Page 38 - Soccer360 Issue 107

SEASON PREVIEW
2024-25
EPL SEASON REVIEW
LAST SEASON LAST SEASON
LAST SEASON
“NAPOLI
HIRED
ANTONIO
CONTE
TO BRING
BACK
STABILITY
AFTER
THEIR
AWFUL
TITLE
DEFENCE”
KEY PLAYER
KEY PLAYER
KEY PLAYER
NAPOLI
FINISH: 10th Place RECORD: 13-14-11
MOST GOALS: Osimhen (15)
PARMA
FINISH: 1st (Serie B) RECORD: 21-13-4 MOST GOALS: Man (11)
ROMA
FINISH: 6th place RECORD: 18-9-11
MOST GOALS: Dybala (13)
The Partenopei slumped to 10th in one
of the worst ever Serie A title defences
in recent history, which began badly
and became even more of a car crash
as the months slid by. President Aurelio De Laurentiis hired four-time title winner Antonio Conte - after going through three coaches during that disastrous 2023-24 season - to bring stability and ambition back to the Campania based club.
Italy central defender Alessandro Buongiorno arrives from Torino to
shore up a leaky backline, along with
Real Madrid’s Rafa Marin and dynamic left-back Leonardo Spinazzola. Club captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo contemplated leaving before pledging his future to the three-time Scudetto winners, while star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will also be a part of the Conte revolution after a summer full of transfer rumours.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
The Serie B champions lost just four games as they secured a return to the top-flight under coach Fabio Pecchia.
Yet the Crociati will find it considerably more demanding as they compete at the highest level of Italian football after three campaigns in the second tier.
The Emilia-Romagna based club has progressed steadily since American businessman Kyle Krause took control in 2020. They kept the talented forward trio of Romanian leading scorer Dennis Man and his
compatriot Valentin Mihaila, and
Polish winger Adrian Benedyczak. Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki joined from Belgian club Sint-Truiden and left- back Emanuele Valeri also arrived from Cremonese and Pecchia aims to prevent his side’s stay in Serie A from being just a fleeting one.
Dennis Man
The Friedkin Group spared no expense
in backing coach Daniele De Rossi as the capital club target a Champions League place in the 2024-25 edition of Serie A.
The Giallorossi owners splashed out more than $100m on new recruits after missing out on Europe’s top competition for the
last five seasons, where underperformance in Serie A has often been offset by good results in the UEFA Europa League and Conference League.
Expectations are high after La Liga leading scorer Artem Dovbyk arrived in a big money deal from Girona. Argentinian winger Matias Soule turned down English Premier League interest to sign from Juventus. French midfielder Enzo Le Fee and pacy left-
back Angelino from RB Leipzig were among the other new captures, as they look to build on a promising end to last term.
Artem Dovbyk
36 SOCCER360