Serie A reputation as the best league of the world has shattered in recent years, after several trials and affairs destroyed the reputation the Italian football has carefully developed in the past century. But years passed since that and Italian football is slowly getting back on its feet. Internazionale won the Champions League, Juventus and Milan are both back in the Serie A, winning titles. The team that was affected the most in the Calciopolli scandal in 2006 was Juventus, which had to fight their way from Serie B. Last season, Juventus managed to win their 28th title, which is a national record. Juventus is likely to defend their title, with their main rivals Inter, Milan and Napoli behind on the league table. With 2013/2014 season approaching, we can already see which teams have the potential to take the Scudetto to their home ground.
Juventus looks stronger than ever and their result are highly noticeable this season. With signings of best Italian players, most notably former Milan playmaker Pirlo, Juventus are back on track in Serie A and look set to dominate the championship in the coming years. Juventus does not have that great squad, but they are significantly better than their main rivals and work better as a team. Juventus are highly considered as the favorite for the next season and with few transfers, this statements could even be more certain. Beside a great rooster, Italian giants also have a great manager on their side, former player Antonio Conte. Conte’s strict approach and tactical abilities being one of his main assets. With Spain striker Fernando Llorente coming in during the summer window, we can hardly see Juventus dropping the league title to someone else.
With Juve being the main favorite for the title, there is a whole list of other teams than can jeopardize Juve’s chances of winning the Scudetto. We can see AC Milan really aiming for the title next season, after going through a makeover during the summer window. After Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva left for PSG, many doubted that Milan can bounce back and retain their status in Serie A. AC Milan had a good season, most likely without a trophy, but they managed to rebuild their squad and still enter the Champions league. Massimo Allegri seems to really know what he is doing and if Milan avoid some errors against smaller clubs next season, they will represent a real competition to, for the time being, much supreme Juventus side.
Internazionale is going through a crisis, that is evident now as they have lost their 6-years domination in Italy and are not regular in the Champions league anymore. Several high profile players left the club and Inter tried to replace them with home grown players and some young prospects. That was not proven as a successful move and Inter are most likely going to miss another season in Champions league. You can never drop Inter out of the title-favorites list, but this Inter side needs to have several changes at key positions in the club if they are to compete for the title once more.
One of the most surprising teams in 2012/2013 season is definitely Napoli, who are very near to secure Champions league football next season. They were competitive for the title, but a series of bad results denied them that opportunity. Napoli is led by one of the most promising strikers in the world, Edinson Cavani, but will face much struggle to keep him on San Paolo next season. If they managed to do that, there would be no boundaries for Napoli to strengthen their squad and enter the title race with much more confidence.
Serie A goes as one of the most unpredictable leagues and there are very few matches when a clear favorite can be drawn. Next season will be interesting in the title race and it is clear that these four teams all have what it takes, to win Serie A.
Who wins the Serie A 2013/2014?