at the 2016 European Championship
in France can have any doubts about
Conte’s capacity to create an impressive,
determined unit out of a basically
journeyman squad in which there were
no Baggios, Del Pieros or Tottis to light
up the firmament.
Can he work the same magic with an
Inter squad which is certainly not to be
discounted? With Samir Handanovic in
goal and a back line that features Stefan
De Vrij, Diego Godin – a free transfer
from Atletico Madrid – and Milan
Skrinniar, Inter look solid in defence,
while Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella
adds a touch of steely class.
However, not for nothing, Conte
has spent much of the summer so far
arguing that he needs some firepower
up front to replace the want-away Mauro
Icardi, who may well end up at Juventus
or Napoli.
Conte faces an imposing task. Will
his manic drive, his insistence on rigid
discipline on and off the field finally
mould Inter
into a winning
unit, thus
succeeding
where such
as Gian Piero
Gasperini,
Roberto
Mancini,
Claudio Ranieri, Frank De Boer and most
recently Luciano Spalletti have all failed?
Conte’s apparent acceptance of the
club line that “bad boys” Icardi and Radja
Nainggolan do not form part of the
club’s future plans may in fact augur
well for Inter.
At Napoli, will the affable Carlo
Ancelotti – a man who has won^
league titles in Italy, England, France,
Germany and Spain – mount a serious
title challenge in this, his second season?
Ancelotti is a fabulous coach who may
well have used his first season at the club
to recalibrate the team, in the process
familiarising himself with the demanding
Neapolitan environment.
In the process, he did, after all, finish
second to Juventus, admittedly at a
respectable distance of 11 points. What
is clearly true,
though, is that in
recent seasons,
especially under
the coaching of
Maurizio Sarri,
Napoli have
been the only
Serie A rival to
give Juventus a run for their money.
At this early stage it would seem that
Ancelotti will be working with very much
the same ammunition as last season,
relying on Kalidou Koulibaly in defence
as well as Allan in midfield and the three
musketeers Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens
and Lorenzo Insigne in attack.
Or can Marco Giampaolo, the new
coach at Milan, put the seven-times
European champions back on top?
Unlike all his major rivals, he will not
have the distraction of European football
to upset his Serie A plans, given that
UEFA have banned Milan from this
season’s Europa League because
the club failed to adhere to Financial
Fairplay regulations.
Despite a fifth-place Serie A finish,
Giampaolo’s predecessor Rino Gattuso
paid the price of a poor Europa League
campaign which saw Milan eliminated
by Greek club Olympiakos. With a less-
crowded fixture list, and with the support
of such as former greats and current club
officials Paolo Maldini and Zvonimir
Boban, perhaps Giampaolo can follow up
where he left off at Sampdoria, fashioning
a competitive team.
It was interesting to hear key striker
Krzysztof Piatek sound enthusiastic about
the new coach, calling him a “tactical
maestro”. But then, of course, everyone
sounds enthusiastic in July...
Along with Suso, Piatek heads a useful
attacking line-up, backed by such as
Franck Kessie and Lucas Pacqueta inmidfield, central defender Alessio
Romagnoli and goalkeeper Gigio
Donnarumma. However, Milan still
look as if they have a lot of catching-
up to do.
As for the rest, it is simply stretching
matters beyond the bounds of reason
to believe that Atalanta’s midweek
Champions League endeavours will not
be too much for their limited squad and
coach Gian Piero Gasperini will have his
hands full.
As for the Romans, it is hard to
expect miracles. Roma have hired a new
guide in the shape of former Shakhtar
Donetsk coach Paulo Fonseca, while the
fact that they have held on to such as
midfielders Nicolo Zaniolo and Lorenzo
Pellegrini, not to mention strikers Cengiz
Under and Justin Kluivert, augurs well.
However, in the absence of Daniele De
Rossi, this still looks like a team lacking
identity and charismatic leadership.
As for Lazio, every year their coach
Simone Inzaghi seems to have no
trouble rebuilding a team that loses
key figures in the transfer market. This
summer he looks set to lose either or
both midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
and striker Joaquin Correa.
Inzaghi will have to hope that Lazio
manage to hold on to important playersITALY SERIE A (^) Season Preview 2019-20
Can Marco Giampaolo put the seven-
times European champions Milan back
on top? Unlike all his major rivals, he will
not have the distraction of European
football to upset his Serie A plans
Solid...Inter arrival
Diego Godin
No distractions...
Marco Giampaolo
Europa success...Torino’s
Andrea Belotti