Soccer Europe |
| Serie A – Why you should be watching this season Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:41 PM PDT
Familiar faces,such as, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Thiago Silva are gone, but the drama of Serie A remains. Amidst the Calcioscommese controversy, surrounding manager Antonio Conte and players Leonardo Bonucci and Simone Pepe, Juventus will look to defend their 2011-12 title. The appeals for all three take shape over the next few days, with signs pointing to a positive outcome for the Bianconeri men. Having already strengthened heavily over the summer, Juventus is still on the hunt for a world class striker. Fernando Llorente is rumored to be on his way to Turin to join new arrivals Kwadwo Asamoah, Mauricio Isla and Sebastian Giovinco. Last year’s runners-up AC Milan are in the middle of an incredibly important rebuilding year under manager Max Allegri. Having released legends Alessandro Nesta, Pippo Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso, and Clarence Seedorf, Milan then sold megastars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva. With 10 days left in the transfer window, Milan will look to fill in the areas of need, and rebuild their squad in time to challenge the likes of Juventus, Inter Milan, Napoli and revamped AS Roma. Despite Juventus looking like clear favorites for the Scudetto at this point, Serie A is shaping up to be a dogfight to the very end. Always-controversial Roma manager Zdenek Zeman will bring his scintillating brand of ultra-attacking football to the capital with a much-reinforced new-look squad hungry to bring the Scudetto to the giallorossi side of the Eternal City for the first time since since the 2000-01 season. The young, talented Inter Milan manager, Andrea Stramaccioni, will look to improve on last year’s disappointing 6th-place finish, and can count on new signing Antonio Cassano to help the Nerazzuri achieve their goals. Napoli manager, Walter Mazzari, will have to cope without the services of his Third Tenor, Ezequiel Lavezzi after his big-money move to Paris Saint Germain. However, star men Marek Hamsik and Edinson Cavani (with the recent return of young talent Lorenzo Insigne from loan) are more than capable of shouldering the burden to help the Partenopei mount a serious title challenge. Serie A is always unpredictable, and perhaps no teams pose a bigger question mark than Udinese and Fiorentina. The “other” Bianconeri continue to amaze the world with their astounding business model, but their success hangs by a shoestring and a prayer each year, especially as iconic striker Antonio Di Natale ages. Fiorentina, with new manager Vincenzo Montella and star forward Stevan Jovetic, could be this year’s surprise package if they can keep the young Montenegrin attacker healthy and their new signings Alberto Aquilani and Matías Fernández can settle in quickly. Each year Serie A plays out in a drama-filled and exciting fashion, and this season looks to be no different. The return of the forever volatile Zdenek Zeman to Italy’s top flight will only help to stoke this fire, as will the increased tensions between The Old Lady and both the blue and red sides of Milan. Add the return of Juventus’ old rivals, Torino, to the top flight, as well as new faces throughout the rest of the league and Serie A looks to be set for yet another brilliant campaign. |
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