Who Ju gunna call?

Many critics have likened Juve's abysmal season to that of Liverpool's. The fact that both clubs crashed out of the Champions League at the group stages and are now currently chasing fourth spot in their respective leagues to be eligible for next year's competetion is almost a perfect mirror image.

The major difference being, when things began to go wrong for the Old Lady, the board decided to twist and replaced Ciro Ferrara at the helm, wheras Liverpool decided to stick with the experienced Rafa Benitez.

Why then, is the Reds boss on a short-list of potential replacements for Alberto Zaccheroni? Benitez undoubtedly has pedigree, but he only ever appeared to have a magic touch when it came to the Champions League, a touch which appears to be escaping him. Like Inter, the Champions League is the one trophy that is coveted by Juventus more than any other. It has been so long since either of them have won it, that it has become the Holy Grail. Jose Mourinho has built a strong unit at Inter that are now only one step away from the final, a position that is bitterly envied by Juve. If Benitez could raise them back to those dizzy heights he would be hailed a hero. However league form cannot continue to dwindle or be sacrificed, and Juve are aslo due a Scudetto. Rafa would not come cheap, and he may just be a gamble that is not worth taking...

It really does speak volumes about the current state of Italian football, when all their best homegrown managers flee to another country in what seems to be a mass exodus of managerial talent. The top three Italian coaches in recent history are now all plying their trade in England; Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Roberto Mancini at Inter at Fabio Capello, at the helm of the England national team. Not to mention the Godfather Giovanni Trapattoni working wonders for the Republic of Ireland, Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola battling to keep West Ham afloat, and Roberto Di Matteo having just convincingly promoted West Brom back to the Premier League.

Understandably these coaches want to further their careers and win more trophies, but surely they should be attempting to clean up the mess of their own league rather than jumping ship. Will Italian players now follow suit? I know that I keep going on about Giorgio Chiellini, but it is raw talents like him that Serie A should be fighting to keep a hold of. With Manchester City sniffing around yet again, it could only be a matter of time before he follows in the footstepts of fellow export Alberto Aquilani. Are we about to see another successful flurry of Italians gracing the Premiership like we did in the nineties, with the likes of Chelsea trio Gianfranco Zola, ,Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Di Matteo, as well as Crystal Palace hero Atillio Lombardo,Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham United and Charlton Athletic legend Paolo Di Canio , and Middlesbrough, Derby County and Dundee star Fabrizio Ravanelli becoming household names?

All this, from a country whom won the World Cup four years ago through solidarity, and a team made up entirely of players who were playing in Italy at the time.

With Italy's fourth Champions League spot at risk of being rescinded, due to a 'points' system which could see them overtaken by Germany, it seems Italian football needs to pull it's socks up once and for all.

Inter are now Italy's sole hope of retaing this fourth European spot, and they only contain four Italians in their squad. How ironic, that the fourth placed finish that Juve are hunting for is in the hands of bitter rivals Inter, and Inter's fourth consecutive league title could very well be in the hands of Juve.