(CNN) — For eight decades, Juventus has dominated Serie A without a great deal of struggle from those under it.
This year, however, the leading few coaches of Italy will lock horns in what has the potential to be one of the most exciting name races in nearly a decade.
Inter Milan, AC Milan and champion Juve have changed manager since the conclusion of last season and also a flurry of transfer activity sees all three input the campaign with squads.
While Antonio Conte arrives at an Inter with belief that he could battle for the Scudetto, maurizio Sarri contributes to Serie A following a stint at Chelsea with the job of leading Juventus to national and European attractiveness.
The set looking to close the 11-point gap between Juve and also his side last year and could be joined at a thrilling title race with Carlo Ancelotti, who’s now in his second season with Napoli.
“It’s become a little bit dull at Serie A over the past couple of seasons,” Italian football expert Mina Rzouki told CNN Sport. “So having these three Italian coaches back in the Italian league I presume is going to make it much more intriguing.
“You only feel as if nobody can really get close to Juventus but for the very first time ever, when you cite these titles and you also understand that Carlo Ancelotti has a wonderful squad and you know his name inspires fear; you understand Antonio Conte goes back and he’s with the largest rival that Juventus have.”
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Sarri-ball
Even the Old Lady, bolstered by the inclusion of 84 million signing Matthijs de Ligt along with the advent of free transfers Adrien Rabiot along with Aaron Ramsey enter this year as favorite to retain its crown and win a record-extending ninth Serie A title.
Massimiliano Allegri’s departure after five years responsible as head coach paved the way for the return of Sarri to Italy following his one time in England with Chelsea.
Sarri style of play — called Sarri-ball — thrilled audiences at Napoli around Europe in his final year, as the Italian narrowly missed out on leading his hometown club into some first Serie A title since 1990.
Allegri, conversely, used a more pragmatic and conservative fashion and the most important task of Sarri will be attempting to convert a squad which has nothing else for the past four seasons.
“I spent time with Juventus in pre-season and one of those things that Sarri stated is that this group has been coached just a single way for four decades and reeducating them, getting them to change, will take a time,” journalist James Horncastle told CNN.
“It’s an intriguing fit because you’d players in the Premier League (at Chelsea) who prefer to take the ballthey prefer to dribble with the ball and that is something Cristiano Ronaldo really does.
“So when it has to do with opening teams up with this quick Sarri-ball combination playthere are a few players from the team I believe are not conducive to this — and one is the biggest star of the group in Cristiano Ronaldo.”
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Champions League or bust?
Given its overall nationwide dominance, Juventus’ obsession — indeed, why it signed Ronaldo — is now winning the Champions League.
The Portuguese himself said he believes the clock will be ticking for Ronaldo to contribute to his haul of five, that this team can win the European Cup also, in 34 years old.
But few clubs know Champions League heartbreak like Juventus.
Since last winning the contest in 1996, the Bianconeri went on to lose two consecutive Champions League finals and its fortune hasn’t changed in the intervening two decades, dropping three further afield (2003, 2015, 2017) to reach an undesirable tally of five successive final defeats.
“This group in some respects has a brief window in order to provide,” Horncastle explained. “They have signed Ronaldo to provide the Champions League; Ronaldo isn’t enough to his own to win on the Champions League.
“We noticed this last year, he did it both legs from Ajax — it wasn’t enough even with him turning up. I believe, ultimately, that is why they have chosen a punt on Sarri.”
When the coach, who ahead of the start of the new season was set low by pneumonia, then can apply Sarri-ball and find this group purring like his Napoli of older, this new-look squad might be the most fascinating of Juve.
But if Juve take its eye on the ball the sides that are improved and new will be prepared to make the most.
“I really don’t believe (Juve) will predominate very like a year ago because I think the contest has got much better,” Horncastle claims of the Bianconeri’s Serie A competitions. “And then there are a few question marks regarding the new manager.
“In that, is he a good match for Juventus? They’re trying to do something quite different with a manager who’s very different from ones they’ve had previously.
“But it is a very ambitious appointment and if he can execute that style of play with this group of Juventus players, it might be the ideal Juventus we’ve ever seen.”
Pretenders to the throne
Inter Milan is possibly best placed to steal Juventus’ crown season instead of entirely down to the signings it has made on the pitch.
Conte returns as departing Juve at 2014 for a two-year stint as head coach of the national team.
The 50-year-old, that won the Premier League and FA Cup in just two seasons is in charge of an exciting new crop of kids headed up by the arrivals of both Uruguayan defender Diego Godin and Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku.
“With Antonio Conte at the helm of both all Inter, he will stop at nothing to acquire the Scudetto and put Inter back in which he feels that they rightly belong,” Horncastle said.
“Conte, for me personally, is one of, if not the largest signing that the league has had, be it even a coach or player, this year. I think Inter will be a formidable opponent for Juventus this year and it will go very near.”
Already is Napoli, whose group could be ready to mount the next name challenge after completing 11 points back during the first period accountable of Ancelotti into second term.
“I believe one reason those men have come back is due to Serie A has a charm again that it has dropped,” Horncastle explained. “I believe they, particularly Conte, would like to win and when he does not believe he could assemble a winning team, then he is not interested.”
More Milan misery?
After failing to qualify for the Champions League for the fifth season meanwhile, AC Milan has recently appointed its manager because 2014.
Former participant Gennaro Gattuso has been the newest trainer to walk from Milan managerial door and has been replaced by Marco Giampaolo following his great work with Sampdoria.
“Milan has been a bit of an enigma during the past couple of seasons,” soccer journalist Mina Rzouki told CNN Sport. “And this will be the task that Giampaolo has, to instill something to this brand new team that has been regenerated once more.
“Having them play with beautiful and innovative soccer — which is exactly what the style is in Milan and people always understand they are a glamorous group, they are not exactly the hardworking Juve but they’re the lovely Milan — and when you have coaches such an Ancelotti and Conte, I’m not entirely sure he will compete together.”
However, without Champions League football’s allure, Milan was forced to approach the transfer market from a different angle to its rivals.
An influx of young talent, headlined by striker Rafael Le??o and Real Madrid defender Theo Hernandez, supplies an ideal template for Giampaolo to use.
“It has the potential to be quite exciting,” Horncastle said. “One reason why Milan has signed Giampaolo is not because his teams play really great soccer, but they are great to see and they do well against the big teams, but also for a team club that does not possess its stadiu and is not getting into the Champions League — just the way do you make money?
“You make money by signing young players who you develop and then market in certain scenarios. Giampaolo has been fantastic in that.”
One of those talented youngsters to be sold in Sampdoria during his time in charge were Bruno Fernandes, Lucas Torreira, Milan ??kriniar and Patrik Schick.
When Napoli led the club table for extended periods and pushed Juventus to the penultimate match of the campaign, it looked like the era of dominance of the Turin club had been coming to an end.
But, a year’s name procession reaffirmed that the very best of the remainder were still light years behind the powerhouse of Italy.
This time, though, which may be about to shift.
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