Serie A 2022/23 Season Preview

The Italian Serie A returns this coming weekend as the defending champions AC Milan host Udinese at the San Siro to kickstart the new season. Last season produced an exciting season from the Italian top flight we have seen in a while as Milan edged city rivals Inter Milan to win the title on the season's final day. This season looks no different as up to four teams have a shot of winning the Scudetto, following years of dominance from Juventus. As we celebrate the return of Calcio, how have the major sides prepared for the new season?

AC MILAN & INTER MILAN: WHO GETS THE SECOND STAR?

Despite numerous metrics stating they were the best performer in Serie A last season, Inter Milan could not defend the Scudetto for the first time since 2010 as city rivals AC Milan beat them to win their first league title since 2011. An achievement for coach Stefano Pioli and the Rossoneri. Following years of being in the wilderness for the past five to six years. A big reason for Milan's success was their young players taking more responsibilities from Fikayo Tomori, Sandro Tonali and Rafael Leao, who all excelled last season while having the experience of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Olivier Giroud and Simon Kjaer. Not to mention the likes of Theo Hernandez, Mike Maignan and Ismael Bennacer. 

In Italy, a team gets a star on their crest after winning ten league titles. So, who gets that second star? Milan's business priority is to keep their young core first, which they have managed to do thus far. They have Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge plus Divock Origi on a free transfer. Inter still has the best squad and has brought back Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan, plus signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Andre Onana on free transfers. Lukaku's return will change the dynamic in Inter's frontline, as Lautaro Martinez had an excellent season, scoring 21 goals in the Belgian absence. The Nerazzurri remain the favourites to reclaim the Scudetto this season, but as both Milan clubs are on 19 league titles, it's not just winning the league but also claiming bragging rights. 

A NEW MAKEOVER FOR THE OLD LADY

Following nine years of dominance, Juventus could only finish fourth last season. Nine points behind third-place Napoli and sixteen points behind champions Milan. Massimilano Allegri returned during the season, prompting changes for The Old Lady as the squad is either ageing or their acquisitions in the transfer window have not paid off. Aaron Ramsey, Merih Demiral and Federico Bernardeschi have departed from Turin. Other departures were Matthijs de Ligt to Bayern Munich, plus Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala, both leaving on free transfers. Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba arrived on free transfers. Gleison Bremer signed from local rivals Torino and Serbian wide player Filip Kostic signed from Eintracht Frankfurt. Federico Chiesa returns after a six-month layoff due to a knee injury, not to mention Denis Zakaria and Dusan Vlahovic having had half a season settling in after signing earlier this year.

Questions still persist over the Bianconeri. Allegri, who has relied on an experienced core in his first stint in Turin, now has to build a new team that could be close to the team that dominated Italian football during the 2010s. The signing of Di Maria looks like a stop-gap, signing for only a year, while Paul Pogba will be unavailable for the start of the season, sustaining an injury which rules him out for two months. Despite their transfer business, Juventus' squad has more questions than answers. Their options in central defence look limited following de Ligt and Chiellini leaving the club. Juventus' midfielders created just 14 goal contributions in total, underlying a lack of guile and creativity. Their decision to not renew Dybala's contract means Vlahovic is the player Juventus' attack will be built around. Scoring seven goals from 12 starts shows early promise, but Chiesa and Moise Kean must contribute heavily to make the attack less dependent on Vlahovic. The Old Lady will be aiming for the Scudetto, but their squad leaves a lot to be desired to dominate Italy as they did before.

AMBITIOUS ROMA

AS Roma appointed Jose Mourinho to get the capital club back into the Champions League. Roma did not achieve that, finishing sixth last season. However, they won the UEFA Conference League. Their first piece of silverware since 2008. So far, they have done significant business, as Paulo Dybala signed on a free transfer and was welcomed by thousands of supporters. They have also signed Georginio Wijnaldum on loan, Zeki Celik from Lille and Nemanja Matic on a free transfer. These players have the experienced know-how that Mourinho prefers and have achieved success which will help Roma kick on from last season's success. 

Since Batistuta in 2000, has Roma signed a player of Dybala's stature. They had the third-best attack in expected goals but underperformed, scoring fifty-nine times. The ninth-best last season. Dybala would give Roma flexibility in their attack. Whether he's alongside Tammy Abraham, who scored 17 goals last season or Nicolo Zaniolo and Lorenzo Pelligrini. Encouragement is left-back Leonardo Spinazzola, who returns from a year-long injury, providing thrust on the left-hand side. With what the Giallorossi have done, it's no surprise many are giving them an outside chance of winning the Scudetto, which would be very high in Mourinho's achievements as a manager, his first since 2015 and Roma's first since 2001. However, that will be a tall ask, even for Mourinho himself. Their away form last season was patchy at best, winning eight times on the road while having the fifth-best home form. Champions League football remains the priority, as it has been three years since Roma appeared in the Champions League. But a title charge would be a dream.

AN END OF AN ERA IN NAPLES

Napoli has been one of the most exciting teams in Italian football. Since Maurizio Sarri's time at Naples, they have been renowned for their attacking play, winning over football fans. They have challenged for the title, most famously in the 2017/18 season, finishing second behind Juventus after amassing 91 points. Last season was similar, being in the title race but falling off at the end. Finishing third, seven points behind winners AC Milan. The shack-up at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona signals an end of an era for the Partenopei and a risk for Napoli's president Aurelio Di Laurentiis.

Fan favourites Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, and Kalidou Koulibaly have all departed as means of cutting the club's wage bill. Despite these players advancing in age, Koulibaly started twenty-seven times in defence, while Mertens and Insigne scored 22 goals together. So far, six new players have come in, with their most expensive signing being Min-Jae Kim from Fenerbahce for 18 million euros. With Mertens and Insigne now gone, more responsibilities in the attack are on striker Victor Osimhen, who scored the most goals for Napoli last season in Serie A with 14 strikes. More goal contributions from Hirving Lozano, Matteo Politano and Elif Elmas will be a necessity contributing just 11 goals together. The uncertainty around Napoli does not bode well in their chances to not just challenge for the title but to achieve Champions League football again this season with the competition around them improving while many see them going backwards.

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW ABOUT

Lazio finished fifth last season in Sarri's first season with the Biancocelesti. Ciro Immobile continues to score goals, finishing as the Capocannoniere (Italy's top scorer) with 27 goals. Defensively, Lazio was porously conceding goals, conceding 58 goals. It has made them sign two new goalkeepers and centre-back Alessio Romagnoli on a free transfer. Champions League football is the aim of Lazio. However, a better defence to complement their attack can push them higher up the table. Fiorentina, despite losing Dusan Vlahovic mid-season, managed to get European football via the Conference League and have made two significant signings in Dodo from Shakhtar Donetsk and Luka Jovic from Real Madrid, who needs a new lease of life in his career after years of stagnating in Spain. Atalanta had a disappointing year in the 21/22 season, finishing eighth with no European football for the first time since 2016. 

It will be interesting to see how the Bergamo club react as Gian Piero Gasperini is now the longest-serving coach in the Italian top flight. Whether the sense of familiarity with Gasperini's side is a problem remains to be seen, or they might just need a reset after years of success and achieving European football every year. Sassuolo is that side in the mid-table that people talk about, especially for their giant killings last season, beating Inter, Milan and Juventus. The shame is that they have lost striker Gianluca Scamacca to West Ham. However, they still have Giacomo Raspadori and Domenico Berardi, who made 29 goal contributions last season. This season the return of Lecce from Serie B, Cremonese also are in the top flight for the first time since 1996, while Monza, whose chairman is former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, are in Serie A after winning the playoffs in Serie B. Let's see if Berlusconi's latest project is worthwhile.

The Calcio returns on Saturday.