Can anyone stop Juventus’ march to a ninth successive title?
(CNN) — For eight long years, Juventus has dominated Serie A without a lot of challenge from those below it.
This year, but the leading three coaches of Italy can lock horns in what has got the capability to be one of the most exciting title races in almost a decade.
Inter Milan, AC Milan and also defending champion Juve all have altered manager since the end of last year and a flurry of transfer activity sees all three input the new effort with revamped squads.
Maurizio Sarri contributes to Serie A after a one-year stint in Chelsea with the job of leading Juventus to glory, while Antonio Conte arrives at an exciting, new-look Inter with genuine belief that he could battle for the Scudetto.
The pair could be combined in a thrilling title race from Carlo Ancelotti, who is now in his second season with Napoli and trying to shut the gap between Juve and his side last year.
“It has become a little bit dull in Serie A within the last few seasons,” Italian football expert Mina Rzouki told CNN Sport. “So having those 3 Italian trainers back in the Italian league I think is going to make it a lot more intriguing.
“You just feel as if nobody can really get close to Juventus but for the first time ever, when you mention those titles and you also understand that Carlo Ancelotti has a terrific squad and you know his name inspires fear; you understand Antonio Conte is back and he is with the biggest rival that Juventus have.”
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Sarri-ball
Even the Old Lady, bolstered by the inclusion of 84 million signing the coming of free transfers Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey and Matthijs de Ligt , rightly go into this season as heavy preferred to keep its summit and acquire a ninth Serie A name.
Massimiliano Allegri’s departure after five years in charge as head trainer paved the way for Sarri’s return .
Sarri style of play — called Sarri-ball — thrilled audiences since the Italian narrowly at Napoli, across Europe in his final season.
Allegri, conversely, used a more conservative and pragmatic style and the key task of Sarri will be trying to convert a squad that has nothing else for the previous four seasons.
“I spent time with Juventus in pre-season and one of those things that Sarri stated is that this team was coached just a single way for four years and reeducating themgetting them to change, is going to take some time,” journalist James Horncastle told CNN.
“It is an intriguing fit because you had players in the Premier League (in Chelsea) who prefer to take the ballthey prefer to dribble with the ball and that’s something Cristiano Ronaldo really does.
“So when it comes to opening teams up with this fast Sarri-ball mix playthere are a few players from the group that I believe aren’t conducive to this — and one is the largest star of the group at Cristiano Ronaldo.”
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Champions League or bust?
Given its total domestic dominance, Juventus’ obsession — indeed, the reason it signed Ronaldo — has become winning the Champions League.
The Portuguese himself said he believes the clock is ticking for Ronaldo to add to his haul of five that this team can win the Cup over the next two seasons and, in 34 decades of age.
But few clubs know Champions League heartbreak like Juventus.
Since last winning the competition in 1996, the Bianconeri proceeded to lose two consecutive Champions League finals and its own fortune has not changed in the intervening two years, dropping three additional afield (2003, 2015, 2017) to achieve an undesirable tally of five consecutive final beats.
“This group in some respects has a brief window so as to deliver,” Horncastle explained. “They have signed Ronaldo to provide exactly the Champions League; Ronaldo isn’t enough to his own to win the Champions League.
“We found that a year ago , he did it both legs against Ajax — it was not enough with him turning upward. I believe, ultimately, this is why they’ve chosen a punt on Sarri.”
When the coach, find this group like his Napoli of older and who ahead of the start of the season was laid low by pneumonia, then can apply Sarri-ball, this new-look squad might be the most fascinating of Juve.
But should Juve take its eye off the ball the improved and new sides will be ready to take advantage.
“I don’t believe (Juve) will dominate very like last year since I feel that the competition has got better,” Horncastle says of the Bianconeri’s Serie A opponents. “And there are a few question marks regarding the new supervisor.
“In this, can he be a fantastic match for Juventus? They’re attempting to do something very different with a manager who’s very different from ones they have had previously.
“But it is a very ambitious appointment and when he can execute that style of play with this set of Juventus players, it could be the very ideal Juventus we have ever seen.”
Pretenders to the throne
Inter Milan is best positioned to slip Juventus’ crown season and not completely down into the signings it has created on the pitch.
Conte returns to his team for the first time as leaving Juve in 2014 to get a two-year stint as head coach of the national team.
The 50-year-old, that won the Premier League and FA Cup in two seasons is in charge of an exciting new crop of youngsters headed up by Uruguayan defender Diego Godin along with Belgium ahead Romelu Lukaku’s seasoned arrivals.
“With Antonio Conte at the helm of Inter, he will stop at nothing to win the Scudetto and place Inter back where he feels they belong,” Horncastle stated.
“Conte, for me, is one of, if not the largest signing the league has had, be it even a coach or participant, this year. I believe Inter will be a strong competitor for Juventus this year and it will go very near.”
Already is Napoli, whose settled squad could be ready to mount the following name challenge after completing 11 points back during the initial, transitional period accountable of Ancelotti into second last term.
“I think one reason those guys have come back is because Serie A has a charm again that it has lost,” Horncastle explained. “I believe they, particularly Conte, wish to win and when he does not think he could assemble a winning team, then he is not interested.”
More Milan misery?
AC Milan has appointed its manager because 2014 after failing to qualify for the Champions League for the fifth successive season.
Participant Gennaro Gattuso has been the trainer to walk out of Milan’s revolving door that is Licensed and has been replaced with Marco Giampaolo following his good work with Sampdoria.
“Milan has been somewhat of an enigma during the last few seasons,” soccer journalist Mina Rzouki told CNN Sport. “And that will be the job that Giampaolo has, to infuse some thing into this new team that has been regenerated once more.
“Having them perform beautiful and progressive soccer — which is what the style is in Milan and people always understand they’re a glamorous group, they’re not exactly the hardworking Juve but they’re the exquisite Milan — and whenever you have coaches this Ancelotti and Conte, I’m not entirely sure he can compete together.”
However, without the allure of Champions League soccer, Milan has been forced to approach the transport market into its rivals from another angle.
An influx of talent that is exciting, headlined Real Madrid defender Theo Hernandez and by striker Rafael Le??o, gives an ideal template for Giampaolo to work with.
“This has the potential to be very exciting,” Horncastle stated. “One reason why Milan has signed Giampaolo is not because his teams perform really great football, they’re great to see and they perform well from the big teams, but also for a staff club that doesn’t possess its stadiu and isn’t getting into the Champions League — the way do you make money?
“You make money by registering young players that you grow and then market in certain scenarios. Giampaolo was fantastic at that.”
One of those gifted children to be marketed throughout his period in charge were Milan ??kriniar,” Lucas Torreira, Bruno Fernandes and Patrik Schick.
When Juventus were pushed by Napoli and also led the league table for lengthy periods, it looked as though the era of dominance of the Turin club was coming to an end.
However, a year’s title procession reaffirmed that the best of the remainder were still light years behind the power saw of Italy.
This time, however, which may be about to shift.
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