Mario Balotelli – The untold saga

Mario Balotelli overcame many battles and reached a position from where he could have become a legend. Yet, he is struggling today to find his true place. Debopam Roy wonders if this is another case of talent gone wrong.

Introduction

The origin of a superhero  sets the parameters for his/her success. Inevitably, it involves challenges that makes the protagonist gain new strength to win over the world. From that perspective, Mario Balotelli’s story has no equal. Given up to be brought up by foster parents  Silvia and Francesco when he was two, Mario has overcome personal loss, racial abuse, and some of the most scything defenders to rise to stardom. Three-time Serie A winner, Coppa Italia and Super cups, a Premier League medal, and even a Champions League winner medal while still being a teenager—not many can match that. In 2010, he was voted the Golden Boy in European football—an acknowledgement of his potential. Internationally, a meteoric rise saw him as the primary striker in Italy’s unexpected march into the finals of the 2012 European Championship. That, however, was the last of it. In the last three years, he has played for three clubs, shuttling between Italy and England, lost his mojo of scoring from penalties (after scoring the first 21 penalties of his professional life), and , has been irregular with the Italian national team. A third transfer may be on the cards, but at 25, Mario is suddenly at the crossroads where no top club is willing to bet on him.

Beginning of the end: second half of 2012

It was the summer of 2012, when, against all odds, Mario Balotelli took Italy to the finals of the European Championship. He was joint top scorer of the tournament. He scored probably the goal of the tournament in the semi-final against Germany, and gave another of his iconic poses.

He was subjected to racial abuse yet, managed to be selected for the Team of the Tournament. A very typical Mario tournament. However, he is now in the third season of his big money move to Manchester City. His club  won the league on the last day (where he has provided the assist in the 94th minute). It was the team’s first title since 1967–68.  Mario on theis also baiting tabloids by doing things like setting up fireworks at his house and fighting with his teammates, Jerome Boateng and Micah Richards. Club manager Roberto Mancini is infuriated with his behaviour.

A better and brighter season awaits him.

And then, Mario has a shocking half season. 20 appearances across competitions and all of three goals and an equal number of yellow cards. That is pittance when compared to his 17 goals in 32 appearances in the previous season. This is also coupled with run-ins with the media or the manager, leading to the club being taken to a tribunal and missing 11 games in the half season.

It seems that everyone is relieved when a move to Milan (he was a fan of Milan as a child) materializes.

Reboot #1: The Milan experiment—2013–14

Mario’s arrival at Milan was revolutionary. The club had sold off its most prized assets. One-time fan favourite and Barbara Berlusconi’s arm candy, Alexandre Pato, had been sold off to get the money for Mario’s arrival. It was thought that he, along with Stephan el Shaarawy (who had already scored 18 goals in the season) would be the forerunner of new Milan. Mario was the new Ibra for the Milanisti—top forward who had switched over from hated rivals Inter. On top of that, he was young, Italian, and a fan of the club.

Mario lived up to all of that in his first six months—banging in 12 goals in 13 appearances. Milan managed to scrape through into the Champions League places thanks to his goals. However, ironically the partnership with Shaarawy never materialized, with the Pharaoh adding only one more goal for the season.

The second season was, once again, supposed to be where Mario would become the messiah of Milan and take the team to new glory. However, disciplinary issues and injuries meant that he managed only 18 goals in 41 matches. That’s a respectable figure for a mid-table club, but woefully inadequate for a club fighting on three fronts (including Europe). It is also a far cry from the dizzying figure of his spell in his initial six months.

Eventually, the Milan hierarchy realized what Mario really was. A spoilt brat who could not be trusted to lead the club. Someone like Matt de Sciglio was a far better role model than Mario. Trusting the rejuvenation of a club like Milan with Mario was not sound. The top brass, who were so enamoured with the previous poster boy—Alex Pato (so much so that they had once stopped his sale after agreeing terms with PSG), had decidedly a swift fallout with his antics and disciplinary issues. Mario was unceremoniously dumped for barely a profit. The vision of a revival at a club Mario had supported as a boy was over. A return to Premier League was thought to be the best way forward.

Reboot #2: The Liverpool misadventure—2014–2015

Liverpool was theoretically the best club in the Premier League for Mario to get into. They had punched above their weight to return to the Champions League, having missed out winning narrowly. There was definite space for a striker in a club competing on multiple fronts. Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho were the starters, but Mario was an excellent addition to augment the focal point. Liverpool had made a solid gain in Coutinho, who was a reject from Inter and became a world class player at Anfield. They thought Mario would be  a similar player.

It was a disaster for both parties in 2014. After a promising start, Liverpool fell away to finish sixth. Mario had his worst season ever. He managed just a  goal in four different competitions—which included one goal in 16 league matches. Unlike his starts in the previous two clubs, he didn’t have a honeymoon period. It was an overall catastrophe. In all, he scored four goals and saw seven yellow cards in 28 matches. Add to that his antics, which included an Instagram post that cost him £25,000 in fine and a match ban.

The season was riddled with such injuries and suspensions. By the end of it, Liverpool were sure that they wanted to get rid of Mario at any cost. The problem was finding a buyer.

National Team agony—since Euro 2012

Euro 2012 was supposed to make Mario the predominant striker of new age Italy. The Azzurri depended on him for world cup qualification. He didn’t disappoint. He scored five goals, was the top scorer for Italy, and led it to the World Cup. He also scored and assisted his way to take Italy to the semifinals in the Confederations Cup. However, his absence in the next two matches saw Italy finish third in the tournament. He even scored the winner in his first Word Cup match against England. And that was that for Mario and for Azzurri. Italy lost the next two matches, and was bumped out at the group stages for the second consecutive time. Mario never got to play for Italy again. Manager Antonio Conte has trusted next-generation strikers (Ciro Immobile and Manolo Gabbiadini), late bloomers (Graziano Pelle), and even old timers (Alessandro Matri). But Mario has been conspicuous by his absence. A poor season with Liverpool hasn’t helped, and Mario desperately needs a solid season to get back in shape for a year that will lead up to the Euro Cup in France.

Another reboot?

So, where does Mario go from here? Two stints at the Premier League have shown how they foster his spirit of childish pranks. Two stints at Milanese clubs have shown how deeply they distrust him. Add on the factors of race and his usual disciplinary issues. Clubs in Italy, who once would have queued up to get his signature, have outright refused to take him on from Liverpool. Even so-called mid-tier clubs like Fiorentina and Lazio have expressed their inability to invest in him. The Viola fans went so far as to say that Mario is a man without honour. His stints across the Milan divide has actually seen the clubs unite in their hurry to dispose of him. Mario has scored goals, but has also been a poster boy for chaos. His relation with his club mates has hardly been one of great bonding. It’s only natural that fans of clubs would be wary of him.

At 25, Mario Balotelli is an unwanted man—cast aside from national team and getting pushed around clubs with no fixed destination. In a way, he embodies another enfant terrible of Italian football—Antonio Cassano. But Cassano has had two great clubs where he has flourished—Sampdoria and Parma. Mario needs that. He needs a club where he can be the main man. As he enters his peak footballing years, it would be foolhardy not to try him out as a bargain buy. But will Mario go to a club that has no realistic chance of finishing at the top? I believe that it would actually be a good career move. It’s probably time for him to have one more move and then see if he can perform consistently.

Last Word

Mario is a showman—a modern day rockstar. But he would do far better to also be remembered for his footballing achievements along with the non-footballing ones. With that in mind, one hopes that Mario decides to move to an Italian club, plays a full season, and ensures we get back the Super Mario that we all have seen. The talent is all there. All it needs is encouragement and nourishment. The razzmatazz of fast lane would never leave Mario. But the performances he can produce, the sheer brilliance of his skills can match his onetime mentor Zlatan.

…. And the Last Last Words

We all know by now that Mario has gone back to where it all started… to go wrong. Milan holds its breath for the return of his mercurial son. Only good thing about the move is that there is no expectation at all. It won’t make the headlines if Balotelli fails to deliver there. It will still make one every time he loses his mind but that is also somewhat expected, if not acceptable, by now. Will Super Mario finally become the superstar he always wanted to be? Or will he create some new lows for himself, the club and the country? Only time will tell. Till then, Go Mario!!!

No Joy in Europe..But Lets Start The Campaign

Once the greatest football league in the world, Serie A is now struggling to impose itself as a European powerhouse. But that doesn’t lessen the intrigues and excitement of Serie A. We, at Goalden Times, would be covering Serie A in some detail. Here, Debopam Roy present the last part of his preview of the league starting on 31^st August. 

Napoli, out of Champions League 2014-15 having lost convincingly by a margin of 4-2 over two legs, would join Torino, Fiorentina and Inter in Europa League. That is number three to seven as per last year’s league standing (sixth ranked Parma were disqualified). To prevent their coefficients from sliding further, these four clubs need to perform strongly in the Europa League. Last year, runway and record breaking scudetto winners Juventus could not cross the group stage hurdle in the Champions League and went to Europa League instead. They are once again in the main draw, accompanied by AS Roma as the only other Italian club. Even Portugal has three clubs – Porto, Benfica and Sporting in the Champions League. The league which boasted of tactically astute teams who just would not concede and had the grit to win in Europe is losing ground to other leagues and losing it fast.

It is however something we have to keep aside now as the new season finally gets underway with all 10 fixtures scheduled over the coming weekend. In today’s piece we preview the remaining 10 teams of Serie A.

Milan

The Rossoneri are a club lacking ambition and clear direction. Having disbanded the senators after the title winning season of 2010-11 and sold off the prized jewels like Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, AC Milan were expected to usher a new dawn with young players but that proved to be a false one and the club were forced to bring in old spent forces like Michael Essien. Filippo Inzaghi, a club legend has taken reins but one of his most prized assets – Mario Balotelli has been sold off. Free transfer of shot stopper Diego Lopez from Real Madrid and an injury free Stephan El Shaarawy are his two best “acquisitions”. But it would be a tall order for Pippo to take this Milan side anywhere near Europe. Milan would do well to finish in the top five.

Key Player: With the sale of Mario Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy is the only big attacking threat for Milan. He has overcome his injury problems but whether he alone can lift Milan to its position of pre-eminence remains a doubt.

Breakout Star: Having made his debut for Milan in Champions League at the age of 16 and thus becoming the youngest ever Milan player and third youngest overall to do so, Bryan Cristante has been earmarked for great things. With Riccardo Montolivo injured, it would be a great opportunity for the youngster to stake his claim as the new creative force in this Milan team.

Key Transfer In:  With the sale of Mario Balotelli, there may be a new striker who will come in the next few days but, on current form, the most influential transfer is Diego Lopez. Coming on a free transfer, arguably the best goalkeeper of Real last season, Lopez would be first established keeper bought directly from abroad by Milan since Dida. He would provide much needed security for the Milan defense.

Napoli

Napoli has come a long way in just over a decade of President Aurelio de Laurentiis’ reign. From bankruptcy and playing in Serie C, they are now clearly a permanent Italian entrant to the Champions League spots. They have not been able to crack the European formula yet but with the wise head of Rafa Benitez at helm, this is something that they may yet achieve. Benitez has got important reinforcements like Michu, Kalidou Koulibaly and Jonathan de Guzman to base his campaign and his team is balanced enough to mount a twofold challenge in Serie A and in Europa League. Departures of Federico Fernandez and Valon Behrami and possible sale of Blerim Dzemaili to Milan may force Rafa to alter his defensive formation.

Key Player: Gonzalo Higuain missed probably the best chance to create history for Argentina in the World Cup final against Germany. But he may yet atone himself if he can lead Napoli to glory. The fancy for South American saviors at Napoli has been eternal since the days of El Pibe. The likes of Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi have provided some succour but with both sold to PSG, it is Higuain who now bears the responsibility of seeing Napoli through the season.

Breakout Star: Jorginho, the 22 year old Oriundi, had an outstanding half-season with Verona last year. He scored 7 goals and provided 4 assists in 18 matches in the first half of the season earning him a January transfer to Napoli. And although he managed a assist in his first full appearance, that was his only notable contribution in 15 games for Napoli. His overall play, however, was still appreciated. A hardworking midfield shuttler, Jorginho could provide the ballast for Napoli’s season if they sell Blerim Dzemaili.

Key Transfer In: Michu is very much a Rafa Benitez type of player – unheralded yet effective, someone who provides much more to the unit rather than being just an individual. In two full seasons at Swansea City, he netted 38 times across competitions. Rafa can bank on him to score crucial goals at the most opportune moments.

Palermo

Palermo returned to Serie A after one year in Serie B, where they became champions of Serie B with a record 86 points, beating the previous record of 85 by Juventus, Chievo and Sassuolo.  Manager ‘Beppe Iachini presided over that campaign and the Rosanero scored the second highest number of goals while conceding the least. He has been retained this year for Serie A but with the trigger happy Maurizio Zamparini at helm (29 managers in 12 years), he might be the first casualty of the league. Palermo has taken in a few notable transfers with the likes of Costa Rican defender Giancarlo Gonzalez and a Serie A old head Luca Rigoni coming in to join a group of young upcoming South American starlets like Abel Hernandez, Ezequiel Munoz, and Paulo Dybala. They would have to cover for the departure of Kyle Lafferty, their second highest goal scorer last season in Serie B and only one of only three players to hit double digits.  Given their history and form, Palermo won’t go down immediately and will probably end up in the mid-table logjam.

Key Player: Edgar Barreto is a combative midfielder who was one of the key protagonists in Paraguay’s qualification into World Cup 2010 knockout rounds at the cost of holders Italy who were in the same group. Now retired from international duty, the 30 year old is the bulwark around which Palermo’s campaign is based.

Breakout Star: Abel Hernandez has been touted as the next Edinson Cavani for quite some time. At 24, he has already done enough to attract attention of many top clubs but no concrete offer has arrived. This may be the season where he shines as bright as his former club mate, forcing a top club to bid big for him.

Key Transfer In: Giancarlo Gonzalez was one of the best defenders in Costa Rica’s quarter final run in FIFA 2014 WC. His play earned him a place in ESPN’s Best XI at group stage and finally in BBC’s team of the tournament. Coming from MLS, he would need to adapt to the more tactical environs of Serie A but his displays project him as a canny defender who can shut down defences marvelously.

Parma

Parma was one of the over-achievers of last season. Under Milan legend Roberto Donadoni and spearheaded by former Milan man Antonio Cassano, Parma amassed 58 points and finished sixth, earning a place in the Europa League. However, FIGC rejected the application of Parma for a UEFA license, because Parma had overdue tax debt; their place thus went to seventh-place Torino, which had a UEFA license. In the long run, this may benefit their current Serie A campaign as their team is not strong enough to compete successfully in two tough competitions. Parma has not spent any money in the transfers but have sold off one of their key midfielders – Marco Parolo (8 goals and 7 assists in Serie A – second highest in both category for Parma) to Lazio. Donadoni, who is managing Parma since 2012, thus has his task cut out if he has to maintain the high standards set last year.

Key Player: Antonio Cassano has done this before. After failing at Real Madrid he became a key figure at Sampdoria. 6 years later he repeated that feat. After failure at both Milan clubs, he came to Parma on a free transfer and became the centre of attraction again, pushing the Crociati to European places with a rich haul of 12 goals and 8 assists in Serie A.

Breakout Star: Ishak Belfodil has shown a lot of promise in earning contracts with two European powers like Lyon and Inter but has not had a truly remarkable season. The 22 year old striker is back at Parma from Inter and would like to do better than the 8 goals he scored for Parma in 2012-13 season.

Key Transfer In: With hardly any new transfers in, till date, Parma has only done loan deals and free transfers. Of them, the most impressive is freekick specialist Francesco Lodi. The man who shot to prominence in Serie A during his time at Catania, was once touted as a substitute for Pirlo, mainly for his set piece skills. The midfielder has 23 goals in Serie A and would like to score a few more as he comes in as a replacement for Marco Parolo.

Roma

Roma had an outstanding season last year and the 85 points amassed by them would have won them the Scudetto in most seasons. It was only the record breaking century of points from Juventus that denied them the honour. This year the club has strengthened the team even more. While Mehdi Benatia has left for Bayern Munich, there have been high profile inclusions of Davide Astori, Juan Manuel Iturbe, Konstantinos Manolas, Ashley Cole and Salih Ucan. La Giallorossi were also given a boost by the fact that Italian bank UniCredit sold its remaining (minority) stake to the American group of investors led by club president James Pallotta thus making them the first Italian football club to be wholly owned by foreigners. On the field, the club did well to beat Real Madrid in the friendly tournament and narrowly losing to Manchester United and to Inter on penalties. With champions Juventus going through a managerial uncertainty, Roma remains the prime favorites to win their fourth Scudetto.

Key Player: Kevin Strootman was one of the high profile transfers last season for Roma and he delivered on his promise, scoring 5 goals and providing 6 assists in Serie A. Injury curtailed his involvement to only 25 matches and scuppered his chance in the Dutch world cup team. But he promises to come back stronger this season as his injury worries look like receding.

Breakout Star: Mattia Destro has been earmarked as one of Italian frontmen with the most potential. He had scored 13 goals in only 20 Serie A appearances emerging as his club’s top scorer. However with injuries limiting appearances, he could not score enough to break into Cesare Prandelli’s world cup squad. He can show that he is a safe bet as a 20 goal a season striker and this may be the season to cement that claim.

Key Transfer In: Davide Astori is a Milan youth product who has broken through to the Italian national team from a small team like Cagliari. His loan move to Roma came through after some drama as a deal was almost in place for local rivals Lazio. Lazio dallied a bit and Walter Sabatini, Roma’s Director of Sport pounced for a deal. There is further intrigue to the move as Astori was involved in an on-field punch up with Mattia Destro in the Roma-Cagliari match last season which earned Destro a suspension. Now as clubmates, it is to be seen if sparks still fly. With the departure of Benatia, it is Astori that Roma will look towards to provide the necessary defensive steel.

Sampdoria

It has been a few unimpressive seasons for the Blucerchiati with consecutive finishes at 12^th and 14^th in the two seasons that they have been back in Serie A after promotion from Serie B. Club legend Siniša Mihajlović has been in charge since last season but has not been able to inspire the club to its glory days. Sampdoria sold off Shkodran Mustafi, the only Sampdoria player who made an impression in World Cup, to Valencia but the transfers in have not been as impressive. Former Arsenal reserve keeper Emiliano Viviano, Fiorentina right back Lorenzo de Silvestri and promising Inter striker Alfred Duncan, Catania hitman Gonzalo Bergessio forms their chief intakes. At first glance this isn’t enough to break into the top half of Serie A and  Mihajlović would do well to keep his team in the same mid-table spot.

Key Player: Angelo Palombo is one of those captains (Toto di Natale at Udinese is another) who has led with great inspirational power. Apart from a loan spell at Inter in 2012 when Sampdoria were relegated, he has spent over a decade with Blucerchiati. His defensive nous and leadership from the back has made sure that Sampdoria have been one of the competitive teams of Serie A except for that one season when they were relegated. At 32 he still has some years at the top level and Mihajlović will depend on his charismatic captain to anchor the midfield.

Breakout Star: Manolo Gabbiadini was covered in Goalden Times back in 2012 when we had identified him as one for the future. Since then he has progressed a lot. In 2012-13 he had 6 goals in Serie A playing with Bologna and 8 in 2013-14 for Sampdoria. At 22, he is now primed for a breakout season. For Sampdoria to get into the top half of the league, they would count on Gabbiadini to rovide the goals.

Key Transfer In: Emiliano Viviano was considered a potential successor to Buffon once. But failure at Fiorentina and failing to get a single competitive game under his belt over three spells at Inter and Arsenal has made him fall far back in the pecking order of national goalkeeping rosters. Sampdoria offers him one last chance and at 28 he is entering the best years of a goalkeeper’s career. So it may just come along together one more time for Viviano.

Sassuolo

Sassuolo played their first ever Serie A campaign last season and managed to avoid the drop to Serie B immediately by finishing 17^th. Having spent more time in the relegation zone than any other team except Catania, Sasuolo made a miraculous escape by the skin of their teeth as only 2 points separated them from the relegated Catania. They banked their survival on the young attacking pair of Domenico Berardi and Simone Zaza and that was enough to earn them the stay even though they conceded the second highest tally of goals. They have been active in the transfer market in order to prolong their Serie A adventure and acquisition of Genoa full back Šime Vrsaljko, Juventus defender Federico Peluso, Napoli’s Paolo Cannavaro shows that this time round their defence will be stronger. Indeed, they have a squad well balanced to finish mid table.

Key Player: Domenico Berardi & Simone Zaza are probably the unlikeliest pair of successful attacker pairs of last season. 20 year old Berardi scored 16 goals and provided 9 assists including a poker (4 goals) against Milan. He also grabbed a hat trick against Sampdoria in Sassuolo’s first away win in Serie A and another in the first half against Fiorentina in a 4-3 win. The 22 year old Zaza scored 9 goals over the season, making it 25 for the pair out of the 43 league goals scored by Sassuolo. Both had a breakout season together and their goalscoring feats need to continue for Sassuolo to remain in Serie A.

Breakout Star: Francesco Acerbi has had a breakout season already with Chievo. This had led to his transfer to Milan. However he was discarded within half a season and then came to Sassuolo in 2013 via Genoa and Chievo. And then he was detected with testicular cancer. He underwent surgery to get well and returned successfully to Serie A action before being found to have failed a doping test in December 2013. The player denied using doping, claiming that a positive result might be caused by medicine he had been taking after surgery. And then it was found that the tumour had returned and Acerbi had testicular cancer. Further layoff followed but his iron will has allowed him to make one more comeback. If any player deserves success, then it is him.

Key Transfer In: Šime Vrsaljko had a great world cup with Croatia and at 22 is poised for a successful career. Sassuolo paid a lot to buy him outright from Genoa, trying to plug their leaky defense.

Torino

Parma’s loss was Torino’s gain. Before the final round of matches last season, Torino were 6^th and Parma 7^th and then Torino, after a 84^th minute equaliser to make it 2-2, missed a penalty in the 94^th minute from Alessio Cerci, scorer of 13 goals in the league. That draw earned Torino a point but Parma’s win away to Livorno meant they pipped Torino by a point to finish 6^th and qualify for the Europa League. However, with Parma disqualified due to not having UEFA license, Torino were reinstated as the final European spot qualifier from Italy. It was a just reward for a record breaking season in which a Torino player had been the capocannoniere for the first time since 1977-78. Ciro Immobile’s 22 goal season earned him a transfer to Dortmund to fill the void created by the departure of Robert Lewandoswki. Cerci may follow the path out too, with offers from multiple clubs. Torino’s transfer in has been the scorer of fantastic goals – Fabio Quagliarella. Loan deals for Antonio Nocerino from Milan and Ruben Perez from Atletico Madrid have beefed up the midfield. However, having to play in two tough competitions is surely going to take its toll. Torino would do well to finish in the top half again and may even be a candidate for relegation if Cerci is sold and not adequately replaced.

Key Player: Matteo Darmian had a wonderful World Cup debut as a right back for Italy against England. Later he also played on the left and as a wingback. He had an outstanding season with Torino. Another season like that and his parent club, Milan, might rue the day they allowed their one time youth team captain to move for free.

Breakout Star: Marco Benassi was part of the Inter Milan youth team that won the Primavera league and European title – NextGen Series in 2012. However, he was not able to break into the Inter and was sold to Torino on a co-ownership. He would like to show his parent club what he is capable of and Torino could afford him that space to prove himself.

Key Transfer In: Fabio Quagliarella is probably the scorer of some of the most fantastic goals in Serie A. Having become a peripheral figure at Juventus, he has moved to Torino and would have the tall order of filling the boots of Ciro Immobile who scored 22 goals last season.

Udinese

Udinese remains one of those rare clubs who have successfully shown a model of operation different than many bigwigs at Serie A. The Pozzo family that owns Udinese also own Granada that plays in La Liga and Watford that plays in English Championship. Udinese have a wide range of scouts spread across the globe and scour for unknown talents. These players are then moved across the two sister clubs to give them exposure before moving them to Udinese where they get to play with the big boys. Even this year, there have been players like Allan, Molla Wague, Alexis Zapata who have come from Granada and others like Albert Riera, Davide Faraoni who have come from Watford.  Along with new talents, Udinese have also given another chance to promising former Inter manager Andrea Stramaccioni. Strama had spent 14 months at Inter leading them to a dismal 9^th spot before being sacked but Udinese trusts him to take the team forward after four years under Francesco Guidolin. Last season in Serie A Udinese’s performance was not so good because talisman and captain Antonio di Natale scored only 17 goals in the season after four straight seasons where he had scored 29, 28, 23 and 23 respectively.  As he has postponed his retirement by a season, he might try to finish on a high leading Udinese back to European spots.

Key Player: Luis Muriel is the next in line of dynamic Udinese strikers – fast, skilful dribbler and deadly in the box. However so far he has not completely lived up to that potential. He had a stand-out 2012-13 when he scored 11 goals and earned the best young player in Serie A award but injuries and poor form curtailed him to only four goals last season. If Udinese are to look for life beyond di Natale, then Muriel would have to shoulder the extra burden and bang in those goals.

Breakout Star: Simone Scuffet was one of the dark horses to go to World Cup having shown exceptional promise in a late season display for Udinese. Such was the 18 year old’s potential that Atletico Madrid thought of him as a backup keeper. However he rejected the offer as he felt he could grow more at Udinese. Another season of promise beckons and this time there may be more such offers if he lives up to his potential.

Key Transfer In: Panagiotis Kone had a relatively fruitful two year spell at Bologna scoring 13 times playing from the wing. A move to Udinese should be considered a step up as Udinese typically allows winger-cum-strikers to flourish, a fact exemplified by players like Alexis Sanchez and Toto di Natale. Kone might be another player who follows in their footsteps given his raw pace and dribbling skills.

Verona

Verona surprised everyone by finishing 10^th last season after coming from Serie B. It was a gigantic achievement given that their last appearance in Serie A was in 2002. Luca Toni turned back the years to scored 20 goals and also provided 11 assists, leading Verona to European contention till the final stages of the Serie A season.  Then there was Juan Manuel Iturbe, signed on loan from Porto, who scored eight times besides providing five assists. Quite predictably, Roma came to pounce on Iturbe for almost 29 million Euros. Verona wants to have many such Iturbes every season. In that, they have signed Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Antonio Luna. Taking a cue from the success of 36 year old Toni, Verona have also brought the 35 year old Mexican captain, Rafael Marquez. But Iturbe was not the only departure. Midfield has been depleted as two young players – Jorginho and Romulo left for Napoli and Juventus respectively. It was a miracle as Tim Parks wrote of Verona’s scudetto year in 1985. Their performance last season was at a similar level of surprise. But miracles do not happen every year and Verona would do well to repeat such performance. Practically, it should be considered a success if Verona can avoid the drop.

Key Player: Luca Toniwas a late developer, bursting on to the scenes out of nowhere in his twenties. Till then he had not shown much promise at youth levels. Luca Toni was almost finished at 36. And then he signed for Verona and banged in 20 goals and 11 assists. Such was the impact that he was offered a two year extended contract. It is to be seen if he can replicate his last season’s form this season.

Breakout Star: Giorgi Chanturia has been bought from Romanian side CFR Cluj. He also has experience of playing with Barcelona’s B team scoring 11 goals in helping the Catalans win the Juvenil B championship. The Georgian was dubbed a wonderkid and scored on his senior debut in March this year for Georgia. Having sold off Iturbe to Roma, Verona would like Chanturia to take his role.

Key Transfer In: Rafael Marquez had almost wound up his playing career with spells in MLS Mexican Liga MX. However, a stupendous World Cup where he led the Mexican team to the knockout rounds at the expense of Cameroon and Croatia before being ousted by two late Dutch goals, has seen Marquez come back in focus and Verona has backed him to provide leadership from the back.

Calcio Re-Booted

Serie A returns with new drama and Debopam Roy brings you up-to-date on each of the 20 teams

(in alphabetical order)

Atalanta

2011-12 performance: Performed very creditably to finish on 46 points and 12^th in the table. But for a six-point penalty imposed before the season, they could have even vied for European spots.

Transfer Market: Acquiring German Denis, who scored 16 goals last season on loan, was a no brainer. But it is the transfer of the talented Luca Cigarini, who is yet to live up to his evident potential that makes it a promising transfer window . Cigarini is one of those failed starlets of Italian football and a stint outside Serie A hasn’t helped either. Maybe Atalanta will provide that platform and with Denis upfront, will work in tandem to light up the Nerazzurri.

Average Age: 27.6 years

Manager: Stefano Colantuono is in his third season with Atalanta, having secured their promotion from Serie B and then a splendid finish last year. The 49-year-old, who favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, has a 43.75% win record and has managed his team to score over 100 league goals in the last two seasons.

Star: German Denis. With 16 goals last term, he was in the race for the capocannoniere. With Cigarini to pull the strings and provide assists, Denis can potentially reach or improve on that figure.

Watch Out For: Andrea Consigli has been a youth product of Atalanta and at 25, had earned his maiden Azzurri call-up against England in a friendly. With search for “Who Next” after Gianluigi Buffon, Consigli, who had twelve clean sheets in 35 matches last season, is a creditable contender.

Expectation: Like last year, Atalanta would again start off with points penalty. But only two this time round. They would expect a safe middle of the table position. But it all will depend if Denis can reprise his form of last year. With several mid-table teams weakening, it may not be such a bold statement to say that Atalanta will improve on their 12^th position.

Prediction: Safe middle of the table

Bologna

2011-12 performance: Performed incredibly to finish in the top 10 teams. But for a stalling in form once they had reached the magical 40-point mark, historically a sign of top level safety, Bologna could well have finished with a European place. The architect of that performance was club captain and legend, Marco di Vaio with 10 goals and seven assists. They conceded only 43 goals which is the least conceded outside the top three.

Transfer Market: Di Vaio didn’t renew his contract and left for the MLS. His departure at 36 years of age was expected. What was unexpected was Bologna selling off Jean-François Gillet, the very dependable Belgian goalkeeper, to newly promoted Torino. The 33-year old custodian made his second move in as many years after being with Bari for over 11 years. And quotes like “I have no reason to find a new club, I’m very happy at Bologna and I do not see really why I should leave this city“, days before his transfer meant that Bologna really didn’t try hard enough to retain his services. Securing services of Gianluca Curci from Roma and Robert Acquafresca from Genoa will help somewhat in replacing Gillet and di Vaio, but the gulf in quality will tell.

Average Age: 25.6 years

Manager: Stefano Pioli was at the helm last year when Bologna went on that stupendous run. He remains in charge for another year. His preferred formation is 3-1-4-2. His Bologna side had a solid look with 39 goals scored and 33 conceded over the season.

Star: Alessandro Diamanti is the creative lynchpin of Bologna. Left-footed and mercurial, he has recently been regularly called up for the national team. He was influential last season with seven goals and assists apiece.

Watch Out For: Federico Rodriquez. He joined Bologna from Penarol via Genoa and a member of Uruguay’s team in the 2011 U20 World Cup, Rodriquez has the quality to shine through.

Expectation: Matching the previous season would be a humongous task. A more realistic option would be to secure mid-table safety.

Prediction: Safe middle of the table

Cagliari

2011-12 performance: They started the season well and were in the top 10 till the 23^rd round but losses in the last rounds ended up being 15^th with just goal difference to put them over Palermo.

Transfer Market: Cagliari’s biggest transfer move was the players that they managed to retain – Davide Astori, Radja Nainggolan and Andrea Cossu. Capture of Chilean forward Mauricio Pinilla from Palermo is the only high profile capture.

Average Age: 25.8 years

Manager: Massimo Ficcadenti was appointed as the Cagliari manager last season and then sacked within three months of the season only to be reappointed in March 2012. It is to be seen if the manager who prefers 4-3-1-2, can stay all season.

Star: Davide Astori. Growing up in the Milan youth system, he would have studied some of the best defenders of all time. At 25, and with Azzurri colours a reality, he was expected to move on but he himself rejected a €15m move to Russian side Zenit. Whether he can continue his impressive displays to convince Cesare Prandelli to make him a permanent fixture in the national team is to be seen.

Watch Out For: Vincenzo Camilleri is a 20-year old highly-rated defender. Having played in Serie B for a season, Camilleri has shown promise that he might be the next big Azzurri hope. Strong in the air and firm on the tackle, he still lacks a bit of composure, and exposure at Serie A will help him fulfil his promise.

Expectation: With a largely unchanged squad, the expectation is that Ficcadenti would be able to mould them in a way that they can go for mid-table safety. Last season’s experience shows that they tend to fall off the perch quite easily and if things start going pear-shaped then there is noone who could stop the rot.

Prediction: Barely escape relegation

Catania

2011-12 performance: Catania were one of the stories of the season especially under the managerial command of Vincenzo Montella. They finished 11^th overall but were within European spots till the 30^th round.

Transfer Market: They sold off Maxi Lopez, who was already on loan at Milan for the last six months of the season. They managed to retain the rest of the team, including deep-lying midfielder Francesco Lodi, who Milan had wanted as a possible return to (Andrea) Pirlo-like formation.

Average Age: 26.2 years

Manager: Catania wanted to retain the services of the hugely impressive Montella but saw him joining Sampdoria. So they punted for Rolando Maran – a 49-year old journeyman manager who has never managed in Serie A and whose only claim to fame has been taking Varese to the Serie B play-off last season. With his first time in Serie A, he would remain a prime candidate to be the first managerial casualty of the season.

Star: Francesco Lodi was one of the big success stories of the season, so much so that there was a real push for him to be included in the Euro squad of Prandelli as a vice-Pirlo. He scored nine goals and created seven in the league. Left-footed and brilliant in free kicks, he is a rare commodity in the Italian football. When Milan came calling in summer, he rejected showing rare loyalty – “Catania had given me a chance from obscurity and I am grateful to them. I would not leave them for any club.”

Watch Out For: Growing up in the famed Cantera of Atletico Madrid and debuting for them at 17 years 8 months, Sergio Gontán Gallardo or Keko, was thought to be a prodigy. But the potential has not been fulfilled and he has joined Catania as a free transfer. In a league not known to blood youngsters, Keko would have to work hard to gain favour.

Expectation: Gain mid-table safety and push for a top ten finish. But if things go pear shaped, don’t expect the club to be patient. Maran would be the odds-on manager to be sacked.

Prediction: Middle of the table safety

Chievo

2011-12 performance: The Flying Donkeys have defied many conventions over the season. In 2011-12, they provided a solid defence and enough attacking acumen to finish 10^th. It was a remarkable position for a club with meagre budget. Credit for that would go to a mean defence that conceded only 45 goals – the seventh best in the league.

Transfer Market: They lost two of their best performers in Francesco Acerbi to Milan and Michael Bradley to Roma. Both made richly deserved jumps, but their replacements are not quite their level. Dario Dainelli is a 33-year-old who was a backup defender at Fiorentina while Paul Papp is an untried 22-year-old from Romanian side FC Vaslui. Getting Marco Rigoni from relegated Novara was a smart piece of business. Rigoni scored 11 goals with eight assists for the relegated team last season.

Average Age: 28.8 years

Manager: Dominico di Carlo continues from his previous year and hopes to repeat the performance of last year. In charge of Chievo for the second time (he earlier had coached them for two seasons from August 2010), di Carlo favours a tight defence with swift counters. His favourite formation is 4-3-1-2.

Star: It’s very hard to identify a star when a team collectively punches way above its weight but keeper Stefano Sorrentino is probably the closest you will get to one. Playing for Chievo, his last three seasons, has had 10, 12 and 13 clean sheets in the league. As that number is increasing over the seasons, one can expect another solid shot-stopping season under the bar. At 33, he may have passed the age for playing for Italy, but he remains one of the most consistent performers in the league.

Watch Out For: Alberto Paloschi. A dream debut for Milan and subsequent growth at Parma meant a lot was expected of him when he joined Chievo on loan. However, injuries have curtailed his performances. At 22, he should still count age on his side and with parent club Milan undergoing a revolution, a bright season at Chievo should see him called back pronto to lead the Rossoneri.

Expectation: As always, you expect Chievo to punch above their weight and avoid relegation. Their team ethic is superb and that is what has allowed them to do it year after year.

Prediction: Escape relegation and mid-table

Fiorentina

2011-12 performance: Fiorentina had a wretched season marred by the sacking of two managers – Sinisa Mihajlovic, midway through and his replacement Delio Rossi later in the season. The lead striker, Alberto Gilardino was sold off and the team finished a lowly 13^th. This from a team that was playing Champions League regularly and beating the likes of Liverpool home and away to qualify for the knockout rounds – last season was a huge letdown. Though they did manage to keep their influence in the deciding title by beating Milan 2-1 at home – their first loss of the season at home, which ultimately put Juventus ahead of Milan for the last decisive phase of the league.

Transfer Market: Director of Sport Daniele Prade and the owners Della Valle family have ensured that Fiorentina buy reinforcements throughout the squad. Prominent buys include Juan Cuadrado from Udinese, Mounir El Hamdaoui from Ajax, Gonzalo Rodriguez from Villareal and a trio of playmakers – Alberto Aquilani from Liverpool, Borja Valero from Villareal and Matias Fernandez from Sporting. It is a makeover that was long needed. Add in the fact that they have retained some of the best young talents like Stevan Jovetic, Adem Ljajic and Michele Camporese and you see that this team is ready to challenge for European spots again.

Average Age: 25.3 years

Manager: Vincenzo Montella was one of the managers last season – winning hearts with his attacking displays with Catania and taking them to a strong finish. Prade managed to lure him from Catania and give him a project. If Montella manages to do justice to this project, he would surely install himself as one of the favourites for the national team job once Prandelli’s tenure is up.

Star: Stevan Jovetic, at 22 has already been a subject of €50m bid from Manchester City. Bought for €8m in 2008, he has suffered cruciate ligament rupture in 2010 which set him back a long way. In 2011-12, in 27 matches he scored 14 times with six assists. At 22 years, his stock can only rise and this may be a season where he takes Fiorentina back to European spots.

Watch Out For: Matija Nastasic was the other Fiorentina player whom Man City wanted as part of that €50m bid. At 19, he is already a full Serbian national and a centre-back with immense promise. He played 24 matches last season and scored twice. For an 18-year old defender to break into a Serie A team and have his own spot is no mean feat.

Expectation: With influential signings all around the park, and the managerial acumen of Montella, Fiorentina would hope for a European spot finish. Some of the outstation talents like Valero and Fernandez may take time to settle in Serie A but if the strong youth can rally along with old pros like Juan Manuel Vargas, Fiorentina can even go into the top three and a Champions League spot.

Prediction: Finish in Europa League spots

Genoa

2011-12 performance: Genoa had a horrible 2011-12. From the 31^st round onwards, they were 17^th in the league and stayed in that position (by a gap of six points) till the end. For a club with high investment in terms of players, it was a catastrophic season. And even that last spot of the league survival wouldn’t have been possible if not for the 19 goals from Rodrigo Palacio. That they conceded a league high of 69 goals was much responsible for the plight.

Transfer Market: Genoa is a study on its own. The number of players that pass through the oldest football club in Italy is quite amazing. It’s as if every transfer season they change their entire team. With a disastrous season, Genoa, quite justifiably could plan for a reboot. So out went Palacio, the top-scorer, Miguel Veloso was shipped to Kiev and keeper Eduardo dumped in the Turkish league. A lot of Genoa-owned players were sold off too – Mattia Destro being the most prominent name. Destro, co-owned by Siena and Genoa was sold to Roma for €11.5m.  None of the incoming players are prominent names – promising midfielders Alex Merkel and Andrea Bertolacci were brought from Milan and Roma in exchange of Stephan el Shaarawy and Destro, respectively. Julian Velazquez is the big defensive signing from Independiente, Argentina.

Average Age: 25.5 years

Manager: The story of Genoa’s managerial merry-go-round can best be described thus: Davide Ballardini (pre-season) -> Alberto Malesani (December 2011) -> Pasquale Marino (April 2) -> Alberto Malesani (April 22). Luigi De Canio was given the reins on April 22 and so far, he still has a hold on that position. But with as fickle a President as Enrico Preziosi, De Canio would do very well to cover a year in that position. De Canio is an experienced manager who has even managed QPR for a year. Playing an aggressive 4-3-3, De Canio has managed Udinese, Reggina, Siena and Lecce in Serie A.

Star: Alberto Gilardino has been the ‘nearly’ man of Italian football. His rise at Parma and then move to Milan and a Champions League win with Milan along with the World Cup win with the Azzurri couldn’t mask the fact that he is not cut out for the constant pressure from the fans in a big team. A move to Fiorentina and he seemed to thrive again, till the Viola fell on hard times themselves and then sold him to Genoa. The misfortunes though went with him. Now a senior, he has to find it in himself if he can lead a new look Genoa to redemption.

Watch Out For: Ciro Immobile is the next big hope of Juventus fans. On loan at Genoa, he might find his first season at Serie A a daunting one. The 22-year old €1.85m striker though has been banging goals in Serie B for fun. Last season at Pescara, he scored 28 goals and created 7 in only thirty-seven matches. If he can score half that amount, he would be playing in front of his beloved Juventini fans the next season.

Expectation: Every year, Genoa promise much while delivering little. The 17^th spot was the nadir of the lot. Anything worse would mean relegation. With the quality at his disposal, Genoa should be comfortably finishing in the top three. But a slip like last season is quite possible again.

Prediction: Middle of the table safety

Internazionale

2011-12 performance: Inter self-destructed in spectacular manner all season. First they hired a manager (Gian Piero Gasperini) who only plays with three at the back. Then when he asked for specific players, they were not given to him and he was the first manager sacked in the season after only five games. In came the Roman – Claudio Ranieri and in his own way he had taken Inter to the top four but then from January end to March in 10 matches, they won one, managed to score in three and lost six matches. That they finished in European spots was made possible by a topsy-turvy win in the derby which ensured Juventus would be the champions. Missing out on the Champions League was a huge setback.

Transfer Market: For much of the season, Inter’s mercato was dominated by how they were unsuccessful in offloading some of the high-earning old players – like Julio Ceser, Maicon, Dejan Stankovic, etc. But the reinforcements have been shrewd and throughout the ranks. Samir Handanovic has been the best shot-stopper in Serie A for quite some time. Rodrigo Palacio scored 19 goals last season for Genoa. Matias Silvestre is an improvement on the 35-year old Lucio who was offloaded to Juventus for free. Fredy Guarin of Porto and Gaby Mudingayi of Bologna provide some midfield steel. The last minute exchange of Cassano for Pazzini also favours the Serpenti. With a little bit of luck they would really push Juventus for the Serie A title.

Average Age: 26.8 years

Manager: Ranieri had gone when that severe drought streak had hit and in came Andrea Stramaccioni, the U19 manager. President Massimo Moratti has kept faith in the 36-year old manager whose biggest claim to fame is winning the 2011–12 NextGen series with Inter Primavera team. But the young manager did win five of the nine matches he was in charge of Inter after Ranieri’s sacking and that included the most important derby win. Stramaccioni favours a 4-3-3 offensive formation and it is to be seen if he can be the first manager to succeed in dismantling the strong Mourinho hangover that Inter still suffer from.

Star: Despite differences in opinion which once had almost led to him being sold to Manchester United, Wesley Sneijder remains the heart and soul of Inter. If he is on song, then Inter will soar. Plagued by injuries throughout last season, he only managed 4 goals and five assists. No wonder that Inter had such a misfiring season. With reinforcements of calibre around him, Sneijder could reclaim the title of being the best trequartista in the peninsula.

Watch Out For: Coutinho was bought as a 17-year-old and left at his club Vasco da Gama to mature. When he finally arrived at Inter, he couldn’t really enthral the audience who expected him to be Inter’s answer to Milan’s Pato. After a season long loan at Espanyol, who at least guaranteed him a starting spot, Coutinho is back at Inter for a second stint. And at 20, this might be his last chance yet to impress or else be shipped out again.

Expectation: After a season spent outside Champions League football, Inter are focussed on an assault at the scudetto. The team has been rebuilt with care and the personnel are probably just right to achieve that goal.

Prediction: Finish within top three

Juventus

2011-12 performance: Juventus last lost a Serie A match back on May 15, 2011 to Parma. They again face Parma in the league opener of 2012-13. In between, they have not lost a single game. The feat of winning a scudetto without losing has only been achieved once – by Milan in 91-92 but then the league wasn’t 20-team strong. Hence the Bianconeri can be rightfully proud of their achievement. That they managed it with their top-scorer not even hitting 10 goals is a testament of the spirit with which the whole team combined. Heroes came up when they were required. The defence had superheroes though – conceding only 20 goals, an all-time low in a 20 team Serie A competition.

Transfer Market: Juventus have bought their players early and have bought well. Kwadwo Asamoah and Mauricio Isla of Udinese are two priceless signings for the midfield while bringing back Sebastian Giovinco can be seen as a return of the prodigal son. Martin Caceres was bought after his loan spell of last season and Paul Pogba and Lucio came on free transfers to show that the club was aware of players on either end of the age spectrum, who were having problems in their existing clubs. They have also managed to offload the unwanted extra players like Elijero Elia, Milos Krasic and Felipe Melo. Returning to Champions League after a hiatus of two seasons, Juventus have bought well and sold off to free wages and look primed for another scudetto.

Average Age: 27.1 years

Manager: Antonio Conte won the scudetto in his first time at Juventus but he has been involved in the calcioscommesse scandal for some of his games in charge of Siena. He has been handed a 10-month touchline ban, which would not debar him from coaching the squad in general. Juventus have stood behind Conte in his appeal to the court and have promoted Conte’s assistant, Massimo Carrera as the caretaker manager. Pending the court’s appeal process, Conte would only remain a figure in the background but Carrera, who has won the Italian Super Cup and the Trofeo Berlusconi (the winners of which have never gone on to win the scudetto) can legitimately claim that Juventus won’t miss Conte much.

Star: Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo remain the lynchpins of this Juventus. While Buffon led the moststingy defence of the season, Pirlo revived his career to notch up a league-high 13 assists. Both had a wonderful Euro 2012 where Italy reached the finals. But with Juventus returning to Champions League, they would require to be at the top of their game for the season, if Juventus are to fight on equal footing in three different trophies.

Watch Out For: Paul Pogba. He is a highly-rated youngster who Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t really want to release. But promise of more first-team, brought him to Juventus and in his first outing in the Trofeo Berlusconi, he looked quite assured and comfortable. His technique is well suited for Serie A but it is going to be a test of his temperament, if he can withstand the sharp examination of the Italian league.

Expectation: A repeat scudetto and at least a quarter-final in the Champions League. But they could be found out in the Champions League especially as they will not be seeded there and hence will face a tough group.

Prediction: Would finish in the top three

Lazio

2011-12 performance: Lazio was one of the over-performing sides of the league last year. Their incredible run had ensured that they were in top three for most of the season but in the end finished fourth, pipped to the final Champions League spot by Udinese. It was a revival for the Biancocelesti after a long time. Their revival was marked as much by the performances of free signing Miroslav Klose and Brazilian Hernanes, as it was by the wily tactician Edy Reja. But sections of the fans were unhappy with some of the displays and Reja threatened to quit in March, only to stay along till the end of the season before leaving.

Transfer Market: Till date, Lazio has not spent a penny in the transfer market officially. Players have come on or returned from loan, or have been captured for free. Similarly they haven’t sold anyone. It’s a neat equation altogether. President Claudio Lotito believes in the squad and has added only zero cost players. Prominent among those returning include Mauro Zarate (on loan at Inter from Lazio), Ederson Campos(on a free transfer from Lyon), Antonio Candreva (on loan from Udinese) and Argentine goalkeeper, Juan Carizzo (onloan from Lazio at Catania).

Average Age: 28.7 years

Manager: Vladimir Petkovic is one of only two foreigners managing in Serie A this season (incidentally the other foreign-born manager is his Roma rival Zdenak Zeman). Petkovic is a Croatian who took Swiss nationality and managed exclusively in the Swiss league with a solitary abortive stint in Turkey. At 49, he is a big gamble by Lotito and Petkovic is another manager who could well be the first to be sacked in the season, given the expectations.

Star: Hernanes is in the third season at Lazio and has been the biggest influence in the recent upsurge of Lazio fortunes. With eight goals he was the second highest goal scorer behind Miroslav Klose who hit thirteen. He is the biggest draw in a side which looks underwhelming but has been producing results in the last couple of years domestically.

Watch Out For: Since his transfer to Lyon in 2008 as a 22-year-old, Ederson has flattered to deceive. Four years and many injuries later, he has finally sought a new destination. At Lazio, he will not be under much scrutiny that was present at Lyon because Lazio captured him for free. That, coupled with the presence of Hernanes, might give him the confidence to shine in Europe.

Expectation: Lazio are expected to break into the Champions League spots that they missed so narrowly (and also because Italy lost the fourth spot in Champions League). However, with no significant reinforcement and a new manager, it may actually turn out very differently.

Prediction: Finish just outside European spots

Milan

2011-12 performance: It was a season of so near yet so far. The injuries piled up one after another and at one time there were 13 players (all of whom would have featured if fit) who were out and despite the team rallying long and hard on three different fronts (rivals Juventus only were fighting domestically), they ended up short on each of those fronts. Still a runner-up by four points after the closest scudetto run in years, a semi-final loss in extra time in Coppa Italia and a quarter-final exit to Barcelona did not mean the end of the world. That happened at the end of the season. With a generation of players leaving simultaneously, it was suddenly a Milan that fans couldn’t recognize anymore. But worse was to follow in the summer.

Transfer Market: The transfer market of Milan has been so skewed that they are the team with the biggest transfer surplus in Europe this season – close to €60m. The sale of top-scorer of the league, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28 goals), and probably the best defender in the world, Thiago Silva meant that suddenly the team had lost its backbone as well as its true superstars upfront. Both the sales were due to economic consideration. In the last season before FFP came in, Milan wanted to balance the books. The tax laws in Italy had meant Zlatan’s €12m annual wages to be a herculean amount. PSG, while negotiating Ibra, put in a value of Thiago Silva which was a world record for a defender and Milan simply couldn’t say no in its economic condition. Worse was to follow when Antonio Cassano was sold to Inter in exchange with Gianpaolo Pazzini and Milan also agreed to pay Inter €7.5m over three years. It was a transfer that defied logic for the reason that Milan was paying the money to get a bench player while handing over a starter who had easily topped the assists charts of the Rossoneri last season despite being away for over six months due to an ischemic heart condition. The defence has been bolstered by Francesco Acerbi, whose total Serie A experience is of six months and Cristian Zapata, who has spent a miserable year at Villareal, who were relegated. There is a clear need for a left-back, an anchor in the midfield and a creative midfielder. It is to be seen if the Milan Director of Sport Adriano Galliani can unearth a few gems in the last few days of the transfer season.

Average Age: 27 years

Manager: With Conte getting banned for 10 months, Massimiliano Allegri starts the second consecutive season as the only manager to have won the scudetto among his peers in Serie A. It is his third year at the helm of the club and is probably his hardest. At Cagliari, where he made his name before switching to the San Siro, the manager thrived with a team that punched above its weight. He may have to go back to those lessons, given how lightweight the team has become after the mercato. If he manages to drag Milan into a title fight and finish within at least the top three, then it will be a huge achievement for his managerial career.

Star: Alex Pato is 22 and is only the second player ever to have scored over fifty goals in under 100 Serie A matches. Yet he has been bugged by injuries throughout the season and barely featured in Allegri’s plans. His tactical immaturity and passing incompetence has led to many fans asking him to be sold. Indeed in January 2012, PSG came up with a €36m  bid for Pato and despite the club agreeing to the deal, Pato himself put the brakes on it and chose to stay back. It was a rare show of loyalty and now with the sale of Ibra, with whom it was felt Pato was being stunted, the only way is up. The club and Pato both need each other in this most difficult of seasons.

Watch Out For: Mattia de Sciglio is 19, has come up through the ranks of Milan youth and is probably the best defensive full-back Milan has produced from its youth sector since the times of Francesco Coco and Cristian Panucci. He is the designated understudy at right-back to Ignazio Abate (now an Azzurri regular) but can also fit in at left-back despite being a right-footed player. It reminds most Milanisti of another legendary and much more illustrious left-back, probably the best left-back of all time, who was also a right-footed player and came through the youth ranks of Milanello – Paolo Maldini. If de Sciglio has even half that impact, in his Milan career, then he would become the face of Milan for the rest of the decade.

Expectation: The expectations are pretty low among the fans and many have asked for a refund of the season tickets. For a club as illustrious and well decorated as Milan, those that have asked for such refunds may as well look elsewhere to get their calcio fill. The big names have left and so have the creative ones. But the ones who are staying are a hardworking bunch. Allegri knows how to make a team punch above its weight.

Prediction: Finish outside top three

Napoli

2011-12 performance: Napoli underwent a reality check this season. Qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history, they had a run which they can be justly proud of. But for some spirited Chelsea at home, they would have easily qualified for a richly deserved quarter-final against Benfica. Who knows what they could have achieved there. But the strain of that success had its effect on the Serie A performance. The team which ran Milan close in 2010-11, never came within the top two teams after the third round. Their eventual fifth position denied them Champions League football but the quality of the side came through when they beat Juventus (their only defeat of the season) in the Coppa Italia final.

Transfer Market: The sale of Ezequiel Lavezzi was a big blow. But PSG offered €26m for him and that was that. The good thing was that Napoli managed to reinvest that money into the transfer kitty by buying Eduardo Vargas from Chile (already on loan last season), Goran Pandev (already on loan from Inter), Valon Behrami and Alessandro Gamberini from Fiorentina.

Average Age: 29 years

Manager: Walter Mazzarri is the oldest serving manager in Serie A, having been in charge of Napoli since 2009-10. The manager who employs the 3-1-4-2 formation has slowly but steadily made the Partenopei a force to reckon with again since the heady days of Diego. With the loss of Lavezzi, one of the three tenors, Mazzarri has to either reinvent the tactical structure or find a player who can fill in for him. Some would say that Napoli under him has probably had their moments and there can’t be any higher peaks to climb. However, a scudetto push is not beyond this bunch and Mazzarri will have to reignite those desires among new players.

Star: There has never been a striker at Napoli since Careca (if you don’t call Diego a striker, that is), who could strike fear into the hearts of defenders, like Edinson Cavani does. Strong, lithe, tactically superb, hardworking, good with head and long rangers, Cavani is probably the strongest striker in the league. In two seasons at Napoli, he has hit 67 goals and eighteen assists in his 96 games. That included 5 goals and two assists in 8 Champions League games. At only 25, his best days are ahead and Napoli’s ambitions of a scudetto are oriented around his form.

Watch Out For: Lorenzo Insigne is probably the best young thing to come up through Napoli youth ranks. Last season at Pescara in Serie B (on loan), he scored 18 goals and fourteen assists in 37 matches. It is not since Gianfranco Zola, that Napoli have a homegrown boy who can lead the line. Insigne is short, speedy and plays on the left wing – provoking further memories and comparisons. But he is not Gianfranco Zola – at least not yet. And at 21, with the sale of Lavezzi, it is a big chance for him to seize this moment and establish himself in the eyes of the fans.

Expectation: A strong scudetto finish and a finish within the top three. The quality is evident right through the side but last season showed that Cavani’s brilliance alone is not enough to pull Napoli into Champions League. With Lavezzi leaving, there will be even more a need for quality. And even though there isn’t the strain of a Champions League, Napoli would like to defend their Coppa Italia and also have a decent run in the Europa League.

Prediction: Just finish outside top three

Palermo

2011-12 performance: Palermo is a team where the President is renowned for hiring and firing managers and for the team to defy convention and perform despite selling out of stars. Last season Palermo sacked three managers and two of them were even before the season had started. Bertolo Mutti, who finished the season, was sacked soon after. The team too struggled and barely avoided relegation, finishing 16^th even though they were 10^th in the league as late as the 32^nd round. That run was possible because of Fabrizio Miccoli having a season to remember – 16 goals and twelve assists. But he fought a lonely battle – being responsible for 28 of the 52 goals that Palermo scored. They also conceded 62 goals – the second highest in the league and with such a porous defence, it was lucky that they managed to stay alive.

Transfer Market: Like last two seasons, they have sold off a long time first-team regular this season. After Cavani and Nocerino, it is Federico Balzaretti to Roma. They have also sold Matias Silvestre to Inter and Mauricio Pinilla to Cagliari. The reinforcements are all unknowns – 18-year old Uruguayan forward Sebastian Sosa, 18-year old Argentine forward Paulo Dybala and 30-year old Uruguayan Egidio Arevalo playing in the Mexican league. Goalkeeper Samir Ujkani is a good capture from relegated Novara.

Average Age: 25.9 years

Manager: Managing Palermo means keeping your biodata on the ready because you never know when you will be sacked and you need to find a new job. 55-year old Giuseppe Sannino is in his first stint at Palermo and having led a Siena side, which many thought would get relegated to a mid-table safety last season, is thought to be ideal for this Palermo side. The decline in the quality is very apparent and it will take all of Sannino’s managerial guile (provided he stays on the right side of President Maurizio Zamparini) to keep Palermo above relegation.

Star: At 33, his best days are thought to be behind him. But pint-sized Fabrizio Miccoli had a stellar season responsible for 28 goals of the 52 that Palermo scored last season. Such a performance may not be repeatable again but it is on his shoulder that Palermo’s hopes of remaining in Serie A depend.

Watch Out For: Josip Ilicic sparkled in his debut season in Serie A two seasons back scoring eight and creating eight more. Last season was the inevitable second season blip – only two goals and six assists. Now having spent two seasons, he has grown as an attacking midfielder and a lot will depend on his creative prowess on how potent the Palermo attack is.

Expectation: Finish middle of the table with comfort. Though Zamparini’s mood and Miccoli’s fitness will play major roles. The team is light on quality and a defence that leaks goals (with no major reinforcements) should be cannon fodder for the more proficient attacks.

Prediction: Relegated

Parma

2011-12 performance: Parma provided an astonishing late surge in the table last season. From being 17^th and just above the relegation zone after the 29^th round, they improved to eighth (Roma finished seventh on goal difference) and just two points behind sixth placed Inter. Such a meteoric rise was as much due to Roberto Donadoni’s managerial acumen as it was due to the performance of Sebastian Giovinco; 15 goals and eleven assists – responsible for 26 goals out of the 54 Parma scored. Parma also had a solid defence and finished with a positive goal difference, something that no other team below them managed.

Transfer Market: Parma thrives on developing low cost players on loan and co-ownership and then selling big once those players have risen in value. Giovinco is the latest such name, with Parma cashing in on 50% of the players for €11m. Low cost acquisitions include Marco Parolo and Sotiris Ninis on a free transfer and the costliest acquisition is €4m spent on Colombian forward Dorlan Pabon. With very few days of the transfer season remaining, Parma will probably loan in more promising players and get their team to a position of strength.

Average Age: 26.6 years

Manager: Roberto Donadoni is a Milan and Azzurri legend and a former Azzurri manager. But his worth as a manager has always been questioned with the idea that he became the Azzurri top spot more by default (with other contenders like Carlo Ancelotti and Fabio Capello unavailable when Marcello Lippi resigned). He had been sacked at Napoli and Cagliari after his Italy adventure and the Parma stint was as much a challenge on his managerial acumen as anything. He struggled throughout the season but then that fantastic sprint for European spots at the fag end showed his capability. The new season should see him in the same role of trying to lift a bunch of talented youngsters to a respectable league position.

Star: Antonio Mirante has long been on the cusp of national selection without ever breaking into the fold. But he is a solid if unspectacular keeper and managed to keep seven clean sheets in the previous league season.

Watch Out For: Sotiris Ninis has long been called a wonder kid and his FIFA profile claims he “possesses a dizzying range of skills to go with sublime vision, an electrifying change of pace and fearsome long-range shooting skills“. So far though, that has not earned him a move out of his first senior club, Panathinaikos. Now at Parma, he has the perfect opportunity to hone the tactical and mental side of his game to go along with the skills that he possesses.

Expectation: Fight bravely and finish middle of the table. They have lost their brightest jewel in Giovinco but make no mistake, Parma will make a lot of bigger teams pay through their nose.

Prediction: Fight bravely and avoid relegation

Pescara

2011-12 performance: Pescara gained promotion as the champions of Serie B. It was only the sixth time that they would play in Serie A. Of the five previous seasons, only once have they been able to avoid immediate relegation back to Serie B. Pescara though absolutely rampaged Serie B last season scoring 90 goals in forty-two matches. They also conceded 55 goals (only two other teams in the top 10 of Serie B conceded more) showing that they believed in attacking and letting the rest to chance. This is the typical essence of the man who managed them – Zdenak Zeman, whose legendary attacking intent has often led to spectacular wins and defeats. This time though he had Ciro Immobile scoring 28 goals, Lorenzo Insigne scoring 18 and Marco Sansovini scoring 16. From the midfield, Marco Verratti orchestrated games providing nine assists.

Transfer Market: Pescara lost their top three goalscorers, top assist man as well as their iconic manager in the summer. The most high-profile signing has been Vladimir Weiss from Man City for €1.8m. All the other signings are not at all known even in the leagues from which they have come.

Average Age: 24.2 years

Manager: Giovanni Stroppa was once in charge of the Milan Primavera team – till 2010-11 season. Last season he managed Sudtirol in the lower divisions of Italy. After losing Zeman, Pescara have turned to him as manager. The 44-year old Stroppa’s net experience of managing a senior team is exactly one year and it would be a tall task for him to make sure Pescara avoid the immediate drop-back to Serie B.

Star: Jonathas is a 23-year old Brazilian forward. Tall at 1.90m, he scored 16 times with seven assists for Brescia in Serie B last season. He is expected to be the lynchpin of the attack in the coming season. With Weiss in the team, Jonathas can expect good service from the wings and if he manages even half those numbers, he would have gone a long way in saving Pescara.

Watch Out For: Mattia Perin is 19, and is owned by Genoa. But was loaned out to Padova in Serie B last year and performed commendably. It is expected that he would be the goalkeeper for Pescara this season, in which case he would be the youngest custodian of any teams starting this season.

Expectation: Fight bravely against relegation. But with en masse departures of the figures who led Pescara to their promotion departing in the summer, it seems a lost cause already. With an unproven manager at helm, it would be nigh impossible to avoid the last position.

Prediction: Relegated

Roma

2011-12 performance: Roma started last season in a new model – the Barcelona model. They bought young players from round the globe, including loaning Bojan from Barcelona. The manager was Barcelona youth team manager – Luis Enrique. The formation he played was the 4-3-3 of Barcelona. But the on-field results were not remotely Barcelona-like. Roma never reached higher than fifth (twice) and finished just outside the European spots – two points behind Inter. One of the new signings, Miralem Pjanic made seven assists. But no one else made any significant impression. But with virtually a new team under a new management and new manager, it was expected there will be growing up pains. The supporters have been mature enough to handle that. Enrique left after a season but Roma’s project has taken a turn for the extreme with maverick manager Zdenak Zeman in charge. One can only stay hopeful that the youthful Romans will get their due.

Transfer Market: Roma has had probably the most impressive mercato behind Juventus. They sold off the very impressive Fabio Borini to Liverpool but bought intelligently – young Italian striker Mattia Destro, Panagiotis Tachtsidis, who shone for Greece in the Euros, Brazilians Leandro Castan, Marquinho and Marquinhos. But the two transfers which really shone through were the acquisitions of Michael Bradley, after an exceptional season at Chievo and Federico Balzaretti, who is the starting Azzurri left-back.

Average Age: 25.6 years

Manager: Zdenak Zeman is the most controversial manager in Serie A – probably of all time. He has been managing in Italy since the start of the 80s and is in his second stint at Roma, the earlier one having ended after being in charge for two years. Whatever one may say about the man, he ensures goals for his team. His Pescara scored 90 goals last season in forty-two matches. His Foggia scored 67 in thirty-four matches. He is also a noted advocate of youth and Roma has probably found the perfect man to lead their still-born project in Zeman.

Star: A €30m bid is made by Man City, who promise to double your wages and your team is not one of the winningest clubs in Europe. You decide to reject the bid. That is Daniele de Rossi. The one-club men are few and far and when you play for a less fashionable club like Roma, it should be all the more creditable. With Francesco Totti entering the last part of his career, de Rossi would lead I Lupi soon enough. No other gesture could have proved his love for Roma than the one he took in rejecting the millions from Man City.

Watch Out For: When he was signed, Miralem Pjanic was already a familiar name in Europe, thanks to his exploits with Lyon and it was a surprise that he left Lyon for the Italian capital. In his first season, he showed his worth already topping the assist charts for Roma with nine and also scoring thrice. He is expected to flourish under Zeman more and would be entrusted with the primary creative role in the midfield.

Expectation: A scudetto would be a great result but otherwise finishing within the Champions League spots would suit Roma fine. It has to be remembered that they have completely turned around their team composition in just two years and finishing within the top three would be a vindication of the path the leadership has taken.

Prediction: Finish within top three

Sampdoria

2011-12 performance: Sampdoria spent the last season in Serie B, managed to come up at first chance but it was a laboured promotion. Sampdoria finished sixth in Serie B to claim the final spot of promotional play off. The third placed team played against sixth, and fourth against fifth over two legs. The winners of those matches then played among themselves in a a two-leg match to obtain the right to be promoted to Serie A. Sampdoria beat Sassuolo (third) 3-2 over two legs and then Varese 4-2 over two legs, to qualify. Nicola Pozzi with 15 goals was the most memorable performer of the season.

Transfer Market: Sampdoria made a few major purchases including strikers Maxi Lopez from Catania and Eder from Cesena. They also bought Renan – a defensive midfielder from Romanian side CFR Cluj. A couple of full-backs have also arrived – Lorenzo de Silvestri from Fiorentina and Andrea Costa from Reggina. Utility man Marcelo Estigarribia will be returning after spending last season on loan at Juventus.

Average Age: 25.9 years

Manager: Ciro Ferrara is a Juventus legend and has been assistant manager to Roberto Donadoni for the national team. He has also managed the Italian U21 team for the last two years. But his only stint at Serie A managership – at his beloved Juventus ended in a sacking within six months. He is seen as a promising manager and Sampdoria have given him a second chance to show his worth.

Star: Maxi Lopez was on loan at Milan in January and had a deal with Milan to make the loan permanent. However, Milan didn’t take the offer, but that decision was questioned by fans once Ibra and later Cassano were sold off. He is a proven goal scorer in the domestic league and having played for Milan and Barcelona in his career already, he needs a place where the team would be built around him. Sampdoria might just give him that option.

Watch Out For: Andrea Poli was supposed to be the next Andrea Pirlo and much was expected when he was loaned to Inter. Inter though had a horrible season and didn’t take up the option on Poli. After a season, Poli has thus returned to Sampdoria and he has to show the same level of consistency which initially provided grounds for the comparisons with Pirlo.

Expectation: To finish mid-table. Sampdoria have a decent squad and a young and resourceful manager. Their acquisitions are solid and would help them achieve their dream. They though started off with a handicap of one point, having been found guilty in the calcioscommesse trials.

Prediction: Finish middle of the table

Siena

2011-12 performance: Siena was one of the odds on teams to be relegated last season after gaining promotion and even though they spent 10 rounds stuck at 17^th position, they never went below that and ultimately rallied in the second half of the season to finish 14^th. The most remarkable thing of this display was a stingy defence which only conceded 45 goals in thirty-eight matches, which is the sixth best in the league. So even though they scored only 45 goals, their defensive displays allowed them to survive the drop.

Transfer Market: Siena lost top-scorer Mattia Destro to Roma but have managed to keep most of the other players. There were few reinforcements, the most notable of them being Portuguese centre-back Neto. But they did lose Serbian goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic, who was on loan from Udinese. Brkic was one of the pillars of the stingy defence that enabled Siena to maintain their hold of Serie A.

Average Age: 27.9 years

Manager: Giuseppe Sannino had crafted Siena’s stay in Serie A last season but when he left for Palermo, Serse Cosmi, a man noted for taking clubs in similar positions was appointed. Cosmi, whose last four assignments were with Lecce, Palermo, Livorno and Brescia respectively, has a tough job if he has to emulate Sannino and keep Siena afloat.

Star: This is truly a team without stars but if anyone can claim to be the lynchpin of the team it has to be Emanuele Calaio. Strong and tall, the Palermo born hitman scored 11 times in twenty-five matches and assisted twice. It was his personal best return in a season and it was required to keep Siena afloat. The 30-year-old would do well to repeat that feat, if he is to ensure Siena’s survival.

Watch Out For: Francesco Bolzoni was once a promising Inter Primavera player. But loaned out with no chance offered, he has waded from Genoa to Frosinone to Siena. At 23, it is probably just right for this central midfielder to start imposing himself in the games. Last season he played 16 matches scoring once but was instrumental in closing the defensive hatches.

Expectation: Fight bravely against relegation and punch above their weight to finish mid-table. However, the defensive solidity which was responsible for their survival could prove elusive this time with key loan players moving out. And if that was not enough, they would start with a penalty of six points and while last season Atalanta started with a similar points penalty and yet comfortably finished mid-table, it may just be beyond Siena.

Prediction: Relegated

Torino

2011-12 performance: Torino are one of the giants of Italian football but have languished in Serie B for the last three years after being the third and final team to be relegated on the last day of the season when they lost 3-2 away to Roma. They qualified for Serie A by finishing second in Serie B behind Pescara. Both Pescara and Torino had 83 points and it was two away goals that Pescara had scored at the league match at Torino that decided who finished first. Torino conceded only 28 goals in the campaign which is bettered only by cross-town rivals Juventus’ 20 goals conceded across Serie A and B. Much of that credit goes to the young defender Angelo Ogbonna who is already a steady member of the Azzurri.

Transfer Market: Keeping hold of Ogbonna was a triumph in its own.  Even though they sold off Mirko Antenucci – a man who scored 10 goals for them last season, reinforcements like Mario Santana from Napoli, Damiano Ferronetti from Udinese and Matteo Brighi from Roma have been useful. Signing the goalkeeper, Jean Francois Gillet from Bologna was another masterstroke. Belgian Gillet has been one of the most unsung goalkeepers in Serie A in last two seasons and he would add solidity to the already impressive defence of Torino.

Average Age: 25.9 years

Manager: Gianpiero Ventura was the man who was in charge of Torino last year, and he has been retained to give him a chance to continue his good work. Ventura prefers a 4-4-2 ‘double six’ formation (a formation with two holding midfielders) and his team would try and frustrate the big ones before snatching a goal here and there.

Star: Angelo Ogbonna is the one true world class player that Torino possess. Assured and calm in possession with brilliant anticipation, he has been marked out for greatness for a long time. Coming through the youth system, he has been a kind of prodigal son for Torino. So far Torino has managed to retain him despite interests from all the big clubs in the peninsula but if he manages to play to his potential in his first senior season in Serie A, then it would be tough for Torino to hold on to him.

Watch Out For: Gianluca Sansone is not a household name but it was this 25-year old diminutive left winger striker who singlehandedly accounted for 20 goals and nine assists for Sassuolo (total goals scored – 57) in Serie B last year. Sassuolo finished third, just three points off Torino and were later eliminated in the play offs by Sampdoria. Sansone will be making his Serie A debut this year and it is to be seen if he can reproduce the same form.

Expectation: Comfortably finish mid-table. With a team based on solid defence and a sound goalkeeper addition, Torino should be a mean and stingy defensive unit this season. The goal-scoring threats would be few but with the likes of Man City rejects Rolando Bianchi or Riccardo Meggiorini, Sansone can snatch vital goals here and there. They too would start with a one point penalty for calcioscommesse trials but they would be quietly confident of overcoming that deficit.

Prediction: Comfortably avoid relegation and finish middle of the table

Udinese

2011-12 performance: No praise would be enough in talking about Udinese’s campaign last season. The owners, Pozzo family have built a wonderful football franchise which is successful, plays entertaining calcio and yet remains profitable. Their scouting network is second to none and the same family owns Granada in Spanish Primera Division and Watford in English Championship. Thus with three clubs in three leagues, they are able to provide playing and developing time to a vast number of players. Like most years, they sold off some of their best players – Alexis Sanchez, Gokhan Inler, Cristian Zapata, Simone Pepe and yet improved on their fourth place finish a year earlier to finish third and thus maintain their hold on the final Champions League spot from Serie A. Captain Antonio di Natale led the chase with 23 goals and seven assists. Pablo Armero provided a further 10 more assists and Udinese pipped Lazio to the third spot by two points.

Transfer Market: Following their tradition, Udinese sold off some of their crown jewels in Mauricio Isla and Kwadwo Asamoah to Juventus, Samir Handanovic to Inter while 16-goal hitman German Denis’ loan move to Atalanta was made permanent. They brought in the hugely impressive Luis Muriel from Lecce and Zeljko Brkic from Siena – both of whom were on a loan there. Maicosuel, a 26-year old midfielder was their highest transfer in at €5.3m. Two more Brazilian midfield imports were Allan from Maldonaldo and Willians Fernandes from Flamengo. Closer home, they got Davide Faraoni from Inter and Cristian Pasquato from Juventus – two highly-rated youngsters. It was a very typical Udinese transfer window and despite selling some of their first team regulars, Udinese have the belief that they can yet again provide a strong Serie A season.

Average Age: 25 years

Manager: Francesco Guidolin has been in charge of Udinese since 2010-11 season, and in two seasons have taken Udinese to fourth and third on the league table. Natural progression would mean that they break into the top two but for that he has to ensure that his captain extraordinary – di Natale keeps producing a 20+ goal performance again. His Udinese is flexible enough to adjust to 3-5-2 or 4-3-3 as required and counter-attack at breathtaking speed is what marks his style of play.

Star: Antonio di Natale is a club icon and his records are quite incredible. In 2009-10 season he scored 29 goals and created 7 more. In 2010-11 season he had a dip and so scored 28 and created 6 more. Just to show he is mortal, in 2011-12, he only scored 23 and created 10 goals. It is a phenomenal run in any European league in the last three seasons.  If he produces another 20+ goals this year, Udinese would be assured of another top three finish.

Watch Out For: Luis Muriel is a 21-year old Colombian striker who has been burning the pace charts in Serie A. His pacy runs and finishes at such a young age have drawn comparisons with Alex Pato, and Milan were at one time interested in him. But Udinese saw him as a player who could take the role Alexis Sanchez did in his final year. They let him develop at Lecce where he scored seven goals, assisting in eight more last season and brought him back this season to be paired with Di Natale. Muriel is good with both feet and has a mean long distance shot as well. He just might be the next jewel in Udinese’ crown.

Expectation: To finish in the top three. Unlike last year, Udinese would most probably qualify for the Champions League proper, having drawn Braga of Portugal in the qualification match. Fighting on three fronts would then make it difficult for the team to attain the kind of performance required to make the top three in Serie A – like how Napoli found out last season.

Prediction: Finish in the Europa League spots

This Month in Football History – March

Inzaghi and Milan: A Love Story at Crossroads

Eighteen-year old Modern Languages student Annalisa D’Antonio bleeds red and black. Moved by this Milanista’s sacrifice to stay at Milan in the winter transfer window, she recounts better times when SuperPippo was the flavour of the club. Follow her on Twitter: @mrsgilardino. Forza Milan!

Waking up to news reports all but confirming that one of your favourite footballers is on the verge of signing a contract with another team is not the way you would want to start your day. “A legend should be untouchable and stay with his club forever” was the immediate thought that ran through my mind. But with the way this certain legend has been treated in recent months, should we really hold on to him or let him go, so he could show his true value elsewhere?

In case you were wondering, the player I’m talking about is Filippo ‘Pippo’ Inzaghi, goal scorer supreme, and scorned by opponents best illustrated by the “born in the offside position” comment from Sir Alex Ferguson. Pippo has made an art form out of playing on the shoulder of the opposing team’s defensive line, always keeping them on their toes, waiting for the perfect moment to get onside and go for goal. Having grown up idolizing Paolo Rossi and Marco van Basten, no doubt that he puts his all in what he does best – score goals.  You know he’s a legend when at thirty-eight and a half years old, there’s still a decent team (Siena, a Serie A outfit) out there that is willing to give him a year and a half contract with the guarantee that he would be playing as a regular first team member.

 Inzaghi joined Milan in the summer of 2001, after having donned the Juventus jersey for four seasons and scoring 58 goals and winning a Scudetto, a Supercoppa Italiana and an Intertoto Cup. Since then, he’s helped the Rossoneri win two Scudetti, a Coppa Italia, two Champions Leagues, a UEFA Supercup, FIFA Club World Cup and a Supercoppa Italiana. In this time, he has scored 72 times for the Rossoneri in domestic league. Not an ordinary feat, but nonetheless an attainable task for the third active highest goal scorer in Serie A history. Pippo holds the record for scoring the most hat tricks – 10 in total – in the Italian league in the past twenty-five years as well as in the Champions League where he is tied with Michael Owen with 3 hat tricks. But Pippo’s greatest glories have always been in the Champions League and international club competitions. He is Milan’s top International goal scorer in their history with 43 goals. Inzaghi was one of the most vital players in the 2007 Champions League final as he earned the “Man of the Match” award with his brace en route to Milan’s victory.  A couple of months later, he contributed to Milan’s 4-2 victory over Boca Juniors in the FIFA Club World Cup final by scoring a brace.

Whether his team is playing against a small side or a big rival, in an important competition or a friendly match, Pippo gives it his all. When he scores, he can’t contain himself from the excitement. His trademark celebration is usually running around, yelling with his mouth wide open and arms flailing – almost like he has just scored the winning goal in a World Cup final. His goals and his celebrations have long made him a wild fan favourite.  This huge fan appreciation made it hard for him to leave Milan on such a short notice, as he stated “Milan is My Home“.

The last one and half years have not been good for him. He started only one Serie A match in 2010-11, and indeed in that match, he saved Milan’s blushes scoring the equalizer at home against Catania. Earlier in a season opening friendly, he had showed that an old dog could learn new tricks, with this supreme volleyed goal from outside the box against Barcelona. But his greatest act would come in November against Barcelona’s great rivals. When Real Madrid came to play their return leg match of Champions League, they were on top of the group having beaten Milan at home. Manager Jose Mourinho took a sly dig at Milan’s strike force of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pato and Robinho by saying he ‘feared Inzaghi the most’. Milan manager didn’t start Pippo but brought him on with 30 minutes left and Milan trailing by a goal. And indeed, Mourinho’s worst fears came true with Pippo scoring twice in true Pippo-esque fashion – first from a Casillas howler which he somehow headed in and second from a suspiciously offside position with a neat finish. Milan would ultimately draw 2-2 but that point earned from two Inzaghi goals would take them to the next round. But Pippo would not be there as cruelly just a week after that Real match; Pippo would suffer a cruciate ligament injury going for a goal against Palermo in Serie A. With everybody pronouncing his career had ended, Pippo would fight back as only he can and make an emotional return to the team as Milan wrapped up the 18^th scudetto.

 Despite his age, Pippo still feels like he has a lot to offer.  He feels physically fit and always up for the challenge to play a tough game and score more goals. Siena is well aware of his qualities and it is for this reason that they offered him a year and a half contract with all the trimmings to entice him to join their club. Although flattered, he found it extremely difficult to leave his teammates, his fans and the club behind. You could see that he’s devoted to the Milan colours; not only is he a great player, he is also a phenomenal person. He put aside his own happiness, knowing he won’t be playing, and yet still chose Milan because he felt that his history with the club and his fans were far more important. I’m positive that there will be many more instances where Massimiliano Allegri will make Inzaghi warm up and opt for another player at the last minute. Or he might even make him go on the pitch in the last couple of minutes of the game, but I’m hoping that Allegri will have a modicum of respect for this world-class striker in this final stretch of the season.  The type of respect he has not shown since being at the helm of Milan, especially considering his recent slap in the face: his exclusion from the Champions League squad.

Allegri has recently announced the 25-man squad for the Champions League knockout stages. Some changes have been made to the squad; while some expected others not so much. Stephan El Shaarawy was added to the roster as well as recently acquired Djamel Mesbah and Maxi Lopez. The deletions that were a given for the upcoming rounds were Taye Taiwo who signed with Queens Park Rangers in the English Premier League as well as the injured Antonio Cassano and Gennaro Gattuso. But above all, there is one deletion from the CL roster that has come as a surprise to us all. Inzaghi has been left out of the squad, yet again. Milanisti were angry and shocked when Pippo, one of the greatest goal scorers in the Champions League history, didn’t make the cut the first time round. Now that he hasn’t made the list, Pippo definitely won’t be able to break Raul’s European record.

Inzaghi turned down a one and a half year contract with Siena because he couldn’t imagine his eleven-year history with Milan ending without a proper and well-deserved goodbye. He knows that there are difficult months ahead of him, probably many of which will be spent on the bench or in the stands. All in all, he feels as though it was the right decision and it’s worth living through the next three hard months. Now there are some who believe that due to the injury-prone front line of Milan there is a chance he might fight back onto the pitch and back into greatness. But with players due to be coming back from injury, as well as the signing of Maxi Lopez, the realization has hit us all that the chances of that are slim, and yet another reason why we are glad he has decided to fight throughout these last couple of months and stay. As he said in his exclusive interview with Milan Channel, he wouldn’t trade the friends he’s made or the special fans he has for anything. It’s hard to erase it all in just two hours… this campione deserves a grand finale at the San Siro in May, in front of the Curva Sud[1].

UEFA Champions League Knockout Stage Preview

The business end of Champions League is about to begin. Get the lowdown on each team and each tie with Debojyoti Chakraborty

2011-12 has been a landmark year for the Champions League as it has probably taken a step to show it is no longer an elitist domain. With no fewer than nine countries being present at this stage, the UEFA President can boast of his Spread the Game campaign. One time undisputed superpower, Italy has the envious record of having at least three teams – and this time the only country to be so – for the seventh time in a row. Other giants in European football – England and Spain – are going through one of the worst seasons for years as they have only two representatives. That is the same number Russia have achieved this year, for the first time in their history, along with the usual attendees like Germany and France. Russia should not feel lonely as Eastern Europe has another representative in the form of knockout stage debutants APOEL Nicosia from Cyprus. Together with FC Basel of Switzerland, the other knockout stage debutants they have shocked quite a few with their strong showing in the group stages and it would be dangerous to demean their chances in the business end. Joining the league of debutants is the rejuvenated club from Italy, FC Napoli who are basking in Champions League glory for the first time ever. They could do well to emulate Real Madrid who is making a record 15^th consecutive appearance at this stage of the competition, followed closely by Arsenal with 12^th straight show down. Not surprisingly, Real also holds the record of winning the title for a record nine times. Milan is at second place with seven winners’ medals to their name. Current champion and hot favourite Barcelona have won this competition four times, same number as that of Bayern Munich, another giant in European football. Following the pack are Inter (three titles), Benfica (two titles) and Marseille (one title). When the round of 16 draw was made in Nyon, Switzerland about two months back, everybody knew that the teams from same group or same country could not be drawn together, but very few would have anticipated such delectable ties.

	APOEL FC vs. Olympique Lyonnais
14th February, 2012	Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)	GSP Stadium, Nicosia (CYP)	7th March, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
FC Zenit St Petersburg (H) 2-1	FC Shakhtar Donetsk (A) 1-1	AFC Ajax (A) 1-1	Real Madrid CF (H) 0-2
FC Porto (A) 1-1	FC Porto (H) 2-1	GNK Dinamo Zagreb (H) 2-0	AFC Ajax (H) 0-0
FC Zenit St Petersburg (A) 0-0	FC Shakhtar Donetsk (H) 0-2	Real Madrid CF (A) 0-4	GNK Dinamo Zagreb (A) 7-1
Talking Point		Talking Point
Surprise package of the season. With a paltry annual team budget of €10 million – close to the amount Emmanuel Adebayor earns from Manchester City, and he is not even considered good enough for a substitute role – this small club created history by coming this far. They are the first team from Cyprus to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. They are not favourites to win this tie but they were not tipped to top the group stages either.		Rode their luck to a great extent as two perfect results on the final matchday of the group stages saw them through to the knock out stages. But their second half display against Dinamo Zagreb on that day, when they unleashed six goals en route a 7-1 win, showed they meant business. A few were suspicious of this unlikely result, specifically with the second half showing, but that should not distract Lyon much. Hugo Lloris has been sensational for them under the bars with the most number (30) of saves in the competition so far. Except for the games against Real Madrid, he has conceded only once in four matches. Lyon faces an uncomfortable second leg away from home and hence should try to seal the tie in the first leg itself.

	Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. FC Barcelona
14th February, 2012	Bay-Arena, Leverkusen (GER)	Camp Nou, Barcelona (ESP)	14th February, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
Chelsea FC (A) 0-2	Valencia FC (A) 1-3	AC Milan (H) 2-2	Chelsea FC (A) 0-2
KRC Genk (H) 2-0	Chelsea FC (H) 2-1	FC Bate Borisov (A) 5-0	KRC Genk (H) 2-0
Valencia FC (H) 2-1	KRC Genk (A) 1-1	FC Viktoria Plzen (H) 2-0	Valencia FC (H) 2-1
Talking Point		Talking Point
Beating the best team in the world, or arguably the greatest club team ever to embrace the game of football, is not a cakewalk. But they have scalped one Spanish side in the group stages already and that should give them some hope.  Still it would need much more than the famous German steel, the undying spirit of a certain Michael Ballack and a great bit of luck – and a Bengali in the form of Robin Dutt at the helm of things – to come out of Nou Camp with their heads held high.		Barcelona have not been beaten this season in the Champions League and it seems this record won’t be broken any time soon. Leo Messi and company could have got a trickier tie but they would settle for this with the second leg at home. Their La Liga form is not spectacular, but it would take some doing for any team to beat them over a two-legged tie. Their midfield has not come to the party as yet in this competition but this should be the ideal stage to stamp their authority on Europe.

	FC Zenit St Petersburg  vs. SL Benfica
15th February, 2012	Stadion Petrovskiy, St Petersburg (RUS)	Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon (POR)	6th March, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
APOEL FC (A) 1-2	FC Shakhtar Donetsk (H) 1-0	Manchester United (H) 1-1	FC Basel 1893 (H) 1-1
FC Porto (H) 3-1	APOEL FC (H) 0-0	FC Oţelul Galaţi (A) 1-0	Manchester United (A) 2-2
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (A) 2-2	FC Porto (A) 0-0	FC Basel 1893 (A) 2-0	FC Oţelul Galaţi (H) 1-0
Talking Point		Talking Point
This would be the home coming for the Portuguese duo Bruno Alves and Danny. Zenit would like to take the full advantage of the first leg at home under freezing Russian weather, but that’s not their only talking point. They have two of the top defenders in the Champions League this season in Nicolas Lombaerts and Tomas Hubocan with most number of balls recovered so far. Besides the return of influential star striker Alexander Kerzhakov from injury would be a major boost for them. However, Zenit would severely lack match sharpness as their domestic season will start only days before the second leg match.		Topped the group which had Manchester United and thus were able to avoid other group toppers. They have also been fortunate not to be drawn against some strong runner up teams from the group stage like Milan or Lyon. A trip to Russia will not be a stroll in the park though a second leg at home might just suit them. Nicolas Gaitan has eclipsed his more illustrious contemporaries to become the most influential playmaker in the tournament with the most number of assists so far and Benfica would look upon him as an inspiration.

	AC Milan vs. Arsenal FC
15th February, 2012	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)	The Emirates Stadium, London (ENG)	6th March, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
FC Barcelona (A) 2-2	FC Bate Borisov (A) 1-1	Borussia Dortmund (A) 1-1	Olympique de Marseille (H) 0-0
FC Viktoria Plzen (H) 2-0	FC Barcelona (H) 2-3	Olympiacos FC (H) 2-1	Borussia Dortmund (H) 2-1
FC Bate Borisov (H) 2-0	FC Viktoria Plzen (A) 2-2	Olympique de Marseille (A) 0-1	Olympiacos FC (A) 1-3
Talking Point		Talking Point
A battle of experience vs. youthful exuberance, a tussle between composure and agility – this is a mouth-watering clash. Milan started the campaign brightly with a 2-2 draw at Nou Camp. But they faded off afterwards and managed only two points in the last three matches. That did not prevent them from qualifying for the next stage but they finished a good seven points behind the group winner, Barcelona. They have been presented a second leg away from home which may very well suit their counter-attack based football. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored in all the CL matches he has played so far and Milan will hope that this trend continues.		Arsenal have been historically drawn against tough oppositions quite early in the recent years of Champions League draw. This time too they feature in The match of the round like last year. Arsenal could enjoy a free flowing passage of play against Milan but they have to be careful of their defensive lapses which could well be exposed by the counter-attacking threat of Milan. It raises a few eyebrows if Robin van Persie does not feature in the score sheets. It will be good show down with Ibra, but can his young and inexperienced teammates see Arsenal through? The second leg at the Emirates could well be the decider.

	PFC CSKA Moskva vs. Real Madrid
21st February, 2012	Stadion Luzhniki, Moscow (RUS)	Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (ESP)	14th March, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
LOSC Lille Métropole (A) 2-2	Trabzonspor AŞ (A) 0-0	GNK Dinamo Zagreb (A) 1-0	Olympique Lyonnais (A) 2-0
FC Internazionale Milano (H) 2-3	LOSC Lille Métropole (H) 0-2	AFC Ajax (H) 3-0	GNZK Dinamo Zagreb (H) 6-2
Trabzonspor AŞ (H) 3-0	FC Internazionale Milano (A)   2-1	Olympique Lyonnais (H) 4-0	AFC Ajax (A) 3-0
Talking Point		Talking Point
Beating Inter at their own backyard was not the only requirement; CSKA also needed a draw between Lille and Trabzonspor on the final matchday to secure a knockout stage berth. Fortunately CSKA got the result they wanted but their luck may run out against a rampant Real Madrid. They are a decent side who like to play open attacking football. Seydou Doumbia is one of the leading goal scorers in the tournament with five goals in five appearances and he would love to portray his skills in front of a wider audience. But even a star shot stopper in Igor Akinfeev could prove to be not much against Cristiano Ronaldo and company. Also they are handicapped by the same problem as that of Zenit – lack of match sharpness.		Real has been in superb form and their statistics prove that. They have scored nineteen goals in the group stages – only archrivals Barcelona have been able to better that by one goal – and have conceded two goals, the least by any team. Sergio Ramos Garcia has been a star performer as Real are yet to concede any goal in 400+ minutes with him on the pitch. Real have proved that they are much more than Cristiano Ronaldo alone as they have marched past the last two matches without their star striker. But Jose Mourinho should not take this Russian side lightly. They are favourites to progress and they should, unless complacency gets the better of them.

	SSC Napoli vs. Chelsea
21st February, 2012	Stadio San Paolo, Naples (ITA)	Stamford Bridge, London (ENG)	14th March, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
Manchester City FC (A) 1-1	FC Bayern Munchen (A) 2-3	Bayern 04 Leverkusen (H) 2-0	KRC Genk (A) 1-1
Villarreal CF (H) 2-0	Manchester City FC (H) 2-1	Valencia CF (A) 1-1	Bayern 04 Leverkusen (A) 1-2
FC Bayern Munchen (H) 1-1	Villarreal CF (A) 2-0	KRC Genk (H) 5-0	Valencia CF (H) 3-0
Talking Point		Talking Point
Napoli had attracted quite a few eyeballs at the start of the season. They have done their reputation no harm by entering into the knock-out stages in their debut campaign at the expense of cash-rich Manchester City. They were in the Group of Death but their inexperience might just catch up with them here. Star forward Edinson Cavani could be in his last season at Napoli before the cash-rich clubs snatch him away and he could leave his mark before bowing out.		Chelsea are having a rocky season in the Premier League, but they have a very strong record at the knockout stages of the Champions League in this decade. Their new manager Andre Vilas Boas may be a newcomer to England, but he is no greenhorn in Europe having already won the UEFA Europa League with Porto last year. Chelsea are going through a transition phase, but getting a debutant team at this stage may just see them through.

	Olympique de Marseille vs. FC Internazionale Milano
22nd February, 2012	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille (FRA)	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)	13th March, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
Olympiacos FC (A) 1-0	Arsenal FC (A) 0-0	Trabzonspor AŞ (H) 0-1	LOSC Lille Métropole (H) 2-1
Borussia Dortmund (H) 3-0	Olympiacos FC (H) 0-1	PFC CSKA Moskva (A) 3-2	Trabzonspor AŞ (H) 1-1
Arsenal FC (H) 0-1	Borussia Dortmund (A) 3-2	LOSC Lille Métropole (A) 1-0	PFC CSKA Moskva (H) 1-2
Talking Point		Talking Point
Little known players from Marseille have caught the eyes of Europe. Surged by a strong defence, they have propelled through to the knockout stages of Champions League, but they will be underdogs going into this tie. Surely they preferred an easier opponent; at least a second leg advantage at home would have given them some hope.		Inter are peaking at the right time. After starting their campaign with a shock defeat to Trabzonspor at home, they bounced back to top the group. They are not likely to be overconfident against Marseille as they bowed out to Schalke FC last year under similar circumstances. And it might be time for Wesley Sneijder to settle in and start imposing his authority again.

	FC Basel 1893 vs. FC Bayern Munchen
22nd February, 2012	St. Jakob-Park, Basel (SUI)	Fußball Arena München, Munich (GER)	13th March, 2012
Road to Knockouts		Road to Knockouts
FC Oţelul Galaţi (H) 2-1	SL Benfica (A) 1-1	Trabzonspor AŞ (H) 0-1	LOSC Lille Métropole (H) 2-1
Manchester United (A) 3-3	FC Oţelul Galaţi (A) 3-2	PFC CSKA Moskva (A) 3-2	Trabzonspor AŞ (H) 1-1
SL Benfica (H) 0-2	Manchester United (H) 2-1	LOSC Lille Métropole (A) 1-0	PFC CSKA Moskva (H) 1-2
Talking Point		Talking Point
FC Basel’s shot to fame was knocking out Manchester United from the group stages on the last matchday. This may end up being their high point in this year’s campaign as they look to lock horns against Bayern Munich in their inaugural knockout stage appearance. Alexandar Frei & Marco Streller have both played in Bundesliga before but their influence may not be enough.		Bayern Munich, a heavyweight in Europe will be favourites against FC Basel. Sheer professionalism of the German team would be a bit too much for Basel. Bayern would have taken a major boost from the timely return of midfield lynchpin Bastian Schweinsteiger, but his return to field was short- lived as he suffered a torn ligament in the German Cup quarterfinals. His partnership with Mario Gomez, top scorer so far in this year’s CL having scored 6 goals in less than 400 minutes in the pitch, should prove deadly going forward.

Taking Stock – The Serie A Mid-Season Review

A seminal year for Serie A with corruption raising its head, European adventures and the return of a giant – Debopam Roy reviews the season so far in Italy

Prior to the start of the 2011-2012 Serie A season, Goalden Times had done a preview where we had looked at the prospects of each of the 20 participating teams and touched upon some of the most discussed issues of the league. With almost half the season gone (16 of the 38 rounds) and the teams in a richly deserved winter break, it is the perfect opportunity to look back at the past 5 months, and take stock.

 The European Coefficient

In our preview, we had discussed how the Italian teams needed to spruce up their act in the continental competitions. We had seen how Serie A had been overtaken by the Bundesliga after consistent performances in both the European competitions and had consigned Serie A to only three Champions League slots. The 2011-12 season is the final season of Serie A, hopefully for a short duration only, with 4 Champions League teams as next season onwards, that privilege would be taken over by Bundesliga. Indeed the total points earned in the half season too show Serie A to be off its rivals.

Table 1: Year wise European Country Coefficients

So we see that only five (Milan, Inter, Napoli, Udinese, Lazio) of the seven teams that were in Europe actually contributed. (Palermo & Roma were ousted in the first qualification match in Europa League). The net points earned for 2011-12 (9.5) is also well below the other 4 nations in the top 5. This is because either more teams earned the points (as in England’s case) or the teams that entered, finished top of their group (Spain) thus accumulating more points.

In several previous seasons, individual Serie A teams have performed brilliantly in Europe, even winning the Champions League but there has been a collective effort lacking in both the tournaments. It was thus heartening to see the 5 Italian teams that qualified for group level in both the tournaments, actually making the knockout rounds. This 100% record is unmatched across Europe.

Table 2: Performance of Teams Entering European Competitions in 2011-12

So one can say it was only Serie A which had a 100% record of the teams that actually qualified for the group stages of the European competitions. This is a surprisingly welcome cumulative effort from the peninsular teams and they now have an opportunity to earn more coefficient points in the knockout rounds, which are much higher than the group stage. Another point worth noting is that of all the leagues, Serie A has the maximum teams (three) in the knockout rounds of the Champions League. It is a credible achievement and needs to be lauded. But as we saw in table 1, the gap between Serie A and Bundesliga is more than twice the gap between Serie A and French Ligue 1 (which is below Serie A). Hence such consistent cumulative performances have to be continued for some years as well as get more teams to earn points in the knockout rounds to make an impact.

The Calcioscomesse[1]

The season had started with a massive shock of the Calcioscomesse where police had charged and arrested 16 people including Lazio and Italy striker Giuseppe Signori but of the active players, the most high-profile capture was Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni. On 9^th August, Cristiano Doni was sentenced to three years and six months ban from Italian football though he was released on bail. That effectively ended the career of this 38-year-old. Signori was also banned for five years from calcio. Doni was re-arrested in December and even spent five days in solitary confinement before being released on house arrest. In his interrogations, Doni accepted that he had influenced matches unjustly, though he was adamant in confirming that all his efforts were directed towards the improvement of Atalanta and never had he conspired against his team. Further questioning awaits Doni on 18^th January when the Italian National Arbitration Court for Sport will quiz him in Rome. One can rest assured that there may be more skeletons waiting to come out of the closet, in this matter.

The Season So Far

In many ways this was a throwback to the past for the behemoth that is Juventus finally found its range under a former iconic player who was managing on the big stage for the first time – Antonio Conte. Conte had led two teams from Serie B to promotion but this was the first time he was appointed for a big Serie A team (his other Serie A experience was with Atalanta). Tempering the 4-2-4 that he used in most of his earlier teams, and with the need to include Andrea Pirlo in the midfield, Conte tried 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 and managed to end the half-season as the only team unbeaten, not just in Italy but in all the big leagues of Europe. The strikers were not too prolific though, with the exception of Alessandro Matri, but Claudio Marchisio was having the season of his life, already scoring six goals from the midfield.

But their impressive showing was not enough to go to the top alone, as defending champions Milan themselves bounced back from a start of 5 points in 5 matches (the 5^th of which was a 2-0 loss to Juventus) to go on an unbeaten streak of their own which included 29 points in 11 matches with 30 goals scored and 8 conceded and 7 clean sheets. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in six consecutive matches, tying the club record of Andrei Shevchenko and at the winter break, Milan were tied for the top spot with Juventus but ahead on goal difference. A welcome feature of the season was the goals that Milan midfielders managed: Kevin-Prince Boateng had a hat-trick in a memorable 4-3 comeback win away at Lecce while Antonio Nocerino is having his best season, scoring six goals including a hat-trick in a 4-1 win against Parma.

The challenge for the top two came from the unlikely source of Udinese, who had sold their most promising striker (Alexis Sanchez), their best midfielder (Gokhan Inler) and their best defender (Cristian Zapata) and still had ended with an almost 100% win record at home (only broken by the 0-0 Juventus managed on the last round of matches before the break). Lazio too had bought well in the summer and Miroslav Klose was a revelation scoring goals and leading the line.

All these 4 teams should provide the backdrop for the scudetto fight though Juventus have a definite advantage with no European distractions and a fit team. Milan has probably the best squad of them and Ibrahimovic who has not lost a league title in the last eight years, but Champions League foray might eat into their title challenge. Udinese are the surprise and the neutral’s favourite for scudetto. They too are in Europe though as are Lazio and with thinner squads than either Milan or Juventus, they might drop off from the top four.

The three big teams that struggled to establish a consistent set of performances were Napoli, Inter and Roma and each had their own reason. All of them should qualify for Europe, though it is to be seen whether Champions League or Europa League beckons them. The identity of the top seven teams as of now should remain same at the end of May; the only thing to note is whether any of them can challenge Milan, Juventus and Udinese for the title.

Napoli had qualified for the Champions League and making a good fist of that chance but the strain of fighting on multiple fronts was taking its toll on the team. Coach Walter Mazzarri tried rotating his team, something that the fans had long clamoured for, but even then they were inconsistent in the league. There were brilliant wins against both Milan giants, a 6-1 thumping of Genoa and a 3-3 tie with Juventus in a match they led 3-1 with 18 minutes to go. But they also lost to Catania, Parma and Chievo, and drew with Cagliari and Fiorentina among others. The names show a pattern – wins against the big guns but loss of focus against the lesser lights.

Roma had spent big on promising youth players like Eric Lamela, Miralem Pjanic, Bojan and Fabio Borini but with an inexperienced manager and too many new players playing to a new system would have inevitably required time to gel. Seventh spot at the winter break is the best that they could manage. But with the team gelling better with time, this team can actually improve.

Inter Milan had a horror start to the season where after 9 matches they were in the relegation zone with five losses (including losses to Novara, Palermo and Catania). The team had not scored in their home ground till the seventh match and had their manager Gian Piero Gasperini sacked after five matches. The old hand, Claudio Ranieri was brought in to stabilise the ship and there was improvement as Inter picked up 18 points in the next 7 matches. Considering only top three teams will qualify for the Champions League, there is still some way off for the nerazzurri to work.

The most interesting and surprising team has been Atalanta. Hit with a six point penalty due to the Calcioscomesse, they knuckled down to win key games and remained unbeaten at home throughout. But for the points penalty, they would have been in the sixth position. German Denis led the surge with 12 goals in 16 matches and the top scorer award at the winter break. Memorable performances also came from Maxi Moralez, the diminutive Argentine bought from Velez Sarsfield as he contributed 4 goals and 3 assists.

Each of Catania, Fiorentina and Cagliari had their moments but largely struggled to get out of the mid table ruts. Palermo, who had a rollicking start and had a 100% record at home (including an opening day win versus Inter) were totally derailed from the 13^th round onward. In their last four matches they picked only two points scoring in only one of those matches.

Down the table, the three teams who risk relegation the most are Cesena, Lecce and Novara. Lecce were exceptionally poor managing only a single point from all of their home matches – a draw with Novara. They lie bottom with nine points. Novara, who returned after 55 years to Serie A managed a fine win against Inter but managed only one other win to have 12 points, a tally that was matched by Cesena. Both Cesena and Novara were also matched in that they both had the only two artificial pitches in Serie A. Along with these three, both Siena and Bologna too may get embroiled if they do not improve in the second half of the season. The relegation dogfight should be confined between these five teams.

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Top Goalscorers

German Denis (Atalanta): 12 goals

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Milan): 11 goals

Antonio di Natale (Udinese): 10 goals

Edinson Cavani (Napoli), Mirosalv Klose (Lazio): 9 goals

Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina), Sebastian Giovinco (Parma), Pablo Osvaldo (Roma): 7 goals

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