Italian football seeks a reset as Serie A kicks off

Serie A begins this weekend with a clear shift in transfer strategy. After years of debate over the national team’s direction, clubs have prioritised "skilful socks-down youth" and one-v-one players built for a man-for-man league with deep low blocks.

National team what-ifs and recycling

The article recalls an alternate reality in which Pep Guardiola would have coached Italy with Roberto Baggio as assistant. Paolo Maldini tried to persuade Guardiola in Barcelona, but talks collapsed and Maldini and Leonardo quit after Andrea Pirlo’s candidacy was rejected. Roberto Mancini, who left for Saudi Arabia, has returned to the Azzurri after the Qatar 2022 failure.

Domestically, recycling remains a theme. Antonio Conte and Stefano Pioli are out of work, Max Allegri returns to Napoli after being sacked by Milan, Rino Gattuso moves to Lazio, and Maurizio Sarri takes over Atalanta in a third coaching change in a year after Gian Piero Gasperini left for Roma.

Young Italians heading abroad, money flowing in

The summer marked the first €100m Italian transfer with Sandro Tonali moving to Newcastle and then within England to Tottenham. Riccardo Calafiori, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Michael Kayode and others illustrate a trend of Italy’s best youngsters moving to the Premier League early. Liverpool bought Giovanni Leoni last year and Chelsea signed Marco Palestra for €57m this year.

Serie A still spends. Gross investment is about €1bn, the highest outside the Premier League, with 13 clubs foreign-owned. Venezia, Monza and Frosinone are all American-owned, and Como’s return was backed by Tim Leiweke, the executive who brought David Beckham to MLS.

New signings across the elite

Juventus kept Kenan Yildiz and added Kerim Alajbegovic. Como kept Nico Paz and added Mattia Liberali. Roma extended Paulo Dybala and signed Rodrigo Mora from Porto. Fiorentina, celebrating its centenary, splurged under Fabio Paratici with Arthur Atta and Christ Inao Oulai from Trabzonspor, and a loan for Franco Mastantuono from Real Madrid.

Milan’s owner Gerry Cardinale has made the club’s two most expensive signings: Goncalo Ramos from PSG for €74m and Diego Moreira from Strasbourg for around €50m, plus centre-back Mario Gila. Ruben Amorim replaces the outgoing management.

Title race picture

Inter remain overwhelming favourites after winning the double with a rookie coach. The Italian core had a summer off, John Stones arrived as a potential game-changer, Balkan midfielders Petar Sucic and Aleksandar Stankovic are expected to help alongside Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny, and Andy Diouf is set to step up while Djed Spence arrives after an impressive World Cup with England.

Juventus, under Luciano Spalletti, were second in points per game until late last season. Bremer is back from an ACL tear alongside Jhon Lucumi and Randal Kolo Muani returns for a second spell, while Douglas Luiz returns from Premier League loans.

Napoli go with Allegri in their centenary year. Roma, despite FFP issues, have Gasperini back with his old sporting director Tony D’Amico, a full season of Donyell Malen and Santiago Castro. Atalanta have hired Sarri, with Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini fit after ACL lay-offs, Lazar Samardzic being reinvented and Gianluca Gaetano in the mix.

Elsewhere, Lazio face fan protests with season ticket sales down 93% at the end of July. Bologna’s Domenico Tedesco takes over after the exits of Lucumi, Remo Freuler and Castro, while Venezia’s promoted side look the safest bet to stay up, with Akor Adams arriving after 15 goals for Sevilla and Nigeria last season.

With or without Guardiola, Serie A returns with more investment in youth, new coaching faces and pressure to finally deliver in Europe.