Why Serie A might be the most interesting league this season
Not so long ago, we discussed why Serie A is probably the most competitive league in Europe, and it will get better in the Italian top flight next season.
The Italian top-flight was the biggest domestic competition in the world in the 1990s and 2000s when the likes of Napoli, Lazio, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus imported the best talents from all over the world.
The Premier League has taken that crown, but Serie A remains arguably the most unpredictable domestic league in the world.
Juventus dominated the competition for nine seasons until 2021, when Inter Milan won the Serie A, and the Old Lady has not been able to win the crown since then.
AC Milan, Napoli and Inter Milan have won the last three league crowns, and the 2024/2025 season would be an even bigger season in the Italian top flight.
Italy did poorly at Euro 2024 as they were eliminated in the round of 16 stage, but their domestic competition is projected to become one of the best to watch in 2024/2025.
Fans who purchase Serie A tickets are set to watch some of the best games on offer worldwide when next season starts.
The Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga remains competitions to follow for football lovers. However, Serie A might become the go-to competition for neutrals next season and we discuss why we think so in this article.
Managerial changes
There have been so many managerial changes in Serie A since the end of last season, with many of their top clubs now being managed by new coaches.
Inter Milan won Serie A last season, and they did not see any reason to change their manager, which is understandable because Simone Inzaghi has done a brilliant job at the club.
However, AC Milan has since replaced Stefano Pioli with Paolo Fonseca despite finishing the last season as the second team on the league table.
Juventus won the Italian Cup and finished third on the league table, yet they have replaced Max Allegri with Thiago Motta following his fine stint at Bologna last season.
Motta’s move to Juve means Bologna had to find a new manager to lead them in the Champions League next season. They have turned to Vincenzo Italiano, who reached the final of the last two Europa Conference League with Fiorentina.
Lazio has also replaced their manager with Marco Baroni, having had two coaches in the last campaign.
Raffaelle Palladino is now the manager of Fiorentina after his spell at Monza ended last season. Torino will also need a new manager after Ivan Juric left them, but perhaps the biggest appointment of the summer is Antonio Conte’s return to the dugout at Napoli.
Without European football, Napoli could go all the way and win Serie A this season with him at the helm.
Juventus’ rebuild
Juventus remains the biggest club in Italian football and everyone in Italy is talking about their rebuild this summer.
The Old Lady were poor in the last three seasons as Max Allegri failed to turn their fortunes around and he won just the Italian Cup this year.
The club has trusted Thiago Motta with their managerial role, and it is a huge gamble, considering that the former midfielder has not managed at a big club before.
However, he did a fantastic job at Bologna last season as they qualified for the Champions League at the end of the term.
Juve knows their team has to be rebuilt too for the new manager to succeed and they have started a revolution already.
The Bianconeri has signed Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa, one of the best midfielders in the Premier League last season.
They have also completed a move for Michele di Gregorio from Monza, one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers in Italian football at the moment.
The arrival of these two players signals that Juve wants to play differently from what we have seen from them in recent times.
They are also expected to sign Khephren Thuram and Teun Koopmeiners in the coming weeks, so a new Old Lady is being built in Turin.
The return of Antonio Conte
One of the best managers Italy has ever produced is Antonio Conte and he returns to the dugout in this campaign.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham manager has been one of the best coaches in the world and he returns to coaching after a season out of a job.
He last managed Tottenham, where his spell ended after he called out his players and the club in a press conference.
Conte dreamt of a return to Juventus, but the Old Lady moved for Motta, and he accepted the challenge of Napoli.
The former Italian champions will not play in Europe next term after enduring one of the worst title defence we have ever seen.
This could be a blessing in disguise because it means his players will rest well between games, and that freshness increases their chances of winning matches.
There are issues to solve at the club, like the future of Victor Osimhen and some other key players, but Napoli has been impressive on the market in recent weeks, and their squad is shaping up to challenge next season.
If Conte gets his players to buy into his ideas and work hard on the pitch, they could win the league next summer.
Can Inter Milan retain their title?
Inter Milan is the most stable club in Italian football, and Simone Inzaghi has built a winning machine at the San Siro.
They reached the final of the Champions League in 2023 and used their defeat in the final to Manchester City to fuel their bid to win the league last season, which they did in brilliant fashion.
Inter Milan will head into this season as the club most prepared to win the title, but that does not mean it would be easy for them to achieve this.
Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan will give them a run for their money in the campaign, but the Nerrazzurri are clearly prepared to defend their title.
We do not expect them to do much strengthening to their squad, and it will still have enough quality to compete for the league title when next season comes around.
However, one disadvantage for Inter would be competing in too many competitions as they will be competing for four trophies domestically and internationally next term.
This will stretch their squad, and last season, they had to sacrifice success in Europe and the domestic cup to win Serie A.
That might be the case again next term, but this time, the Club World Cup will be one of the trophies that they will challenge for and it will be interesting to see where their focus will be at.
Conclusion
The 2024/2025 Serie A will be an exciting competition next season, with the likes of Inter Milan, Juventus, and Napoli expected to challenge for the crown.
There will be competition at the other end of the league table as well as and it will be interesting to see if Bologna can retain its place in the Champions League at the end of next season.
