Crowd numbers are continuing to slide in Serie A, according to calculations made by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
At the midway stage of the 2014-15 campaign, almost seven percent fewer spectators have been passing through the gates at Italian stadiums, perhaps contributing to -- or caused by -- a drop in the number of home victories so far this season.
Only an average of 22,053 fans have attended Serie A fixtures since August -- over 1,000 fewer than the 23,604 present in the first half of last season.
Crowd figures in Italy have been in almost uninterrupted decline since the 1991-92 season, when most of the stadiums were still relatively modern following the 1990 World Cup. Very little has changed to stadiums up and down Italy since then, however.
It follows a 6.4 percent drop from 2011-12 to 2012-13. Official figures have not yet been released for the 2013-14 campaign, although La Gazzetta has collated attendances from the 190 games in Serie A so far. There has also been a marked drop in the number of home victories with just 69, the lowest number in 10 years. There has also been a drop in goals scored -- 496 compared to 521 last season, at an average of 2.61 per game.
Only Juventus buck the trend with their Juventus Stadium regularly sold out, and the home side winning all but two of their games there this season, drawing the other two and scoring almost at will.
Their 6-1 Coppa Italia victory over Hellas Verona last week was seen by over 40,000 fans -- practically more than all the other last-16 Coppa Italia ties last week put together. They put four more past Hellas in the league last weekend.
The figures do not reflect a reduced capacity at Udinese's Stadio Friuli, where renovation work to transform the venue into Italy's newest stadium has led to restrictions. The Zebrette hope to play in their new 25,000-seater stadium next season.
Roma are also advancing with plans to build a new stadium while Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is also hopeful essential modernisation work to their Stadio San Paolo will soon be given the green light.