Milan, Napoli and Atalanta all have new head coaches as Italian football hopes to return to the spotlight
And so, calcio’s “third apocalypse” has passed. A lot of Italians enjoyed the World Cup more than they expected. Without a team to cheer for, again, a country turned its attention to different sports. And found its athletes dominating them.
On the day Spain defeated Argentina in New Jersey, Kimi Antonelli, the first Italian to win a Formula One race in 20 years, extended his lead in the standings by triumphing again at the Belgian Grand Prix. A week before that, Jannik Sinner defended his men’s singles title at Wimbledon.
Since then, Italy has finished top of the medal table at the European Athletics Championships, and second in the European Aquatics Championships. Manila Esposito took floor exercise gold at the European Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Glancing over the front pages of La Gazzetta dello Sport this past week, you could almost miss that a new Serie A season is upon us. The transfer gossip that typically gets top billing at this time of year has faded into the background of a medal parade.
Perhaps that is a reflection of an underwhelming mercato. The best signing of the summer may be Como paying €60m to reclaim Nico Paz, who they bought for far less money in 2024. Real Madrid triggered their buy-back clause in June, only to immediately sell him to Como. The new deal also has a buy-back clause. In practical terms, this is an overelaborate loan extension.
Milan did drop a club-record €74m to land Gonçalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain, an astonishing figure for a player who has not started regularly at club level for three years. That is not to diminish his talent, but competition at PSG is fierce. Ramos was prolific for Benfica before moving to France in 2023 and, according to Gazzetta, his goals-to-minutes ratio has been third-best of any under-25 in Europe’s top-five leagues in the past three seasons.
Ruben Amorim, Milan’s new manager, believes he knows how to get the best out of his compatriot, highlighting the player’s aptitude for breaking down the low blocks his club will face. Still, we are talking about someone who started 13 Ligue 1 games last season and 12 the year before that. Ramos feels like a gamble with potential for great rewards more than a sure bet.
We could say the same for Amorim, seeking to rebuild his reputation after an unhappy time in Manchester. Pre-season performances have been encouraging. But wasn’t that also true for Paulo Fonseca, another Portuguese Milan manager, who spoke of aspiring to the Scudetto in August 2024 and wound up getting sacked in December?
At least Amorim is a new face. As usual, Serie A’s annual valzer delle panchine – “waltz of the benches” – has found new dancing partners for familiar faces. Massimiliano Allegri swapped Milan for Napoli; Maurizio Sarri left Lazio for Atalanta. The latter was replaced in Rome by Gennaro Gattuso, who failed to guide Italy to the World Cup.
Allegri’s past transgressions hang over him in Naples. Reminded that he hurt people there – when his Juventus team pipped Napoli to the title in 2017-18 and when he played for a Partenopei side that finished dead last in 1998 – he quipped “that’s why I’m here, to repay things”.
Runners-up under Antonio Conte last season, Napoli have done little to refresh a squad that fielded the oldest average starting XIs in Serie A. The repeated references of the owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, to Allegri as an “aziendalista” – a company man – tell a story. Much is being pinned on the return to fitness of Kevin De Bruyne.
Inter will not easily be caught. No team has successfully defended a Serie A title this decade, but after finishing 11 points clear in their first season under Cristian Chivu the Nerazzurri look well positioned to become the first.
Denzel Dumfries was sold to Real Madrid, a significant loss even if injuries did limit him to 15 league starts last season. Djed Spence has been signed to fill the vacancy at right wing-back, though the impressive Andy Diouf may push him for playing time. The departures of the veteran defenders Francesco Acerbi and Stefan de Vrij have been covered by the return of Benjamin Pavard and the addition of John Stones.
Inter are still trying to reinforce their midfield with Curtis Jones from Liverpool. There is uncertainty about who will start in goal, but their attacking depth, with Lautaro Martínez, Marcus Thuram, Francesco Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny, is by far Serie A’s best.
