5 Reasons the Coppa Italia Final Is More Interesting Than the FA Cup Final

The Coppa Italia final was set yesterday with Inter advancing to the title match against Palermo with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Roma.

I would never even attempt to argue that the Coppa Italia is better than the FA Cup as a tournament. The FA Cup deserves the respect it gets as the world’s oldest football competition and the importance that even the biggest English clubs usually place on it (towards the end anyway).

By all accounts, most of Milan’s players could not be bothered to stop celebrating their scudetto win enough to bother really showing up in Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final in Palermo. And while I know big sides in England occasionally fail to give their all or field full squads in the FA Cup too, I feel like it doesn’t really happen in the later rounds.

Looks silly next to the scudetto anyway

It would have been nice if the Rossoneri had done the double, but I won’t pretend to be more than even a little bit upset by them crashing out to Palermo. While I’m not as down on the Coppa Italia as others have been (Warning: Bleacher Report), the FA Cup is admittedly, hand-down a more prestigious trophy.

But strictly speaking in terms of this year’s final, the Coppa Italia outshines the FA Cup.

The matches are similar in a few ways. Both have a clear favorite in Manchester City and Inter, teams that are on their way to the Champions League next year. Stoke and Palermo sit in eighth in their respective leagues and neither have won these trophies before.

However, I’m confident that the final in Italy will be a better, more entertaining game than it’s English counterpart this year.

And so, in advance of the City vs. City tilt on Saturday, I present to you 5 reasons this Coppa Italia final is a more interesting match than the FA Cup.

#1 – Javier Pastore

Anyone who reads the Serie A preview with any regularity has read what I think of the Argentinian whiz-kid called El Flaco. His play is simple yet elegant. He is just as likely to provide the killer pass as the killer strike and though his game still has plenty of room to grow, having watched him closely for an entire season I can’t help but feel his days as a mainstay in Argentina’s national side are fast approaching.

Young Javier has also landed himself quite a WAG

He is constantly rumored to be on his way out of Sicily, but Palermo have placed a €60 million price tag on him and insist he will stay for at least another year. This cup final is arguably the biggest stage he has played on with Palermo so it could be the perfect, and one of the last, times to catch him in pink and black.

#2 – No Stoke

Must I elaborate? There will be no “anti-football” in the Coppa Italia final. In fact, if anything Palermo have shown an aversion to defense this year. You won’t see any goals directly off of throw-ins, followed by countless play-interrupting tackles.

I know Italian football isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but, is Stoke City football anyone’s cup of tea? Besides Stoke fans? And really what choice do those poor souls have? Any game of football has to be better than going to a freaking pottery museum. What else do they have to be proud of, Robbie Williams?

#3 – The Potential Post-Match Hilarity of Maurizio Zamparini

Palermo owner and chairman Maurizio Zamparini once said, “Italy is a country of farce and ridicule. We are not a normal country.”

For those of you who don’t follow Serie A much, just take my word for it: this man is insane, and exactly the reason why people might feel this way about his nation and his compatriots.

Zamparini: likely threatening the mascot or a small child.

He acts before he thinks, if he stops to think at all. He is the most trigger happy owner in Italy, if not all of Europe when it comes to the sacking of managers. This season he fired his second manager in a span of a month, only to ask the first one back.

He barfs out Serie A conspiracy theories like he’s Jesse Ventura, places ridiculous price tags on his assets (see: Pastore), and generally suffers from diarrhea of the mouth.

Win or lose, there are sure to be some choice Zamparini quotes after this one.

If the Rosanero prevail, I expect nothing short of a treble guarantee for next year. Lose, and manager Delio Rossi might want to watch out for the axe again.

#4 – Both teams want it more

I know Stoke City have never won anything as big as the FA Cup before, but they don’t even have to win to get some of the spoils of the trophy. Stoke are already guaranteed a place in next year’s Europe League due to Manchester City having already qualified for the Champions League.

And if you asked any Manchester City fan (paging Ryan) whether they would rather win the FA Cup or qualify for the CL this season, you know what they’d say. The FA Cup will just be a cherry on top for a team that already has 4.

Palermo’s only hope for European football is winning the Coppa Italia. While it’s by no means CL money, the dividends from participation in the Europa League could be extremely helpful to a club still trying establish itself as a permanent fixture in the top level of Serie A.

And Inter, wounded Inter. The Club World Cup aside, Inter have had a difficult campaign this season full of injury and of course, the disappointment of failing to defend it’s two biggest hauls from last year.

The Coppa Italia is all they have left, and though he may be on his way out anyway, Leonardo will be desperate to keep Inter’s trophy cabinet at least partially stocked. It may be bittersweet, but their fans will expect nothing less than their best to salvage something from a forgettable year.

#5 – Italian football is better than English football

There, I said it. So what? Wanna fight about it?

The Coppa Italia final can be seen on May 29. Check your local listings.