage, Parma had their best decade as a club in the ’90s. Under coach Nevio Scala, the team achieved lots of success in Europe during a decade when Italian clubs dominated the UEFA Cup.

Offensive players like Hernan Crespo of Argentina and Italian midfielder Dino Baggio (no relation to Roberto) led Parma to glory, while players like Zola would go on to further success at Chelsea in England. The team got close to the scudetto in 1997, finishing second that season. It would be the closest they would ever get to a league championship.

Inter Milan 

What they achieved: Three UEFA Cups

Best player: Ronaldo

Biggest frustration: Not being able to win the scudetto throughout the decade even after signing Brazilian superstar Ronaldo.

Indeed, not winning a title for a span of 10 years, all while intra-city rivals AC Milan and Juventus racked up trophies was a frustrating experience for this storied club.

The decade would mark one of the most inconsistent for Inter, a club awash with money and drama. The decade started off on the wrong foot after coach Giovanni Trappatoni left for Juventus in the summer of 1991. Team Chairman Ernesto Pellegrini’s choice to replace the legendary boss was Corrado Orrico, who turned out to be a flop. He was canned a year later. Inter legend Luis Suarez took over, but that too didn’t go well.

Despite the likes of Denis Bergkamp, and later Ronaldo, coming to play at Inter, the team would go on to attain limited success. An officiating blunder in 1998 during a league game against Juventus cost Inter the title. It pretty much summed up the decade for the Nerazzurri.