Which is the most cost-effective team in Serie A? That is, who spends the least amount of money per point obtained? Here’s an idea that came straight from the great source of footy information that is TheOffside.com.

When he’s not passionately writing about the Giallorossi or the Italian national team, RomaChris (author of the Roma blog at TheOffside) is reflecting upon the philosophical, political, and economical implications of soccer in the world. In that latter category, Chris had the idea (or rather, took the idea he got from one of his blog readers one step further) to measure the cost-effectiveness of teams in the Italian league, by dividing each team’s total wage budget by their number of points in the standings (as of week 12).

The result is quite interesting (CPP = Cost Per Point in million Euros):

TEAM STANDINGS (Week 12)

Rank	Team	Points	Wages (m€)	CPP (m€)
1	Inter Milan	25	€ 110.00	€ 4.40
2	Fiorentina	23	€ 30.00	€ 1.30
3	Juventus	22	€ 96.90	€ 4.40
4	Roma	22	€ 59.02	€ 2.68
5	Udinese	22	€ 14.40	€ 0.65
6	Atalanta	18	€ 11.50	€ 0.64
7	Palermo	18	€ 24.60	€ 1.37
8	Sampdoria	17	€ 24.00	€ 1.41
9	Napoli	15	€ 19.80	€ 1.32
10	Catania	15	€ 18.41	€ 1.23
11	AC Milan	14	€ 120.00	€ 8.57
12	Genoa	14	€ 21.00	€ 1.50
13	Torino	13	€ 23.07	€ 1.77
14	Parma	12	€ 14.00	€ 1.17
15	Lazio	10	€ 18.00	€ 1.80
16	Siena	9	€ 11.59	€ 1.29
17	Cagliari	9	€ 11.00	€ 1.22
18	Reggina	9	€ 12.60	€ 1.40
19	Livorno	9	€ 14.70	€ 1.63
20	Empoli	9	€ 12.00	€ 1.33

COST-EFFECTIVENESS RANKING

Rank	Team	Points	Wages (m€)	CPP (m€)
1	Atalanta	18	€ 11.50	€ 0.64
2	Udinese	22	€ 14.40	€ 0.65
3	Parma	12	€ 14.00	€ 1.17
4	Cagliari	9	€ 11.00	€ 1.22
5	Catania	15	€ 18.41	€ 1.23
6	Siena	9	€ 11.59	€ 1.29
7	Fiorentina	23	€ 30.00	€ 1.30
8	Napoli	15	€ 19.80	€ 1.32
9	Empoli	9	€ 12.00	€ 1.33
10	Palermo	18	€ 24.60	€ 1.37
11	Reggina	9	€ 12.60	€ 1.40
12	Sampdoria	17	€ 24.00	€ 1.41
13	Genoa	14	€ 21.00	€ 1.50
14	Livorno	9	€ 14.70	€ 1.63
15	Torino	13	€ 23.07	€ 1.77
16	Lazio	10	€ 18.00	€ 1.80
17	Roma	22	€ 59.02	€ 2.68
18	Inter Milan	25	€ 110.00	€ 4.40
19	Juventus	22	€ 96.90	€ 4.40
20	AC Milan	14	€ 120.00	€ 8.57

And the winner is…

The ranking’s big winner is Atalanta, who with a total wage of €11.50m only spent 0.64 million Euros per point for their 18 points obtained so far. They are closely followed by Udinese (€0.64m per point), while trailing behind are Parma (€1.17m pp), Cagliari (€1.22m pp), and Catania (€1.23m pp).

Meanwhile “big clubs” such as Inter, Milan, Juve and Roma end being at the bottom of the effectiveness-ratio ranking, with AC Milan’s very poor league form indicating the Rossoneri club has spent approximately €8.57m per point on wages alone. Shivering stuff. 

Yes, but…

Obviously, there are several caveats to this ranking:

1. First, the analysis takes only salary budget into account, and ignores other club-related costs such as funds spent on transfers, stadium maintenance etc. etc. As Chris points out, the difference between clubs with “lower” cost totals is very negligible and doesn’t provide a very accurate ranking between the teams.
2. Also, this analysis only takes into account the Italian Serie A. Big clubs such as Inter, Milan, Roma etc. also have European competitions to deal with, and therefore can justify a higher wage budget on account of having to play more games (not to mention that these games, especially in the UEFA Champions’ League, are a big source of revenue in ticket sales, advertising & TV rights).

Nonetheless, this ranking provides a good indication of which teams “are better than others” at keeping their wages low and still being able to compete at the highest level of Italian soccer. 

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I’ll leave the rest of the analysis in the expert words of Chris (caution: the man is known to speak his mind ).

The Winners:
Atalanta – Not only do they have a legit chance at making Europe, they’re doing it for pennies on the euro. Beats the fu** out of me.
Udinese – Ditto, and I’m beginning to believe they’re one recockulous Fabio Quagliarella surge from making a serious run at that 4^th Champions League spot (yes, you heard that Fiorentina – don’t slip up).
Palermo – Looking at that team, it’s hard to believe that much talent can cost so little. Kudos to Zamparini.
Fiorentina – 2^nd place currently and 11^th in efficiency. ‘Nuff said.

The Losers:
Milan – Silvio Berlusconi might as well go to the local pole dancing club and make it rain, because that has roughly the same worth as blowing it on the Golden Girls, aka AC Milan.
Inter - Just because. A**holes.
Torino - My super secret second love just cannot put it together, and they’re blowing (relatively) big money to boot. I blame Recoba. (Fu**ing sieve).
Livorno – Dear Christ, Aldo Spinelli. Get it together.
Lazio – As cost-effective as dry-humping a prostitute. Typical.

• I totally expect Livorno’s rating to change. They just appear to be one of those teams that has looks destined for relegation, then all of a sudden has one of those “what the fu** just happened?” streaks in them and winds up mid-table and near safety by February to the surprise of absolutely everyone (but me…and LivornoMarco).

• You can buy a Champions League spot. Seriously. Well, unless you’re Silvio Berlusconi, who should be investing in Geritol rather than hitting the market.

• For all the sh** I give Pietro Leonardi –all of it deserving, of course– he’s done a damn fine job tightening up the finances in Udine while putting out a team which is more than competitive. Almost (almost) a team one could find themselves rooting for. (Nah).

• The fact that Atalanta is at the top isn’t even the most surprising part. That is the fact that they have the second lowest payroll in all of Serie A, only half a mil above Cagliari, at €11.5m. And only one player, the incredibly worth it Simone Inzaghi, is making over €400,000 this year (Simone, like his brother, is a veritable cancer on the team’s payroll at a cool €1m).

As far as Roma goes, it’s not wonderful, but they are certainly on par with any team in Serie A, meaning Inter & Juve so far, and doing it at over a third of the price. They’re no Atalanta or Udinese, but that’s still pretty damn good when you consider some of the utterly absurd and floundering payrolls floating around Europe (Tottenham comes to mind). I’d give Rosella Sensi a B+.

Anywho, nothing to take too seriously…unless you’re a Milan fan.

Posted in Atalanta, Cagliari, Catania, Money/Finance in Soccer, Parma, Serie A, Udinese |

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 at 12:20 am and is filed under Atalanta, Cagliari, Catania, Money/Finance in Soccer, Parma, Serie A, Udinese. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.