Rather than reducing the number of teams in Serie A, int'l fixtures "need to be better planned to deal with player workloads," Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri said ahead of his team’s Champions League match against Feyenoord, according to Silvia Recchimuzzi of REUTERS. Italian FA President Carlo Tavecchio and Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri are "among those who would like to cut the number of teams in Italy’s top flight." Sarri said, "An 18-team league has the pro of reducing the number of games and the con of taking away a dream from many cities, reducing the number of potential football fans in the long term. I think we should blame the national team (for the crammed calendar and we should) find a specific window during the year when the national teams play ... and the rest of the season some time should be given to clubs because this would give more quality to the games." Sarri’s views "are in contrast" to Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis, who said on Friday that a 16-team Serie A with just one relegation spot "would make the league more competitive." Tavecchio said on Monday that he hopes to find a "reasonable solution" to cut the number of teams in Italy's professional leagues in three to four years (REUTERS, 9/25).
