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The Italian league has always been one of the best leagues, throughout history. As a matter of fact, Serie A clubs have won the UEFA Champions League for 12 times, a number on par with England's, and only bettered by Spain's 17.
AC Milan, Juventus and Internazionale have marked the competition in fashion, however, the scenario has been different in the past few years. Milan and Inter have fallen apart, leaving Juventus as the only real Italian powerhouse, competing in Europe.
The Old Lady have won the Scudetto in the past 6 seasons now, which is a record. The importance of this upcoming campaign, is that it could mark the revival of one of the world's most popular competitions. Here are 5 reasons, why we are excited about the Serie A this year.
#5 Maurizio Sarri
Napoli have displayed some of the most beautiful plays in the past few seasons, with manager Maurizio Sarri insisting on prioritising an attractive style of play over the typically famous Italian tradition of coming up with primarily defensive setups. As a matter of fact, coaching legend Arrigo Sacchi has declared Sarri as his favourite active manager, insisting that Italy should be proud of having someone like him today.
Sacchi revolutionised Italian football while he was in charge of AC Milan in between 1987 and 1991. He was considered the Pep Guardiola of his era. It is definitely a huge recognition for Maurizio, when a huge footballing figure as Arrigo, considers him his heir in Italian football. This season, Napoli will be one of main teams to watch in Europe's 5 leagues. If you are a fan of beautiful football, search no more!
#4 Eusebio di Francesco's arrival at AS Roma
Eusebio Di Francesco made a name for himself whilst in charge of Sassuolo in the past few seasons. The 47-year old is a fan of the 4-3-3 setup, and likes to count on man to man pressing, counter-pressing, a fluid front-line with attackers constantly exchanging positions. All the above while, of course, implementing a possession-based style, with emphasis on build-up from the back and short, vertical or even diagonal passing to break the lines.
While Luciano Spalletti was a very pragmatic manager and made AS Roma prioritise the result over anything else, Di Francesco will certainly make the Italian capital-side play attractive football.
At Roma, Eusebio can count on far better technically gifted midfielders such as Daniele de Rossi, Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman to apply his tactics, leading into higher quality performances than the ones his Sassuolo players were able to pull. This season, Roma will be very interesting to follow, both in Serie A and UEFA Champions League action.
#3 The curiosity to see how the new Juventus will fare
It is still almost impossible to believe that Leonardo Bonucci has taken the decision to join Juventus' eternal rivals AC Milan, and is from now on their new captain. Bonucci was the general in Juve's back-line and played an essential role in their impressive defensive records.
On the other hand, Dani Alves was fundamental in helping the Old Lady overcome FC Barcelona and AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League. With the experience and leadership of these two, Juventus were one of the most dominant sides in Europe last season.
There have been some interesting arrivals such as Blaise Matuidi, Douglas Costa and Federico Bernardeschi, so it'll be exciting to see how the team will fare with all these changes.
#2 The revival of AC Milan
AC Milan are traditionally-speaking, the most successful Italian side in Europe competitions. The stats back-up this claim, as Milan have won the UEFA Champions League 7 times throughout history, which means more times than Internazionale (3) and Juventus (2) combined.
In recent years, San Siro's ship seemed to have sank with the Rossonero failing to win the league since 2011, and not qualifying for the Champions League since 2013. However, this season could mark the return of Il Diavolo.
With new mega-rich Chinese owners, Milan have already entered the transfer window in style, having purchased a contingent of stars such as Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Conti, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mateo Musacchio, Lucas Biglia, Franck Kessié, Hakan Calhanoglu, André Silva and Nikola Kalinic. Milan look set to retrieve their spot in Europe's elite competition, and could possibly surprise many by challenging for the Serie A title.
#1 Serious competition for the title
Not many would disagree that Juventus are still the strongest Italian side at the moment, for several reasons. However, losing Dani Alves and Leonardo Bonucci was a big blow, and Gianluigi Buffon is certainly not getting any younger. Furthermore, it is not like Juventus completely dominated the league last season, as they only managed to end with 4 points ahead of Roma, and 5 ahead of Napoli who both promise to be better this season.
With Napoli gaining more stability, AS Roma hiring Eusebio Di Francesco and AC Milan entering the market with huge deals, retaining the Italian league will certainly be harder than in the past few years.
It is worth mentioning that Luciano Spalletti has taken charge of Internazionale, and despite not being famous for implementing an attractive style of play, he remains one of the most successful coaches in Italy, and can achieve results with his pragmatic approach. In brief, this season could be the best one in Serie A, since a very long time.
