Page 56 - Soccer360 Issue 106

SERIE A SEASON REVIEW
TOP LEFT:
Simone Inzaghi masterminded Inter’s Scudetto success
TOP RIGHT:
Dusan Vlahovic’s goals helped Juventus to
a Champions League return
BELOW:
Legendary midfielder Daniele
De Rossi reinvigorated Roma after replacing Jose Mourinho as head coach
Rossi’s Roma were much more aesthetically pleasing to watch than under the pragmatic Mourinho. Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini was back at his best as De Rossi reinstated the Rome-born attacking midfielder who had been out of favour.
As for their Stadio Olimpico rivals, Sarri resigned from his post at Lazio after a huge drop-off in results. The chain-smoking coach - who led the Biancocelesti to second last term - quit after a dire sequence of two wins in eight games. Igor Tudor steadied the ship as Lazio - with misfiring club legend Ciro Immobile nothing more than a peripheral
of ineptitude. It all unravelled before a
ball was kicked as championship winning coach Luciano Spalletti stepped down and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli also left in controversial circumstances.
President Aurelio De Laurentiis unexpectedly appointed ex-Roma coach Rudi Garcia
and failed to adequately replace South Korean central defender Kim Min-jae. Underwhelming new recruits Natan, Jens Cajuste and Jesper Lindstrom were given precious little playing time as Frenchman Garcia was sacked after three league
defeats in the first four months of his tenure. Former coach Walter Mazzarri was then surprisingly drafted in but fared even worse. The Neapolitan side crashed to eighth in the standings as the veteran recorded just three league victories in 13 matches.
De Laurentiis dismissed Mazzarri and appointed Slovakia coach - and Spalletti’s former assistant - Francesco Calzona. It was another left field decision which backfired as the Scudetto winning duo of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia couldn’t match the heights of the previous season. Napoli missed out on the Champions League as
the coaching uncertainty affected a squad which badly underperformed throughout a miserable term.
At the other end of the spectrum, it was a historic campaign for Bologna as the Emilia- Romagna club unsettled the big boys to place in the top four. The Rossoblu upset the
odds spectacularly in their best top-flight season since the 1960s.
The seven-times Italian champions utilised every member of a well constructed squad as Motta’s high press, possession based gameplan yielded remarkable results. Scottish skipper Lewis Ferguson, Italian centre-back Riccardo Calafiori and Dutch attacker Joshua Zirkzee all played decisive roles as Bologna made it to the promised land of Europe’s premier competition. Atalanta returned to the Champions League as mastermind Gasperini again steered the Bergamo club back to the big time. The 66-year-old drew plaudits for an expansive, offensive minded strategy as La Dea recovered from a demanding opening half of the season to advance up the table.
Brilliant Dutch playmaker Teun Koopmeiners struck double figures from midfield and Belgian attacker Charles De Ketelaere bounced back after a challenging first season in Italy at Milan to excel in Bergamo. Italy international Gianluca Scamacca also found form late on as Atalanta proved again that they shouldn’t be labelled as a mere provincial powerhouse.
Roma fired the so-called Special One after they sank to ninth under the always outspoken Mourinho in January. Iconic former midfielder De Rossi sparked a revival and moved the Giallorossi back up the standings. Although it wasn’t enough to clinch a Champions League place De
figure - missed out on the top four. Elsewhere, Fiorentina were consistently inconsistent as they juggled domestic duties with another excellent run in the Europa Conference League. Coach Vincenzo Italiano repeatedly switched his starting line-up as La Viola couldn’t find a regular goalscorer and ended outside the top six.
Promoted Genoa set attendance records with an average of a little over 31,000 per game as Italy’s oldest club kept their place in the top-flight while Torino, Monza and Lecce finished comfortably in mid-table, ahead of
a very congested relegation battle where only Salernitana were cut adrift and quickly condemned to a return to Serie B.
Yet this was unarguably Inter’s season. The Nerazzurri were in the driver’s seat for long stretches on the path to a magnificent title success which will long be remembered by the club’s fanatical support.
54 SOCCER360 SUMMER 2024