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Have the Old Lady got a€12m
bargain for a player six years younger?
On the football front, you have to think
thatJuve will miss the mercurial skills
of Pjanic, leaving much to ride on the
shoulders not only of Kulusevski and the
talented Rodrigo Bentancur, but also on
Paulo Dybala, arguably the best player
in Serie A last season.
On the economic front, however, the
deal looks like a handy way to mutually
inflate one another’s balance sheets.
Prior to the Lyon debacle, a
seemingly tiredJuventus had flashed
distress signs in defeats by Milan and
Udinese, as well as in draws with
Atalanta and Sassuolo, all results that
slowed up their eventual winning of the
title. It might be considered heresy in
certain parts of Turin, but perhaps the
Juventus defence has problems. Are
the old lions, 33-year-old Leonardo
Bonucci and 36-year-old Giorgio
Chiellini, starting to show their age?
Is 21-year-old Matthijs de Ligt ready
to step up after a difficult first season?
As for their rivals, they may take
encouragement from the fact thatJuve’s
winning margin of just one point over
second-placed Inter was the lowest of
the last nine years. At this point, you have
to think that Inter could become credible
title challengers next season – especially
after their recent Europa League heroics.
The last team to finish ahead of
Juventus, they have the economic clout
of retailer Suning, China’s third-largest
private company, on their side. In all
probability, they will still have the driving
force of accomplished coach Antonio
Conte. On top of that, with Romelu
Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, Christian
Eriksen, Alexis Sanchez, Diego Godin,
Marcelo Brozovic, Samir Handanovic
and Stefan de Vrij, they already have
an international squad strong enough
to lift the title.
Frankly, it is hard to make a case for
any other club. Third-placed Atalanta
performed miracles to get as far as they
have, but is it not asking too much to
expect even more from them? That is
said, too, notwithstanding the outstanding
quality of coach, Gian Piero Gasperini,
arguably the current maestro of the
Italian coaching class.
For fourth-placed Lazio, too, it is hard
to imagine they could do any better than
in the season just ended. Remember,
before the COVID-19 lockdown, Lazio
even threatenedJuventus, beating them
twice in two weeks before Christmas,
once in Serie A and again in the
Italian Super Cup.
Former Milan and Italy striker, Pippo
Inzaghi, back in Serie A next season as
coach to Serie B winners, Benevento,
even suggested that Lazio, coached
by his younger brother Simone, would
have won the title were it not for the
lockdown. He argues that in a normal
end of season, Lazio would have been
playing just once a week at a time when
Juve would have been playing twice as
much, given their Champions League
involvement. That advantage would have
compensated for the fact thatJuve
clearly had the larger and stronger
overall squad.The rest? Roma, under the new US
ownership of billionaire Dan Friedkin;
Napoli, galvanised by coach Rino Gattuso;
Milan, with coach Stefano Pioli, mentor
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and goalkeeper
Gianluigi Donnarumma all still on board;
Fiorentina with Sofyan Amrabat, Dusan
Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa at their
disposal – all four clubs clearly hope
to do better next season. But are they
ready to challengeJuventus? We have
our doubts.
Paddy AgnewITALY SERIE A Season Preview2020-21
Atalanta performed miracles to get
as far as they have, but is it not
asking too much to expect even
more from them?Master coach...
Atalanta head coach
Gian Piero GasperiniGolden Shoe...
can Immobile fire
Lazio to another
title challenge?BENEVENTO
Coached by formerJuventus, Milan
and Italy striker Filippo Inzaghi, the
emphatic Serie B winners are back
in Serie A, two seasons after their
only previous top-flight experience,
when they lost their first14 matches.
Defensive experience will need to
be added in order to put up a better
challenge this time around, hence
the signing of experienced Poland
centre-back Kamil Glik from Monaco.CROTONE
The Calabrian side, like Benevento,
have little experience of Serie A,
having played just two seasons
(2016-17 and 2017-18). Crotone
coach, former Milan player Giovanni
Stroppa, may rely on key elements
in his current side such as 37-year-
old goalkeeper Alex Cordaz and
ex-Juve defender Luca Marrone.SPEZIA
There will be a new name in Serie A
next season – Spezia, promoted to
Serie A for the first time in their
114-year history. The Eagles drew
1-1 over two legs with Frosinone in
the play-off final, but were given
the victory by virtue of finishing
higher in the league. They are likely
to play in Cesena or Brescia while
their own ground is renovated.CaptionPROMOTEDTEAMS