Let’s take stock for a moment between a Naples that dominates, a Milan that disappoints, while boredom reigns below.
– Many coaches stress that spring is the right time to start drawing conclusions about the standings and, never like this year, this thing is true. Napoli is now virtually the Italian Champion, pace of mathematics and superstition, and it is with great merit. A merit which, unfortunately for our movement, is not dictated by an overall growth in Serie A, but by a multi-year management that is as shrewd as it is (unjustly) criticized, which has achieved the maximum result also thanks to the intuitions of the DS Giuntoli, capable of betting a very high amount on Osimhen in the midst of the Covid crisis, winning it, but also of finding real cracks in the championship (and not only) like Kim and Kvaratskhelia;
– Where the merits of Napoli end, the demerits of the others begin, starting with the two Milanese: last year engaged in a long struggle, in which Milan prevailed, and this year unable to maintain the continuity necessary to at least stay in the running for the Scudetto for as long as possible. Without going into the merits of the two teams’ problems, which deserve much more space to be examined, it is important to underline that reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League is not in the least sufficient to justify a season that is anything but positivegiven that the component of the calendar, episodes and luck can have a decisive effect, when it comes to the first rounds of knockout competitions;
– Con Roma e Atalanta remained more or less on last year’s levels, as well as Fiorentina who are recovering at a gallop after a disastrous first round in terms of results, the seasons of Lazio and Juventus deserve the magnifying glass. Sarri’s team is a surprise, but not too much, because it is known how the Neapolitan coach manages to get the most out of his squads, if he is given time and players suited to his game system, as long as he is not ask to compete on two fronts with only one point forward and reserves not up to the owners. The Bianconeri’s season, marred by a difficult start inside and outside the substitution, seems to have changed gears and found a game and results that could allow it to fight for a place in the Champions League not only by trying to win the Europa League, but also in Serie A itself TO;
– Among the teams that gravitate immediately under the Europe-zone, in addition to the already mentioned “purples”, Udinese, Sassuolo and Monza deserve a mention. The Friulians, after stuttering years, seem to have found a team that could allow them to open a cycle of good level, provided they don’t aim to make money with all the youngsters on the launch pad in the summer. The same goes for the Emilians, who with four victories confirmed Dionisi’s good work with results and seems destined for a growing season finale. Last, but not least, the Lombards, who in their return to Serie A season are averaging more than a point and a half per game since Palladino sits on the bench who, projected hypothetically over the twenty-seven matches played so far, would mean stationing in seventh place ;
– Even in the lower areas of the rankings, the verdicts are already almost all more or less writtencon Cremona e Sampdoria with a foot and a half in Serie B and the only one Verona who, despite a worse pace than his pursuers in the last two days, seems to have the means to stay glued to those in front of him, hoping for a (difficult) misstep. In short, also this year, the salvation quota is destined to drop further and it will never be too late, for our football institutions, to find the courage to bring our top flight back to 18 teams. losing some “useless games to be broadcast on television”, but increasing the average quality of the others and, consequently, the interest of those who could buy them, in Italy and abroad.
