Serie A Season Preview

Story posted September 17, 2020 in CommRadio, Sports by Cole Koffler

It seems like the reign of Juventus may come to an end soon, and it may be this season. After winning Serie A by one point last season, Juventus may be in danger of losing the crown, as the rest of the field may have a very serious shot at the Scudetto.

Juventus has won the last nine Scudettos, but this season may be the season where it is the most vulnerable. Juventus has brought in former player and Italian football legend Andrea Pirlo to lead the club this season, and Cristiano Ronaldo continues to dominate the Italian top flight. But he is in dire need of help from another striker. Being heavily linked with Barecelona’s striker Luis Suarez, more firepower may be coming to Turin soon, but if Juventus wants to continue its dominance, it will have to overcome adversity for the first time in a while.

Still, Juventus is the favorite to win Serie A. But it is not going to be as easy as previous years, as teams like Inter Milan are starting to look like real title contenders.

Inter Milan is looking to capitalize off a successful 2019-20 season. Losing the league to Juventus and losing the Europa League final to Sevilla, this team is hungry for a trophy. Like Liverpool two seasons ago, Inter Milan lost the league by one point. Liverpool went on to win the Premier League the next season, meaning Inter Milan is looking to mimic that. With players like Romelu Lukaku, Christian Eriksen and Alexis Sanchez, Inter is a transformed team in need of a trophy.

If Inter Milan keep its momentum, this team can make a serious run for the title and end Juventus’ nine-year reign.

Atalanta, Lazio, Roma, Napoli and fallen giant AC Milan are all looking to spoil the party for Juventus and Inter Milan. If Atalanta keeps its momentum from the Champions League last season, it can be a dark horse or play spoiler to the top two teams. Of course Lazio, Roma, Napoli and AC Milan can all be dark horses as well, but the question remains if they have the squads to do so. All teams have been quiet in the transfer window, so they’ll be working more or less with their rosters from last season. All things considered, AC Milan is the most likely dark horse not named Atalanta that can vie for the title race.

The relegation battle will be fought between the rest of the teams in Serie A, as the rest of the teams were all fairly close to each other in the relegation zone last season. Genoa finished just above the relegation zone with 39 points, and ninth-place finisher Verona ended only 10 points clear of Genoa. It’ll be a battle to keep an eye on all season long.

Serie A may see another thrilling title race like last season. Expect high intensity and beautiful football from the Italian clubs.

 

Cole Koffler is a freshman majoring in communications. To contact him, email colekoff13@gmail.com.