It's our Serie A Season Preview – and it's shaping up to be another exciting campaign in Italian football.
Napoli won the title last year playing a scintillating brand of football – and they weren't alone with their brilliance. Inter Milan reached a Champions League final, Roma got to the Europa League showpiece and Fiorentina got to the Europa Conference League final.
Is Italian football really back? Alasdair McKenzie analyses just what to expect over the next few months…
So, what’s new in Serie A?
Since Juventus’ stranglehold was broken, Serie A has become one of Europe’s most thrillingly open leagues. Napoli ended a 33-year wait to claim their third Scudetto last season, becoming the fourth different champion in four years.
FRANCE Ligue 1 Season Preview
GERMANY Bundesliga Season Preview
ITALY Serie A Season Preview
SPAIN La Liga Season Preview
But the departure of mastermind Luciano Spalletti – and the underwhelming choice of Rudi Garcia as his successor – has cast doubt on their ability to launch a robust title defence. Some familiar names are back again after Genoa and Cagliari bounced straight up from Serie B, while Frosinone are ready for another crack at the big time.
At the turn of the year, we also have the novelty of the first ‘final four’ Supercoppa to look forward to – Napoli, Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina will do battle in, er, Saudi Arabia.
Major storylines
No pundits tipped Napoli for the title last season – few even put them in the top four. With little to separate the top teams on paper, and all of them heading into this campaign with some clear flaws, it’s anyone’s guess how things will shake out.
Simone Inzaghi and Stefano Pioli will be eyeing the title with Inter and Milan respectively but could find themselves under pressure if they start slowly, while it’ll be interesting to see if Jose Mourinho can finally coax some consistency out of Roma. Where Juventus go from here will also be fascinating, after off-field controversy and with Max Allegri still in the dugout, despite fierce criticism over the Bianconeri’s miserable performances.
And how will the Italians fare in Europe? After boasting three finalists last season, can they show that success wasn’t a one-off?
Star arrivals
At the age of 71, Claudio Ranieri returns to Serie A, having emotionally guided Cagliari back into the big time via the play-offs – he first coached the club from 1988-91, when he took them from Serie C to the top flight. This time, he joined at the turn of the year with Cagliari 14th in Serie B – cue another Claudio miracle. Dilly ding, dilly dong.
On the pitch, Roma made early summer moves to sign Houssem Aouar and Evan Ndicka on frees, while Juventus finally brought a Weah back to Serie A – 23 years after Ballon d’Or winner George left Milan, his son Tim has moved to Turin from Lille.
Inter have recruited a son of a famous dad, too: bringing in Lilian Thuram’s lad Marcus from Borussia Monchengladbach, after losing Milan Skriniar and Marcelo Brozovic, the latter joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
Surprise potential
Napoli’s title, and the apparent lack of a dominant force going into the new campaign, has left many pondering who the next dark horse could be. Perhaps Lazio? Maurizio Sarri guided the Aquile to an impressive second last season, but it’s unclear whether they can juggle the Champions League with a push for the title.
Roma have talent, while Atalanta can never be ruled out under Gian Piero Gasperini. Elsewhere, Monza might eye Europe in tribute to late owner Silvio Berlusconi, after a mid-table finish on their Serie A debut. It’ll be absorbing to see how Thiago Motta’s first full season at Bologna goes, too, after he guided the Rossoblu to ninth last term.
Look out for…
When Genoa, Italy’s oldest club, were relegated a year ago, it was a disaster that had been a long time coming, but they bounced straight back under boss Alberto Gilardino and return with renewed vigour. If Torino can bag a clinical striker, meanwhile, the astute Ivan Juric’s vision may also bear fruit.
But as always in Serie A, touchlines might provide the greatest entertainment – despite his four-match European ban for silly antics at the Europa League final, expect more dramatics from Jose in particular.
More Season Previews
FourFourTwo have season previews for plenty of other leagues too, including the Premier League, where we rate each of England's top 20 clubs in detail.
Our Ligue 1 Season Preview looks at whether Paris Saint-Germain's stranglehold on French football will continue, while our Bundesliga Season Preview poses a similar question of Bayern Munich and German football. In Italy, it’s a wide-open race between the top teams as we delve deep with our Serie A Season Preview and in Spain, we assess whether Barcelona or Real Madrid will come out on top in our La Liga Season Preview.
We also have the Championship season preview, the League One season Preview and the League Two Season Preview for you to get stuck into.
