Page 34 - Soccer360 Issue 107

SEASON PREVIEW
2024-25
EPL SEASON REVIEW
Fiorentina, Top:
Fiorentina hope Moise Kean
can lead them towards the top six of Serie A
Inter, Bottom:
Inter are favourites to retain the Scudetto
LAST SEASON
LAST SEASON
LAST SEASON
KEY PLAYER
KEY PLAYER
KEY PLAYER
“INTER
ARE
CLEAR
FAVOUR-
ITES TO DEFEND
THEIR
TITLE”
EMPOILI
FINISH: 17th place RECORD: 9-9-20
MOST GOALS: Niang (6)
FIORENTINA
FINISH: 8th place
RECORD: 17-9-12
MOST GOALS: Gonzalez (12)
GENOA
FINISH: 11th place
RECORD: 12-13-13
MOST GOALS: Guðmundsson (14)
Only M’Baye Niang’s last-gasp goal on
the final day of last season prevented
the Tuscan underdogs from relegation. Senegalese forward Niang, who netted six goals in 14 matches, subsequently retired from football and coach Davide Nicola also left before joining Cagliari.
Club president Fabrizio Corsi made the risky move of appointing Roberto D’Aversa as coach to ensure a fourth consecutive stay in Serie A. D’Aversa was fired by Lecce after headbutting Hellas Verona’s Thomas Henry but now has the chance to restore his reputation. Loan signings Sebastiano Esposito from Inter and Milan’s Lorenzo Colombo will bolster the Tuscan club’s attacking options ahead of what is likely to be another battle against the drop.
Sebastiano Esposito
It’s a tough ask for new coach Raffaele Palladino to lead the Viola into the top six this year. They have not finished higher than seventh since the 2015-16 campaign and could not find a dependable goal scorer last season. Whether new signing Moise Kean is the man to fire them up the table remains to be seen as the former Juventus man has struggled to live up to his early promise.
Palladino was reunited with playmaker Andrea Colpani in Tuscany and Croatian international centre-back Marin Pongracic arrived from Lecce, with David de Gea is a high-profile arrival in goal after a season away from competitive action. Meanwhile, experienced duo Giacomo Bonaventura and Nikola Milenkovic both departed Florence in the summer for Al-Shabab and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Moise Kean
Alberto Gilardino exceeded expectations last term as he steered the oldest club in Italy to a very respectable 11th place on their return to the big time and after that achievement, Il Grifone will not lack support as they set a season ticket record for the second straight season. Just more than 28,000 fans bought briefs for the new
term as the Ligurian club target a third successive season in Serie A.
Gilardino will prioritize safety first with fresh additions Alessandro Zanoli and Aaron Martin providing options on the flanks, while Italy striker Mateo Retegui departed for Atalanta in the summer and Spanish goalkeeper Josep Martinez also left to join champions Inter.
Alessandro Zanoli
32 SOCCER360