Page 55 - Soccer360 Issue 106

world class goal from near the halfway line against promoted Frosinone at San Siro.
It was a team with experience at its core too with 36-year-old Francesco Acerbi and Matteo Darmian, 34, anchoring the best rearguard in the league while 35-year-
old Henrikh Mkhitaryan continued his late career resurgence in the middle of the park. Italian international Nicolo Barella’s steady progression into one of the finest midfielders in Europe also gave Inter a huge advantage as they defeated Roma, Atalanta and Napoli in the opening half of the campaign to maintain their place at the top of the pack. Federico Gatti’s own goal handed the men in black and blue a seven-point advantage over second placed Juventus in early February
as Inter established an unassailable lead. The Old Lady subsequently lost momentum as Inter surged further ahead to famously claim the Serie A title in a derby showdown against old foes Milan in late April. Acerbi and Thuram struck as Inazghi’s side clinched the championship with five games left prompting wild celebrations across Italy’s second largest city.
Milan were a distant second best as they had to watch their rivals dominate in a season for the ages. The Rossoneri spent $120 million on new recruits last summer yet of the fresh additions only American wide midfielder Christian Pulisic really sparkled
as established star winger Rafael Leao frequently disappointed. The French duo
of goalkeeper Mike Maignan and left-back Theo Hernandez were not always at their brilliant best as surprise losses against Udinese, Atalanta and Monza left under-fire coach Stefano Pioli bewildered. The seven- time European champions also struggled defensively as they dropped points to Lecce, Salernitana and Sassuolo.
Juve rebounded from a dismal campaign in which they placed seventh in 2022-23 - when they were penalised with a 10 point penalty for financial misconduct - as the goals of Serbian attacker Dusan Vlahovic kept them close to Inter in the first half
of the season. Italy’s most popular club qualified for the Champions League again despite a lacklustre end to the year.
The critics responded to the faltering form by rounding on coach Massimiliano Allegri for his bafflingly unimaginative approach, despite the emergence of teenage Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz, as the Old Lady slipped up against supposedly inferior opposition. Star attacker Federico Chiesa was often a picture of frustration as the Turin giants inexplicably lost against Udinese and failed to pick up maximum points in stalemates with Hellas Verona, Genoa, Cagliari and Salernitana.
Meanwhile, nobody at Napoli will remember the 2023-24 season with even the slightest shred of fondness. The Partenopei fell from the glory of a dominant third championship to complete also rans in a staggering year
SOCCER360 SUMMER 2024 53
CHAMPION COLLAPSES
Following Napoli’s dismal season as reigning champions, Stephen Kasiewicz looks back on other occasions where title defences have gone spectacularly wrong.
LEICESTER CITY, 2016-17
The outsiders from the East Midlands stunned world football when they claimed a first ever English Premier League title in the 2015-16 season. Yet
it proved to be a one-off success as
the Foxes slumped to 12th place in the following campaign. Title winning coach Claudio Ranieri was relieved of his duties in February 2017 as Leicester plummeted down the table.
CHELSEA, 2015-16
The Blues almost fell into the relegation zone in a disastrous 2015-16 campaign which cost Jose Mourinho his job. The Special One returned from Real Madrid to lead the Stamford Bridge club to the Premier League in the summer of 2015 before everything went wrong amid a ‘palpable discord’ between players and manager.
Mourinho was eventually sacked in December 2015 and replacement Guus Hiddink steered Chelsea to a disappointing 10th in the table.
WOLFSBURG, 2009-10
Felix Magath guided the Volkswagen owned club to an unlikely title triumph as they edged out Bayern Munich
to win the 2008-09 Bundesliga. Yet Bayern were back on top again as the unfavoured Wolves dropped down to eighth position in 2009-10 as normal order was restored. Wolfsburg claimed just 14 wins from 34 games in an underwhelming title defence.
VALENCIA, 2004-05
The euphoria of a sixth La Liga championship success quickly wore
off as Los Ches dropped from first to seventh in 2005 after the departure of manager Rafael Benitez to Liverpool. After breaking the Real Madrid- Barcelona duopoly in 2003-04 Valencia failed to keep pace with the Spanish giants as they defended their crown. Barca regained the title as Valencia finished a whopping 26 points adrift of the Catalan club.
MILAN, 1996-97
The Rossoneri collapsed after the departure of title winning coach Fabio Capello to sink to 11th place in Serie A. Uruguayan tactician Oscar Tabarez was sacked in December 1996 with Arrigo Sacchi drafted in to keep the Italian giants clear of the relegation places. Milan great Franco Baresi then retired after one of the worst seasons in the club’s illustrious history.
“BOLOGNA MADE IT TO THE PROMISED LAND OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE”
ABOVE:
Bologna upset the odds to qualify for the Champions League
FACTS
As of matchday 37, Albert Gudmundsson has scored 14 goals, only fewer than 5 foreign players in a SerieA season with Genoa: Juan Esposito (15 in 1932/33), Skuhravy (15
in 1990/91), Aguilera (15 in 1990/91), Milito (24 in 2008/09) and Palacio (19 in 2011/12).