Italian Serie A 2006-07 preview
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by Bobo
So we're in a strange alley as regards Serie A's soccer makeup next season. We start on September 10th thanks to the Scandal, which I will probably cover elsewhere, depending on how things are doing. Of the promoted teams, Catania are in the first division for the first time in 22 years, at which time a certain Claudio Ranieri was playing for them.
Here follows what will and will not be the case for next year's Serie A season.
Ascoli, having been relegated from Serie A in 1992, and from Serie B in 1996, down to the depths of C1, are now back in Serie A, after Genoa and Torino suffered financial problems, having finished twelfth in last season's Serie B. They will probably find things hard-going, as they were merely arbitrarily promoted. New players for the team include legendary goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, whereas out go loanees, the best of which include Nicolás Córdova and Igor Budan. They might struggle this year, but as the newbies in the league, will be looking to impress.
Atalanta were promoted last season, after finishing top of Serie B. With their current lineup including quality striker Nicola Ventola, formerly a member of several high-profile English clubs, are attempting to follow the relegation of Lecce by consolidating their own position in the league should not prove to be too difficult a task.
Cagliari saw some scares around the late 1980s, in which they nearly were relegated to Serie C2, however they have recovered from this stage and, come season 1993-94 would be competing in the UEFA Cup. Their current stars include Mauro Esposito. Last season they found themselves languishing in sixteenth place in the division, however, and may be up for relegation this time around if Atalanta get their game together.
Catania were promoted after finishing second in Serie B, and were only promoted to Serie B in 2002. Their previous stint in Serie A came in 1984, and once again they might find it difficult to stay in the league unless they get a good start under their belt. Their current stars include goalkeeping captain Armando Pantanelli and Brazilian up-and-coming star Cesar. They have been very active in the transfer market come the beginning of this season, however, and will look forward to testing out their new players as time moves on.
Chievo Verona, with their surprisingly intimidating ground and astonishing form in their Serie A debut, which saw them claim a European place, may well be looking to do the same again this year round. After getting themselves a new coach in the 2004/05 season, they went from third to third-bottom in the league, causing them to be relegated for a year. As they watched the biggest teams in the league lose their places in Europe, they took their place, and thereon won a game in international competition against Bulgarian giants Levski Sofia. Having collected several players from lower-division sides, they will be looking to impress with youngsters from Cremonese, Messina, and AC Milan alike.
Empoli were last in Serie B as recently as 2004, and have suffered being as low as Serie C1 in 1989, before securing two successive promotions in 1996 and 1997. Having seen an excellent coach pass through the ranks in Luciano Spalletti, they have now gained access into the UEFA cup as arbitrary replacements for the punished teams. While against such top-level teams in this competition, they will be looking towards performing just as well domestically.
Les violi of ACF Fiorentina suffered from metaphorical bankruptcy in 2001, and were re-established in Serie C2. They were reinstated in Serie A after appealing successfully against the punishment dealt out to them in the scandal, however, they have lost their place in the Champions League 2006/07. With two new homegrown goalkeepers in Sebastien Frey and Cristiano Lupatelli, as well as major Serbian force Vlada Avramov, the vast quantity of newboys will be looking for places within the team. Meanwhile, they lose Hidetoshi Nakata, who has chosen to retire from football at the age of 29.
Inter Milan are part of the G14 of superclubs over the world, and despite finishing the season in third place, thanks to the punishments of Italy's elite, finished as champions of last season's Serie A. With stars abound from Brazil and Argentina, some of whom have been inducted this season into the full squad. They will certainly be looking to consolidate their title and to prove they can get out of the mess which is the current standing of Italian football over the world.
S.S. Lazio finished in a mere sixteenth place after last season's shenanigans, and have lost their placing in the UEFA cup for this season as well as starting the season on -11 points. Their current stars include Albanian star Igli Tare and Italian league mainstay Simone Inzaghi. They, like others, have lost several of their players, including Paolo Di Canio, who has departed for Serie C2/C side Cisco Roma.
Livorno now look toward the higher reaches of the top division table, despite having one of the slimmest and most obscure lineups in Serie A. Their stars include young goalkeeper Marco Amelia, who, when loaned to Parma during 2004 did not even feature for his club. One of their most obscure new players, Gennaro Ruotolo, aided Sorrento to promotion from Serie D Girone I last season.
Messina languished near the bottom of Serie A for the whole of the 2005/06 season, and escaped relegation thanks to the scandal. However, nowadays they have very few top names amongst their squad and will be searching hard for solutions come the end of the season. They returned to Serie A in 2004 and may merely be looking to stave off the damage this time around.
A.C. Milan lost a position thanks to the scandal, and are not averse to hearing about such things, having been relegated by the Italian Football Federation in 1979/80 after a similar scandal to the one which has just taken place. However, with some of their stars amongst some of the best players in the world, including Brazilian one-namers Dida, Cafu and Kaká, along with Filippo Inzaghi and the Dutchman Clarence Seedorf, they will have to impress to ensure the football federation carried out the appropriate actions.
Palermo finished fifth in the division last season, and have thus qualified for the UEFA Cup, having been in eighth prior to the doling out of punishments. They most recently won the Serie B championship in 2003/04, and have made great progress in the top division ever since. Their best players include David Di Michele and Cesare Bovo, both of whom will be looking to impress in their upcoming European ventures.
Parma have most recently acquired a good new first-team coach in Stefano Pioli, formerly at Serie B's Modena. They finished in eighth place following the scandal, and also qualified for the UEFA Cup, a competition in which they'll be looking to excel. However, at the expense of one often comes the other, and worry may not be entirely unfounded on their potential form.
Reggina, not to be confused with Reggiana, who are by all accounts incredibly different, and not embroiled in any scandals whatsoever. Reggina's participation in Serie A is still uncertain, as Stefano Palazzi most recently asked them to be relegated to Serie B, however, as things stand they will enter into Serie A. Their form between the two divisions is erratic and they could easily find themselves struggling, however hopefully things will come good for the team in the end, albeit without as strong a league position as they would hope.
Roma finished second in the league thanks to the scandal, and la magica will be looking to impress once again in their huge stadium, the 82,000 seater Stadio Olimpico. Current players to look out for include Egyptian Mido, back from his loan spell at English side Tottenham Hotspur, Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi and Honduran Edgar Álvarez.
Sampdoria, Serie A winners of 1990/91, finished fourteenth in the league last season, despite finishing the previous season giving them eligibility for the UEFA Champions League. Too many games, it seems, takes its toll on such a young team, and, as the Italian team with possibly the best former English playing contingent, including Daniele Dichio and David Platt, Blucerchiati will be looking to dip their toes into other countries to improve last year's league positioning.
Siena participated in Serie A for the first time in 2003/04, and have since performed well, despite struggling to stay up in 2004/05, they somehow kept their place after a resurgence of form, similar to that which they gave themselves last season. Luigi Di Canio, however, would lose his job at the end of 2005/06, and now Mario Baretta is in his role as head coach. Siena's current team includes Austrian Alex Manninger, superstar Liechtensteinian Mario Frick, and Enrico Chiesa.
Torino, il toro, are one of the most supported clubs in Italian football, and finished in the top three in Serie B last year, ensuring their promotion to the top division. With their main rivals Juventus, Torino have not performed quite to the same level as their giant rivals, who they replace in the first division. They will be looking to perform well, and, should a bunch of Juventus players offload themselves in the upcoming season as would seem likely of a now-cash-strapped Italian team, time would be for them to consolidate their position in the league.
Udinese finished a difficult midtable last season, however, this season can boast the footballing talent of Al-Sadhi Qadhafi. Their giant squad is important in proving their ability, which, if exploited, can lift them to the heights of 2004-05's highest-ever fourth-place.
While football in Italy is certainly going through problems of late, this season should prove to be a very interesting one.
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