6 reasons why I am very excited about Serie A 21–22
The new season of Serie A (or Serie A TIM if we show some thoughtfulness to their sponsor) starts on August 21. Back in the 80s and 90s, Serie A used to be the pinnacle of league football with the biggest names on the planet competing against each other on a weekly basis. But things started going downhill in the 2000s and got much worse in the past decade. Premier League and La Liga are now far ahead in terms of appeal both for players and the viewers. Even Bundesliga occasionally beats it in UEFA’s country coefficient standings.
Yet, here I am, excited for it to start. And not just any level of excitement, it is ‘writing a whole article, albeit a short one, to persuade people to watch it’ level of excitement. Here’s why-
Euro Euphoria
The Azzurri defeated England at Wembley in a nail-biting final to win their first Euro since 1968. The victory was even more impressive considering they had failed to qualify for FIFA World Cup in 2018. Moving away from their trademark defensive style of football, Italy was surprisingly the most exciting team to watch in the tournament. Players like Chiesa, Barella, Spinazzola, Insigne, and Locatelli among others enthralled the viewers with their performance. Looking past the Italians, we also saw the likes of Damsgaard, Maehle, and Gosens lighten up the atmosphere. The common thread connecting all these players — Serie A.
Dynasty Disrupted
For the first time in 10 years, Juventus aren’t the scudetto holders. Not only did their reign end, but also, they only made it to UCL by the skin of their teeth. The Old Lady often looked uninspiring on the pitch and lacked a cohesive team effort in the season that went by. That being said, Juventus still have a very strong squad consisting of promising youngsters like Chiesa, Kulusevski, and McKennie. And if the Euros were an indicator, Ronaldo is far from finished. While winning is no longer a guarantee, the return of Max Allegri as manager certainly boosts their challenge.
Impoverished Incumbents
Inter Milan won their 19th league title in 2021, thereby ending Juventus’ monopoly. But the historic win came at a heavy price. Inter were already under financial strain when the pandemic further depleted their cashflows. Their president Steven Zhang is having troubles of his own back home. As a result, we have seen key names depart from the club starting with their talismanic manager Antonio Conte himself. Hakimi and Lukaku are already out and more big names are likely to follow. With the Nerazzurri in trouble, a new champion being crowned this season seems a plausible scenario.
Rossoneri Revival
7-time European Champion AC Milan would be playing in their favorite competition after 8 years. After what has been a long and horrendous transition phase, they finally seem to be back among Europe’s elites. Losing Donnarumma is a huge setback for the club, but they have been quick to bring in Lille’s Mike Maignan, who was very impressive in their Ligue 1 title win. Also, confirming the singing of loanees Fikayo Tomori and Sandro Tonali is a big plus, as is the arrival of Olivier Giroud. Getting to see the red and black put up a strong title challenge would certainly delight a lot of fans.
Managerial Madness
We have already talked about Conte’s departure from Inter and Allegri’s return to Juve. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll see 12 of the 20 teams starting with new managers this season. Simone Inzaghi would be taking over the control of Inter and his former club Lazio would, in turn, be managed by tobacco ambassador Maurizio Sarri. Gennaro Gattuso would make way for Luciano Spalletti at Napoli, as would Claudio Ranieri for Roberti D’Aversa at Sampdoria. But the big news of course is Roma bringing in Jose Mourinho, who has a point to prove after his failed Tottenham stint. The Special One’s return to Italy a decade after he won the treble with Inter should certainly spice up things.
Atalanta
Talking of managers, Gian Piero Gasperini has turned Atalanta into something special, something absolutely mesmerizing. Topping the Serie A scoring charts consecutively for three years now, their philosophy is to outscore their opponents, even if that means taking a few hits themself. They have a strong backbone consisting of players like Toloi, Gosens, Freuler, Muriel, and the mercurial Ruslan Malinovsky. While they would be missing the likes of Romero and Gollini, quick replenishment has been one of Atalanta’s strengths. After a hattrick of third-place finishes, anything other than a maiden Serie A title wouldn’t satisfy them.
