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Italian Serie A 2011/12 season preview

29th August, 2011
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Roar Guru
29th August, 2011
11
2421 Reads

Serie A returns for 2011-12The Serie A season is upon us once again. The Italian summer always offers a few startling headlines, as this off-season has been no exception. We’ve seen players go on strike, allegations surrounding corruption and of course, managerial casualties that could be summed up in a vein of a defenceless domino set.

In all, there will be 12 clubs in Italy’s top flight that will have a new manger taking the reins. Stability patently doesn’t hold precedence for the top Italian directors as patience is as thin as a piece of string.

A new champion has overwhelmed the city of Milan, the black and red of AC Milan has conquered the city based in northern Italy.

After surrendering several years of dominance to their inner-city rivals Inter, AC Milan have reclaimed the city bragging rights for the first time since 2004.

Previously, Inter had held supremacy since 2006, winning the Scudetto on five consecutive occasions, including the infamous 2006 crown, which was awarded due to the Calciopoli scandal that engulfed the Italian game.

Under the guidance of Massimiliano Allegri, AC Milan claimed the Scudetto for the 18th occasion, equalling cross-town rival Inter in second position, behind Juventus who have an unassailable 27 Scudetti.

The Rossoneri showcased their credentials and proudly celebrated outside the famous Duomo di Milano, painting the iconic Milan centre in red and black. AC Milan lead the title race from November and never took a step back, continuing their prominent form to take out the title, accumulating an impressive 82 points in the process.

It was Milan’s equal highest tally since the introduction of the customary three points per win system.

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In remarkable fashion, Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed his eighth successive medal as league champion, winning one with AC Milan, one with Barcelona, three with Inter, the notorious two with Juventus which were consequently stripped and finally with Ajax.

The unsettled Alberto Aquilani has secured a loan deal from Liverpool, after spending last season with rivals Juventus on loan. His arrival could feel the void of the departed Andrea Pirlo, 32, who has sensationally left the club after 10 years of service to join Juventus.

Philippe Mexès, 29, and Taye Taiwo, 26, will bolster Milan’s ageing defence after Milan agreed to a terms with Roma and Marseille respectively.

Despite winning the Coppa Italia for the fourth time in six years, Inter encompassed a turbulent campaign, struggling to pursue a consistent conduit for success. Following Jose Mourinho’s departure after winning the distinguished treble in the 2009/10 season, Rafa Benitez’s period as manager was tainted by inconsistent results and a degree of arrogance which ultimately lead to his departure.

After winning the Club World Cup in December, Benitez went on an extraordinary attack towards Inter President Massimo Moratti and his fellow directors, criticizing the club’s ambition, while stating that the board had failed to support the under-fire coach, whom at the time was languishing in seventh position in league.

His departure was imminent, and so former Milan coach Leonardo was appointed as the new Inter coach. Leonardo soon weaved his magic and had Inter playing the flowing, fluent football brand they were well known for in their treble winning campaign.

January signings of Italian internationals Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria) and Andrea Ranocchia (Genoa) were welcomed additions, along with Japanese Yuto Nagatomo.

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Samuel Eto’o has joined Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala, where he will earn astounding £18 million a year. After scoring a remarkable 37 goals in all competitions last season, Eto’o will be an exceedingly difficult proposition to replace.

The general consensus is that Inter will attempt to convince either Diego Forlan from Atletico Madrid or Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez, although the prospects are uncertain at present. Rumours are also surfacing around the potential buy of Lazio forward Zarate, who’s seemingly disgruntled at Lazio. Inter have also signed exciting midfielder Andrea Poli, 21, on a loan agreement from Sampdoria.

Leonardo has since surrendered his position as head coach, and returned to Paris Saint-Germain where he succumb to temptation to become the club’s technical director. Former Genoa coach Gian Piero Gasperini has since taken the rein’s as the head coach of Inter. Gasperini is renowned for playing an attacking 3-4-3 formation, which he aspires to enforce with his current Nerazzurri squad. It’s unknown whether the adopted formula will confine well with a prominent club in the vein of Inter, although the innovative manager will indubitably have a Plan B up his sleeve if matters don’t progress as anticipated. Either way, we should anticipate an array of vibrancy.

Walter Mazzarri’s Napoli had an astounding season, claiming their right to participate in this season’s Champions League by finishing in third position. It was the first time since 1990 that the club had achieved a top three finish.

The club who is seemingly forever in debt to the prolific Diego Maradona, is eager to re-live the glory days where the club won the Scudetto in the 1989-90 campaign. Napoli won consecutive promotions from Serie C through to Serie A, to be back in the limelight from the 2007/08 season. With a fervent backing amongst its loyal supporters, much optimism surrounds this current Napoli outfit.

Star strikers Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi will play vital roles in Napoli’s journey to redemption, in company with the stylish Marek Hamsik who has obtained notable interest from rival clubs during the off-season.

Gokhan Inler and Miguel Britos from Udinese and Bologna respectively, will add further depth to Napoli’s testing campaign. In addition, Goran Pandev has arrived from Inter on a season long loan. A winner of the Champions League with Inter in 2010, Pandev will add great value seeking to bolster their attacking force.

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Last season we witnessed Sampdoria sensationally fall from grace, having won their right to participate in the Champions League. The Genoa outfit were consequently relegated to Serie B.

Despite losing key players during the campaign, Napoli can take insight from Sampdoria’s demise. Whilst participating in the most prestigious club tournament in the world, it’s imperative that Napoli don’t take their eye off the ball.

If the Azzurri can manufacture a winning mentality, they’re an outside chance of claiming the Scudetto for the first time in 22 years.

The feel-good story of last season was Udinese’s summit to fourth position.

On a tension filled final day, the outfit based in Udine held on nervously to record a 0-0 result with champions Milan to cement their place in the Champions League qualifiers. It was an amazing scene, as thousands of fans flocked to the pitch following the referee’s final whistle. The scenes were more inclined to a championship feat.

Chilean, Alexis Sanchez who was at the epicentre to Udinese’s success will be greatly missed, after the club accepted a transfer figure of €37.5 million from Barcelona.

Given the club’s loss, it will be extremely difficult to replicate last season’s success, although uncanvassed situations aren’t susceptible in football.

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Moving to the Italian capital, Roma has said arrivederci to Rosella Sensi, who relinquished her presidency after the club was bought out by a American owners, a first for Italian football.

The innovative owners are determined to encompass a cultural revolution at the club. Luis Enrique has since been appointed as manager and has reportedly been at lock heads with Francesco Totti, not a great way to commence your journey with the club!

With the illusion of creating a ‘BarceRoma’ philosophy, the pressure will be heaping on Enrique to get the right results. As we’ve all come to learn, managerial positions are advertised on a frequent basis in Italy.

Meanwhile, inner-city rival Lazio is ambitious and feeling buoyant, following a successful campaign last season. After merely avoiding relegation in 2009/10, the Rome based outfit will be determined to make their presence felt. Edy Reja will once again take charge of the team who will also partake in the Europa League. The signing of German international Miroslav Klose from Bayern Munich on a free transfer along with former Liverpool star Djibril Cisse are testaments to Lazio’s desire to climb back to the summit of Italian football.

The Old Lady in Juventus is ardent to ascend back to the pinnacle of Italian football. After finishing in seventh position for the second consecutive campaign, the Turin based club will subsequently be exempt from participation in any formal European competition in 2011/12. Given the circumstances, the club acted swiftly by replacing Luigi Del Neri with former Juventus captain Antonio Conte, whom recently won promotion with Siena from Serie B.

Despite missing the glamour of European competition, it is truly a blessing in disguise for a club who has struggled on the domestic front since the notorious Calciopoli scandal. Given their lack of depth and temperament, there’s no doubt that Juventus has struggled to balance the demands of two challenging competitions simultaneously. Conte will have no excuses to fall back on if his squad doesn’t perform to lofty standards.

The inclusion of experienced playmaker Andrea Pirlo will be a welcome addition, while striker Mirko Vucinic is a proven goal scorer in Serie A, scoring 46 goals in 147 appearances for his former club Roma. Meanwhile, Alessandro Matri, 27 was bought outright from Cagliari, after being on loan at the club last season.

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Evidently, teams traveling to Turin don’t embody the same level of intimidation in contrast to Juventus’ more celebrated days. Conte will be determined to make Turin a fortress once again, with a football culture and atmosphere that will daunt away clubs.

Vincenzo Montella’s impressive stint as interim coach of Roma has earned him a two-year contract with Catania, the Serie A club based in Eastern Sicily. After Claudio Ranieri resigned from his post at Roma in February, Montella’s stint in the final three months of the campaign ultimately payed grand dividends.

Meanwhile, Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini has lived up to his notorious impatient persona by installing Stefano Pioli as head coach, replacing Delio Rossi, who performed a diligent job in guiding the club to eight on the table, whilst reaching the final of the Coppa Italia.

The somewhat unpredictable Genoa will be hoping for prosperous fortunes after poaching Alberto Malesani from Bologna. With a restricted budget, Malesani did his managerial credentials a wealth of good after saving the club from relegation. Pier Paolo Bisoli will subsequently take charge of Bologna. The young coach has an impressive pedigree, taking Cesena to successive promotions.

Cesena have welcomed veteran striker Adrian Mutu, 32, to the fold after his dishonourable falling out at Fiorentina, where he was suspended for taking a banned substance. Meanwhile, Marco Giampaolo has been inaugurated as the new manager.

Two-time Serie A champion Fiorentina will be eager to improve on their ninth placing last season and win a spot back into Europe. Sinisa Mihajlovic will seek vast improvement in his second season in charge, after replacing the club’s longest serving coach – Cesare Prandelli – who took up the reins of the Italian national team.

Whilst on the national front, former Italian manager, Roberto Donadoni was sacked by Cagliari owner Massimo Cellino on August 12 after reports suggested a falling out between the pair. Donadoni allegedly wasn’t happy with the club’s ambition after selling Alessandro Matri to Juventus. Massimo Ficcadenti has since been appointed as the new manager.

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Atalanta, the club based in Bergamo won instant promotion back to the top flight following a brilliant Serie B campaign, where they were crowned champions. Although, the party was short lived. Allegations of corruption and match-fixing has marred their off-season, with suspected illegal bets placed on matches. The governing body acted promptly by deducting six points from the championship. It’s undoubtedly a major blow to Atalanta’s survival prospects.

Parma, the city made famous for its distinguished parmigiana cheese was ensured their top flight status thanks to the services of Franco Colomba. He replaced Pasquale Marino as manager in April and never took a step back. Parma is the 15th club Colomba has managed as head coach in only 18 years. Don’t expect him to stick around for too long!

The city renowned for the enchanted Romeo and Juliet tale, also boasts its Serie A prominence with Chievo Verona. Despite the club not outwardly strengthening their squad over the transfer market, Domenico Di Carlo will be eager to improve on the Gialloblu’s fortunes, despite in 11th position last season.  Whilst rival Hellas Verona recently won promotion to Serie B, il derby della Scala will be an exciting proposition if Hellas can return to the top flight.

Despite saving Lecce’s blushes by avoiding relegation with one-game to spare, Luigi De Canio became another coaching casualty in Italy, after the board was dissatisfied with the 17th place finish. Eusebio Di Francesco, servant in Pescara’s return to Serie B in 2010/11, illustrated his coaching credentials by enforcing I Delfini to play a fluent brand of football, only to merely miss a position in the play-offs.

Siena won instant promotion back to Serie A, after finishing the Serie B campaign in second position. Although, that didn’t stop them from changing manager, with Giuseppe Sannino being welcomed as the new gaffa. Sannino guided Varese to the Serie B play-offs only to just fall short of promotion. His extraordinary campaign obviously impressed the hierarchy at Siena. He’s not resistant to success, having won promotion on five occasions as a manager.

And finally, Novara will make their long awaited appearance back in the Italian top flight for the first time since 1956. It’s been an amazing period for Attilio Tesser, who was appointed coach in June 2009. He won the Lega Pro Prima Divisione (Sere C 1A) in 2009/10, where the club returned to Serie B for the first time in 33 years.

Tesser then capped off an astonishing achievement for the club by winning promotion to Serie A for the first time in 55 years, prevailing over Padova in the play-off final after finishing 3rd during the season. Time will tell if they can survive the drop, nonetheless it is truly a fairytale brought to life.

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The mind-set and philosophy of Italian football is quite unique. Unless you understand the temperament that encompasses “la bellissima partita” (the beautiful game), it can be difficult to appreciate the cultural differences that it possesses.

Socceroo Vince Grella, who made his name at Empoli, Parma and Torino, in a career that spanned for a decade in Italy, summed up the dynamics of Italian football to perfection.

Grella professed how the mind-set in Italy is purely not to lose, in contrast to the EPL, where the approach is to win at all costs. Every nation has its own beliefs on how the game should be played, that’s what makes football such a distinctive game.

Anticipate to envisage a profusion of drama, heated rivalry, vibrant fans and an action-packed season of Serie A football.

Courtesy of Goal Weekly

Follow Robert on Twitter @RobertDiFabio

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