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The Serie A title race in the 2020-21 campaign turned out to be a one-sided affair this time around. It was Inter Milan's turn to lift the Scudetto, who ended Juventus' nine-year-long stranglehold on the title.
League titles changed hands in four of Europe's top five leagues - the Bundesliga the only exception. Inter's triumph was a long way in the making and Antonio Conte used the dreaded 3-5-2 formation to go all the way in the league.
Cristiano Ronaldo ended the season with his first capocannoniere, Atalanta were the top-scoring side in the division for the third season running and Inter had the meanest defense in the Italian top-flight.
As another thrilling Serie A season comes to an end, it is time for us to take a look at which players make it into the team of the season. Champions Inter have three players in the team, while city rivals AC Milan also have three of their players making the cut. Despite a modest season, Juventus have two representatives in the starting XI, while there are two surprise inclusions as well.
For this hypothetical XI, the choice of manager is of course Antonio Conte and we have considered his trademark 3-5-2 formation for the team.
So, without further ado, here's what we can take a look at.
Serie A team of the season (2020-21)
Goalkeeper - Gianluigi Donnarumma | AC Milan
Our choice for the player between the sticks is AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma. The 22-year-old kept a league-best 14 clean sheets this term, the same as Inter's Handanovic, but he faced more shots on goal and parried away 15 more shots than the veteran shot-stopper.
He has been Italy's first-choice goalkeeper in recent fixtures and, at the age of 22, is still some way off the peak of his career. Since making his Serie A debut the player has managed to hit double-digit figures on clean sheets and the return of 14 shutouts this campaign was his best figure ever.
Milan have reached an agreement with Mike Maignan, Lille's title-winning goalkeeper, so it seems Donnarumma, who is yet to sign a contract extension, will part ways with the club before the 2021-22 Serie A campaign kicks off.
Honorable Mentions: Samir Handanovic (Inter Milan), Andrea Consigli (Sassuolo), Juan Musso (Udinese), Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus)
Also See: 10 best goalkeepers in the world this season (2020-21)
Centre-back - Cristian Romero | Atalanta
Atalanta have made a name for themselves with their attacking prowess and have been the top-scoring side in Serie A for three seasons in a row. Though attacking is clearly their strength, one of the standout players for them this term has been central defender Cristian Romero.
The 23-year-old Argentine defender will spend another season on loan at Atalanta from Juventus, but it seems his performances have not gone unnoticed across Europe with Manchester United reportedly keeping tabs on him.
Romero made more interceptions than any other player in Serie A, averaging 3.1 per 90. He is also the defender with the best aerial record this term, winning 3.6 duels per game. His impressive 86% pass completion ratio also means that he helped distribute the ball accurately for La Dea's attackers.
Centre-back - Stefan de Vrij | Inter Milan
Inter Milan's season was defined by defensive solidarity and decisiveness in the final third. While Romelu Lukaku dismantled opposition defenders, scoring and assisting at will, Stefan de Vrij's calm and composed shift at the heart of the three-man defense was crucial to their league-best defensive record.
Only three of Inter’s 14 clean sheets came without de Vrij and the Serie A defender of the season 2019-20 also won almost 3 aerial duels per game.
Similar to his previous seasons at Inter, the player has been a supreme passer of the ball and completed 94% of his passes. His stock continues to rise in Serie A and he will be looking forward to continuing his impressive form at the Euros.
Centre-back - Milan Skriniar | Inter Milan
Stefan de Vrij's Inter partner Milan Skriniar joins him in our team of the season. Due to his impressive physical presence, Nerrazzuri has conceded just 35 goals this season.
The 26-year-old defender has been very clinical in his challenges and tackles in Serie A this term and was booked just once in 32 appearances, which is astonishing for a central defender like him.
Like De Vrij, his distribution has also been top-notch this season and he completed 92% of his passes. His ability to read the game is one of the best in the league at the moment and he has made 2.7 interceptions per 90 and was dribbled past just once every three games in Serie A.
Honorable Mentions: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Diego Godín (Cagliari), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus)
Also See: 10 best forwards in La Liga this season (2020-21)
Wing-Back (right) - Juan Cuadrado | Juventus
While wingers and wide midfielders making the shift to a defensive role is nothing new, rarely has anyone made such a smooth transition as Juventus' Juan Cuadrado. The Colombian player has mostly started at right-back this season and thanks to his accurate crosses and decisive runs down the flank ended up with 10 assists for the season.
While he has modest stats on most defensive metrics, he made up for any shortcomings with his lightning-quick pace and determination. He closed down the wingers very quickly and helped launch counter-attacks.
Central Midfield - Rodrigo De Paul | Udinese
Udinese captain Rodrigo De Paul had another decent outing in the Serie A as he delivered a top-notch performance in the middle of the park to keep Udinese above the relegation zone.
He scored and assisted nine times in the league, more than any other Udinese player, and was always the most vocal figure on the pitch. He was one of the most creative players in Serie A this term and created 2.3 key passes a game and also completed two crosses per 90.
Reportedly, after five seasons with the club, he is looking for new opportunities and could be on the move after he competes in the Copa America for Argentina. He has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League.
Central Midfield - Franck Kessié | AC Milan
Franck Kessié has been with AC Milan for four seasons and with every passing season, the midfield lynchpin has improved his stature at the club. He was one of the most important players as they secured Champions League qualification. He scored not once but twice from the penalty spot against Atalanta to help Milan finish second in the league standings, their highest finish since 2011.
He notched up 13 goals for Milan this season, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (15) had scored more. He is the designated penalty taker for his side and 11 of his 13 Serie A goals came from the penalty spot.
Central Midfield - Ruslan Malinovskyi | Atalanta
Ruslan Malinovskyi has been one of the standout stars for Atalanta this season. Since the departure of Alejandro Gomez to Sevilla in January, he has been the creative force behind the highest-scoring side in Serie A.
His performances in May have earned him the title of Serie A's player of the month, as he scored twice and provided three assists in five games. The Ukrainian midfielder also ended the season as the top assist provider in Serie A, setting up 12 goals for his teammates. With eight goals himself, he took the goal involvement to 20 in 36 league appearances, of which he only started 22 games.
Wing-Back (left) - Theo Hernandez | AC Milan
AC Milan's third entrant in our team is left-back Theo Hernandez. The Frenchman was one of the best full-backs in Serie A and even across Europe's top five leagues, there were very few full-backs who matched his intensity on the left flank.
With seven goals and five assists in Serie A, he contributed directly to 12 goals this season. His direct approach, dribbling skills and pace made him unplayable at times.
While he has been left out of the French national team squad for the upcoming Euros, he is only 23 and could become one of the best players in his position in the years to come.
Honorable Mentions: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (AS Roma), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Hakan Calhanoglu (AC Milan), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Piotr Zieliński (Napoli), Achraf Hakimi (Inter Milan)
Striker - Romelu Lukaku | Inter Milan
A candidate for the player of the season award, Romelu Lukaku was one of the first names in the Serie A team of the season. The big Belgian scored 24 goals and picked up 11 assists in the title-winning run. Lukaku is one of the few players to have achieved double-digit returns in goals and assists in Europe's top five leagues this term.
The player is the ultimate No.9, with a combination of pace, strength, aerial ability and finishing. He has scored in crucial games against opponents like AC Milan, Lazio and Juventus this season and has been in good touch in front of goal throughout the season.
He has 11 assists to his name as well, the second-highest in Serie A, which tells us that he is a team player and is more than happy to be the provider if the goalscoring chances are better.
Striker - Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 29 goals this season, which is two fewer than what he managed in Juventus' ninth Serie A triumph last season. he goals proved very crucial in determining a Champions League spot for the Old Lady, who were uncharacteristically poor in the final third this season.
Alvaro Morata was the only other player to cross the 10-goal mark for Juventus this season. Time and again it was Ronaldo who rescued points for them and more often than not, when he failed, Juventus dropped points.
At 36, he is still performing at the highest level and after a great individual season with his club, will be focussing on defending the Euros title with Portugal in June.
Here is how the team would line-up on the pitch
Honorable Mentions: Luis Muriel (Atalanta), Dušan Vlahović (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
