Milan, Aug 21: Expect the unexpected when the Italian league season kicks off this weekend.
Serie A has become the most unpredictable of Europe’s five biggest soccer leagues with four different champions over the last six seasons.
Add in that last season marked the second time in four years the title race went down to the last round and it could be considered the most competitive, too.
By comparison, only Liverpool or Manchester City have won the Premier League in the last eight seasons; Spain is mostly a two-team show with Real Madrid and Barcelona; Bayern Munich has won 12 of the last 13 Bundesliga titles; and Paris Saint-Germain is just as dominant in France.
So while Napoli is favored to repeat as champion this season, there’s a handful of serious challengers: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Atalanta.
Napoli edged Inter by one point last season in a race that was so close it raised the possibility of a single-match playoff to determine the title – a rule that remains in place for this season if two teams finish level.
When Napoli won the title in 2023 it followed up the championship with a highly disappointing 10th place finish.
Demanding coach Antonio Conte, who was hired after the 2023-24 debacle, is not likely to permit a similar letdown as he begins his second season in charge of the southern club.
Kevin De Bruyne’s arrival from Manchester City could make for one of the finest midfields in Europe alongside Serie A MVP Scott McTominay and passing wizard Stanislav Lobotka.
But there is already concern with the club saying this week that striker Romelu Lukaku could require surgery for an injured left thigh muscle.
Inter should be motivated under new coach Cristian Chivu after seeing the possibility of a treble last season fall apart in spectacular fashion: A 5-0 rout by PSG in the Champions League final meant that the Nerazzurri went trophyless.
Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram remain one of the best strike tandems in Italy but Inter’s bench remains thin.
A coaching carousel saw Milan rehire Massimiliano Allegri after missing out on Europe, Gian Piero Gasperini move his attack-minded tactics from Atalanta to Roma, and Maurizio Sarri back at Lazio a year after resigning his position at the capital club.
There are also four World Cup winners among the 20 coaches: Cesc Fabregas at Como (Spain, 2010); Patrick Vieira at Genoa (France, 1998), Alberto Gilardino at promoted Pisa (Italy, 2006) and Fabio Grosso at promoted Sassuolo (Italy, 2006).
Luka Modric’s transfer to Milan – the club he supported as a boy – after 13 seasons at Madrid, is not just a sentimental move, the 39-year-old former Ballon d’Or winner says.
Modric indicated that he won’t put up with a repeat of Milan’s eighth-place finish last season.
“Milan cannot be satisfied with average,” Modric said. “It needs to have (the) biggest goals possible, to win titles, to compete with the best teams in the world. And that’s why I’m here.”
Canada striker Jonathan David has impressed in the preseason after signing a five-year deal with Juventus.
“If he gets the ball, he scores,” Juventus coach Igor Tudor said. (AP)
