Long gone are the days when teams actually fought for the Serie A Scudetto. However, if last season showed us anything, it was that the Serie A’s fighting spirit is back.

From the mid-80s to the early 2000s, football in Italy was exciting, especially with the seven sisters of Italian football at their very best. The Seven sisters of Italian football which includes Juventus, Roma, AC and Inter Milan, Lazio, Parma, and Florentina were all present and accounted for fighting for honor, the Serie A title and the then comparatively meager amounts of prize money available. The grounds were packed, excitement was at an all-time high and the football being played was magical.

It was nothing like the old defensive Italian style of the late 70s and their ancestors. Not to mention the fact that the Serie A had the world’s best strikers — Ronaldo, Gabriel Batistuta, George Weah, Ivan Zamorano and Marcelo Salas – as they fought head to head against the best defenders: Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Lilian Thuram, Giuseppe Bergomi, and Fabio Cannavaro.

Then there were artists and maestros in the midfield with the likes Manuel Rui Costa and Zinedine Zidane who conducted with their feet. And with the stadiums packed to their brims, how can anyone not be fascinated by the San Siro at its peak, a reminder that gladiators are still alive and well?

It soon became so, that the Italians dominated nearly everything from transfer records, the European competitions, and even the Ballon d’Or. It became the most competitive league in the world, as between the two decades (1983-2003), Serie A clubs made a European final a massive 13 times, out of which six lifted the trophy and eight runner-ups.

A Change in the Atmosphere

However, while the English, Spanish and even the German leagues progressed with smaller teams gaining ground thanks to financial investments, the Italians stood still among the hustle. The competition only stagnated in the Serie A with only five different clubs in the top three in the space of 12 odd years.

The Champions went on to win the Scudetto with more than 7 points between the first and second place and some even went as far as 18. It soon became dominated by either Juventus or Inter Milan, with AC Milan making cameo appearances here and there, ever since Roma won the Scudetto in 2001.

Juventus dominated, along with Inter Milan winning 13 titles; while AC Milan picked up 2 (Juventus won the 2004-05 title as well but was not awarded due to a match-fixing scandal). However, while the competition was low, the football continued to be great and thanks to the likes of Roma and Juventus, it became modern.

But despite all that, look at Juventus. They’ve lost Paul Pogba, Patrice Evra, Dani Alves, Alvaro Morata, Arturo Vidal and even Leonardo Bonucci (although he still plays in the Serie A), among so many others. It showed the lack of competition, which caused players to leave the Serie A, for the English, Spanish, and even the French leagues.

A New Age of Italian football

However, with both the Old Lady and the Giallorossi set an example for the others, investing in team infrastructure and globalizing their brands. This paved the way for Inter Milan to move on and AC Milan, with their Chinese investments, while other clubs brought in financial backing from elsewhere.

But Napoli and Atlanta were the biggest surprises last season, the dark horses so to speak. While the latter didn’t possess too much of a threat to the title, they certainly flew up the table in style. Napoli, on the other hand, gave both Roma and Juventus a run for their money but however, Juventus did, in the end, win the title but they managed to snatch it by only four points.

Both the Roma and Napoli had record seasons, fighting till the penultimate day in the race for the title. While the Giallorossi recorded the most points in Serie A history without winning the title, Napoli put up an attacking masterclass. The Stadio San Paolo side scored 94 goals (only four more than Roma), which broke the all-time record for most goals scored in Serie A history. The difference was visible, with five points between the top three teams, and only ten between 4

The difference was visible and it showed the competition for the top six European spots in the league. There was only five points separating the top three teams, and only ten between 4^th place Atlanta and 6^th place AC Milan. This could only mean, that with the return of the Rossoneri, the Giallorossi, Internazionale and now Napoli, it looks like Juventus have a tough season ahead.

Author’s take:

With the injection of Chinese backing into AC Milan and their brand new squad, alongside Inter Milan’s money and what looks like a sensational attacking side in Napoli, the Serie A should definitely be interesting. However, it looks like Juventus may have a tough time winning their seventh straight Scudetti.

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