Apparently unwanted by their previous clubs, a string of players are now flourishing at Fiorentina. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at how the Viola have risen up the league with such seemingly unpromising materials.

Sometimes you have to treat them mean in order to keep them keen. Certainly, in Florence of late, they have been toasting a number of players who were not feeling a lot of love at their old clubs. The fire that has provided has helped fuel a run of fine performances that has them dreaming of great things in the Renaissance City right now.

Let’s talk, first of all, about Moise Kean – a promising player, no doubt, but one who seemed to be running out of clubs with the patience to let him prove himself. Juventus, Everton and Paris Saint-Germain is not a bad CV at the age of 24, but it would be fair to say he never delivered what was hoped for with most of them. A deal with the Viola looked risky for both sides but, so far, it has paid off in style.

The 24-year-old striker has been reborn at the under reconstruction Stadio Artemio Franchi as the undisputed leader of the Fiorentina line. He has delivered both goals and the kind of hold-up play they have been sorely missing since Dusan Vlahovic departed. Defenders up and down Italy – and beyond – have found him exactly the kind of handful all his past clubs hoped he would be. Proof, perhaps, that footballers need a little faith to be shown in order for them to flourish.

Kean finding his feet at Fiorentina

The same could be said for Yacine Adli, not much more than a bit-part player with Milan after his much-heralded acquisition in 2021. On loan with an option to buy, Fiorentina have a bad track record of letting such players slip through their grasp. Still, for the time being, he is providing the kind of sumptuous displays – including against his old teammates – that the Rossoneri dreamed of. He still sometimes spends too long on the ball, but when he is in the groove you can see exactly why he was earning some lofty comparisons not so long ago.

Alongside him in a completely overhauled midfield are two arrivals from Rome. Edoardo Bove was always a prospect, but fell out of favour with the Giallorossi before returning to haunt them recently. Still only 22, he is another loanee that Viola fans will hope can be made permanent without delay. He has been followed north by the much more experienced – but equally surplus to requirements – Danilo Cataldi from Lazio. Not exactly a name to stir the soul on the transfer market, he has been rock solid and even delivered goals which have hardly been a trademark of his career. Playing for a permanent deal seems to suit all these players.

And what to say of the biggest “reject” of them all? David de Gea left football entirely after his Manchester United experience came to an end and waited for the right opportunity to come along. He was keen on Serie A and Fiorentina took a chance on a goalkeeper some thought had no more to give. He has been proving them wrong one audacious save at a time. His latest leap to deny Genoa a draw was the culmination of yet another Man of the Match display, as the club finally appears to have found someone capable of ousting Pietro Terracciano from his post.

Fiorentina revitalising lost stars

Would it be stretching a case to put Robin Gosens in the rejected category too? Possibly, but he certainly was sent packing by Inter quite quickly when they decided he did not fit the bill for them. After his time with Union Berlin, he has come back to Serie A as if he has never been away. His goal against the Grifone crowned an impressive return to a league where he was always a quality performer.

There is even an unwanted hero in their own ranks in the shape of Lucas Beltran. He looked to be very much a peripheral figure after the acquisition of Albert Gudmundsson but has seized his chance after the ex-Genoa man suffered injury. The Argentinian has provided one of the few links with the Vincenzo Italiano regime along with Dodo back after injury and Luca Ranieri. With Andrea Colpani showing signs of life after a tricky start, these have been happy days.

A final word is deserved for Pietro Comuzzo, who has moved into the heart of the back four with an assuredness worthy of a teenage Beppe Bergomi at the 1982 World Cup. It is early to pile too much pressure on him but he has been a real standout for his team so far. If he continues this way then it will surely only be a matter of time until he becomes the latest Viola talent to be at the centre of major transfer rumours. Enjoy him while you can.

The bunch of inglorious rejects are enjoying their chance to shine with goals being scored for fun and some scintillating football as their coach has worked out a formation to suit them. How long it can last is anybody’s guess as Fiorentina fans have seen great hopes fall flat in the past. Still, a better European finish than the Conference League looks a possibility right now if they can keep everyone fit and on song. Heaven knows that would prove a point for an awful lot of the players in their squad right now.

Love him or loathe him, there is no denying the buzz around Mario Balotelli’s return to Italian football. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at what Genoa – and the league – could get from his arrival.

It feels like a lifetime has passed since we last saw Mario Balotelli in Serie A. We have come through a global pandemic, seen the Azzurri win a delayed Euros and had four different teams lift the Scudetto in the meantime. When he left Brescia for up and coming Monza – whatever happened to them? – we had a feeling he might never be back in Italy’s top division. However, thanks to a Genoa side desperate to avoid relegation and shorn of two of its star forwards from last season, he is back for a fifth spell at Calcio’s highest level.

Those of us who have been watching the division for a while will remember the excitement that surrounded his first emergence as a teenager at Inter. The ease with which he produced goals for the Nerazzurri and at youth level for his country suggested this was a striker who could set all kinds of records at club and international level. That he did it all with an assurance that some interpreted as arrogance almost immediately made him a divisive figure.

Still, there was little surprise when Manchester City – then in the earlier days of becoming the dominant force they have since become – pounced for him as he turned 20. In the same year he was picking up his first full Italy cap. The future looked unbelievably bright.

But it would be fair to say things did not quite go as swimmingly as hoped in England. Nonetheless, with an outstanding summer with his country at Euro 2012, he was still an undeniable talent. When the other side of Milan came calling the following year, he made his first return to Serie A. The overseas experience appeared to have improved him and that spell with the Rossoneri was one of the most productive of his career.

It earned him another move to the Premier League – this time with Liverpool – but the magic generally failed to materialise and he was quickly back in Italy on loan. It would take another departure – to Nice in Ligue 1 – to kickstart his goalscoring again but, once more, that fizzled out and, after a move to Marseille, he was back at Brescia and then Monza. There was another sign of life in the Turkish Super Lig before he moved to Switzerland and then back to Turkey before his arrival back in Italy.

There have been highs and lows, for sure, and all of it surrounded by a fair dose of controversy. In the country of his birth he has often found himself a target for racism and perhaps that has driven him to play overseas. His detractors would argue that he brings a lot of the trouble on himself – he has certainly not always acted impeccably – but his famous Why Always Me? T-shirt did seem to touch upon a truth. Others have acted in similar ways to Balotelli but few have encountered the same level of reproach.

Wherever you sit on the Super Mario fence, it still feels good to get him back in Serie A. At 34 years old, he can still have a lot to offer and Genoa are certainly a club in desperate need after losing Mateo Retegui and Albert Gudmundsson in the summer and a bad start to the season. It is asking a lot of him to be their saviour but he does give them an attacking option that will cause other clubs in the relegation fight some concern.

There is always that side order of what he might bring to the club and the league in off-the-pitch headlines to worry about. And yet, if you focus on his football, he has the potential to be a big factor in keeping his new employer afloat. If nothing else, it will surely produce thousands more words about him to go alongside these ones.

This might well be his last shot at glory in one of Europe’s top five leagues but he still has the skill set to give it a go. Few players have bossed the division like he did at times in his pomp and fans of the Grifone will hope he can show some signs of that once more. He has already been dismissed as a spent force by many but he has made a career out of proving his critics wrong and would probably like nothing better than to do it one more time. Goalkeepers watch out, there could be a football flying at incredible speed coming in your direction very soon.

It would have been a shame to throw away the good work done in France by slipping up against Belgium and Israel. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at how the Azzurri stayed top of their Nations League group in sometimes testing circumstances.

We could hardly have asked for a better tonic after such a miserable Euros. Watching Italy of late has felt like getting a bit of winter sunshine after suffering some rainswept summer staycation. It will never take away the pain and regret, but it has at least applied a little healing balm to the wounds suffered.

Not everything was perfect across the two matches in Rome and Udine – that was barely plausible – but the balance was surely a positive one. Some new names shone, more established ones confirmed their qualities and qualification for the final eight of the Nations League was just about secured. There are two tricky games to come – away to Belgium and at home to France – but they can be faced with more confidence than many would have imagined.

The first game in Italy’s October break was surely a glass-half-full affair for all but the most miserable supporter. Against another side ranked higher than them in the world the Azzurri started brightly in a dazzling tribute to Totò Schillaci who was honoured before kick-off at the Stadio Olimpico. They zipped the ball about like a team that had long since cleared its head of any hangover from Germany.

Their full-backs, wing-backs or call them what you will, thrived – with Federico Dimarco teeing up his counterpart on the opposite flank, Andrea Cambiaso, for the opening goal. They were involved again in the build-up to the second as a parried shot was expertly tucked away by Mateo Retegui, continuing his fine run of form. Perhaps Italy has found its new first-choice striker after all.

The midfield, too, was playing like clockwork with Samuele Ricci confirming all his promise and Sandro Tonali enjoying a most pleasant return to football. With the defence showing the composure you would expect from Riccardo Calafiori and Alessandro Bastoni everything was going perfectly. That was, of course, until disaster struck in an ill-timed lunge by Lorenzo Pellegrini which was upgraded from yellow to red and left La Nazionale facing a very different challenge.

In truth, they might even have held on for the win but conceding straight away from the resultant free-kick left them more than happy with a draw. They will not have been content with their defending on set pieces – particularly the second one – but otherwise, they held things together well. Perhaps, if Davide Frattesi had rolled the ball to Retegui after an exquisite control instead of shooting, they might even have still sneaked an improbable win.

It would be unfair to be too critical of Pellegrini over his rush of blood as he had been impressive up until his expulsion but he needs to learn quickly to avoid such impulsive acts. He is probably one of the least certain selections in the Italy midfield at present and, if they do well without him, he might find himself frozen out. There is no doubting his quality, but he needs to make sure he delivers it all the time.

His suspension made at least one change inevitable for the Israel game but Luciano Spalletti chose to make a couple of other switches as in came Guglielmo Vicario, Giacomo Raspadori and Nicolò Fagioli with mixed results. The goalkeeper flapped at a corner to concede a goal, the Napoli man fell over when it looked like he had a tap-in and the midfielder was hooked at halftime after an unconvincing display. As a team, though, it was another step in the right direction.

The wide men were again in top form, Tonali at his driving best and Retegui showed his cool finishing once more. It was also a nice night for Giovanni Di Lorenzo who grabbed a double after much criticism and had a controlled evening. And once more Frattesi displayed his love of scoring goals for his country. A debut for Daniel Maldini – with some touches as if he had been playing for a lifetime in the national team – was the icing on the cake.

More than any individual, though, this has been about the overall performances. Some of the football has been delightful. The players have backed themselves to play it out from the back and—more often than not—delivered. They have conceded the odd silly goal, but otherwise, they have shown character, ability, and attitude. It should stand them in good stead for the challenges ahead.

It appears that Spalletti has taken on board the lessons of the summer and started to implement the necessary changes. We are beginning to see what his Italy could look like and how he hopes it can play and that has been pretty pleasing. There will no doubt be setbacks but the picture is a lot more attractive than it was a few months ago. They will be put to the test once more in November but there will be a lot more hope than trepidation than many of us might have imagined. The Azzurri have a vision, ambition and boldness that was lacking in the summer and anyone who holds them dear will hope that can continue for some time to come.

One of the Azzurri’s call-ups for the Nations League has caused quite a stir and Giancarlo Rinaldi examines the pride and pressure on the selection of Daniel Maldini for the Azzurri squad.

Taking over the family business is always fraught with danger. It can be hard to follow in the footsteps of your parents and live up to the reputation they have carved out before you. But when the industry is football and your name is Maldini – the stress must be of almost unimaginable proportions.

Of all the names on Luciano Spalletti’s call-ups for the upcoming fixtures with Belgium and Israel, one stood out more than any other. Monza’s Daniel Maldini has been in fine form and his inclusion was regularly rumoured – but it was still big news when it became official. He only has to follow two legends of the game.

• Read more – Maldini ‘happy to play anywhere’ for Italy but didn’t ask for father’s advice

His nonno – grandfather if you must – Cesare was a Milan icon of the 1950s and 1960s and played more than a dozen times for his country. He then went on to be a hugely successful coach of Italy’s Under 21 side and also took the full international side to the 1998 World Cup. Suffice to say he was a towering figure in Italian sport.

But his father Paolo was even more of a giant for club and country. As an elegant and attacking full-back and, later, as a centre-back with impeccable reading of the game he was capped more than 100 times by the Azzurri – captaining them for the majority of those matches. He might not have won a tournament but he was there at the later stages on numerous occasions and widely recognised as one of the greatest defenders of all time.

At least young Daniel has chosen not to play in defence which can avoid him some unwanted comparisons. Indeed, he has carved out his own niche by leaving Milan – where he spent his youth career – for loan spells at Spezia, Empoli and Monza. Now aged 22 – he turns 23 on Friday – things appear to have clicked for him as the goals have started to come with reasonable regularity and he looks to establish himself as being of Serie A quality.

Some have suggested that Spalletti might have been influenced by his famous surname but that seems more than a little bit churlish. Italy are short of attacking options – even shorter after Moise Kean pulled out with injury – and have to look everywhere they can for inspiration. Maldini offers something a little bit different to other attackers and, if you can’t experiment in the Nations League, when can you?

It was clearly a more than a little emotional moment for the young man as he arrived at the Coverciano training centre to see pictures of his family on the wall. He was eligible to play for Venezuela on his mother’s side but was always going to wait to see if he could don the blue of the Bel Paese. The Italian term predestinato has probably never been more appropriately used.

His family background has surely helped him to keep a level head in all the hubbub surrounding his selection. He explained that having such famous relatives can have both positive and negative sides but he has learned to deal with it now. “As time goes by you start to understand a few things,” he said. “Whatever other people might think you’ve got to follow your own path with the goal you have in mind.”

Certainly there is no shortage of opinion out there about what he might be able to bring to the side. He might not yet be at the levels of his role model, Kakà – few players are or ever will be – but he does bring a spark of creativity and quality that could serve his country well. If his genes have anything to do with it, he should not have too many problems settling into his new surroundings.

It seems unlikely he will start – particularly against Belgium – but a few minutes against Israel should not be out of the question. If he proves to be as at home in the colours of his country as his famous forebears then it could be the start of a long and fruitful relationship. Many fans would find something reassuring in seeing his name on the team sheet as the Inno di Mameli starts to play.

He will have to earn that kind of career, of course, just as his predecessors did. In a sport that often has little sense of historical context, it is quite nice to have a little link back to the game’s past. First Cesare, then Paolo and now Daniel have formed a thread that draws together different eras and different generations who can each claim one Maldini as their own. Who knows, there might be more to follow in the years to come. But, for now, let us just enjoy what the latest in the family production line has to offer and hope he can be even a fraction of the player that the others to carry his illustrious name have been.

@ginkers

The world of football is in mourning for the loss of Salvatore Schillaci. Giancarlo Rinaldi pays tribute to the man who burned so brightly at Italy’s home World Cup.

We’ve all lost a little bit of magic today. The brilliant, bug-eyed striker who lit up Italia ’90 for fans of the Azzurri – and many beyond – is gone. Few players shone with such intensity and sheer unbridled joy as Totò Schillaci.

There have been plenty of greater players for Italy and lots who won more honours but few won the hearts of a nation as much as the Sicilian goalscorer. In an age where our stars have become increasingly distant, he felt like he was one of us. When he scored a goal for his country he burst with pride that came buzzing through his body and transmitted itself to fans in the ground and watching on TV. He was living our collective dream and he wasn’t afraid to show it.

Ciao Totò
Hero of the Notti Magiche pic.twitter.com/uJwB23ZWqt

— Italy (@Azzurri_En) September 18, 2024

He seemed just as surprised as we were at how he seized the world stage in that summer of the Notte Magiche (Magic Nights). Just a year before the tournament, the boy from Palermo was plying his trade with Messina and was hardly on the radar of La Nazionale. A move to Juventus and a season where he scored a goal every other game in Serie A made his claims to play for his country irresistible.

It was that rags-to-riches story that grabbed our attention and made us fall in love with the little hitman. His Italy debut came just months before the tournament when it was fully expected Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini would be Azeglio Vicini’s star men. Then along came Totò and Roberto Baggio and ripped up those plans. The Divin Codino would be a star for decades to come, his attacking companion would burn out much more quickly.

But what joy he gave us, though, as he scorched through opposition defences. At a home tournament, in front of demanding Italian fans, the Azzurri were in danger of being frustrated by Austria in their opening match. Enter Schillaci to turn the match and send his country flying towards the later stages.

More goals followed against Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, the Republic of Ireland, Argentina and England. It was not enough to take his team to the title – they ultimately finished third – but the player ended up as the tournament top scorer and was the undisputed star of the competition. It was a glorious, beautiful surprise and you got the feeling that few people were more shocked than the player himself.

He never scaled those heights again. The goals dried up with Juve and a switch to Inter failed to spark him back to life. He moved to Jubilo Iwata in Japan and then retired from the game in the late 1990s. His most memorable moments had all been packed into a season or a season and a half or so.

That did not mean, though, that he was forgotten. It was enough to hear the songs from that summer or watch him wheeling away in celebration to feel the hairs standing up on the back of your neck once more. Totò knew what it meant to the tifosi to see Italy win and he was not shy in letting us see how much it meant to him either. The delight and astonishment on his face after those World Cup goals is still etched in our collective memories.

He was no mean player, either – quick, agile and with a thunderous shot, he gave Italy a dash of unpredictability that took them to the brink of winning that home World Cup. Schillaci was the passionate Sicilian heart of that effort. A failure, perhaps, but a glorious one that gave us so many special moments.

Just 59 years old is no age at all to have lost such a figure. We knew he was unwell but, still, it came as a blow on an otherwise serene September morning. We can only be thankful for all the sheer delight he gave us in that stupendous summer. For the goals, for the memories and for that beaming, beautiful smile – Grazie Totò.

It is accepted wisdom that the Azzurri are slow starters in September but they ripped up that rule book against France and Israel. Giancarlo Rinaldi reflects on a triumphant start that was welcome – and unexpected – in equal measure.

We left Italy in a pretty sorry state in the summer. Having limped out of the Euros, La Nazionale was lacking in much direction, optimism or hope. There were plenty of people questioning the appointment of Luciano Spalletti and the quality of the players at his disposal. They did not answer all those criticisms with two group wins in the space of four days but they did, at least, give a show of character. Here are a few things the two away victories taught us.

Tonali is back

It would be unfair to heap too much pressure on a man who has been biding his time on the sidelines for a season but, just the same, the Newcastle midfielder has hit the ground running. His display against France – with a sublime assist for Federico Dimarco – was the kind to have fans drooling. His coach recognised his importance to the team and also his determination to make up for lost time after his ban from the game. Previously weighed down by comparisons with past greats, he now looks free to deliver as his own player. He provides zest and drive in the centre of the park that was sorely missing a few months ago.

Crazy for Frattesi

Some players have a happy knack of delivering for their national team even when club matters are not going so well. Davide Frattesi hardly ever played more than an hour for Inter in Serie A last season but that has not stopped him becoming a star man for his country. As he helped to deliver Italy’s first win over France in Paris in 70 years he became the top scorer of the Spalletti era and then he added one more with his chest against Israel for good measure. Without a prolific striker as of yet, this team must be grateful for a man who can time his runs from midfield as well as he does.

Ricci’s riches

There was a clear need to rejuvenate and revitalise this Azzurri side and nobody symbolised that more than the Torino man. He showed both class and character to take on one of the world’s top sides on their own ground and try to play his football. His composure and quality was a really pleasant addition and he confirmed the good impression with another impressive display in Hungary. This new generation might not be a team of superstars but the Tuscan midfielder showed that he can stitch together a side that was in danger of coming apart at the seams.

Plucky Luciano

He had faced accusations of being inflexible and perhaps unwilling to blood a new generation but he got his picks spot on for the France game and, less convincingly perhaps, against Israel. It was not the revolution some had hoped for but still he showed the vision to spot some quality additions while building on the quality he already knew he possessed in the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Federico Dimarco, Gigio Donnarumma and Alessandro Bastoni. Perhaps he has shaken off his bad mood from the Euros and can work towards a clearer vision and sort out a still leaky defence and concerns over the right-back position with Giovanni Di Lorenzo continuing to struggle.

Football needs fans

If the win over Les Bleus was an epic in front of vociferous and passionate home support, the same could not be said of the victory over Israel in Budapest. The empty seats of the Bozsik Arena made for an atmosphere that was a depressing reminder of the behind closed doors days of Covid. The best thing that could be said of the game was that Italy managed to focus on the job in hand and not treat it too much as a friendly. They had their scares against more lowly opposition but, in the end, they had enough quality and spirit to pick up three points.

He was Fiorentina’s record signing, but he never quite hit the heights he had hoped for in Florence, so Giancarlo Rinaldi asks if Nicolas Gonzalez can fully deliver after moving to bitter rivals Juventus.

There were great games, brilliant goals and beautiful moments during his time in Tuscany. And yet, somehow, he never produced his magic with enough consistency at the Stadio Artemio Franchi to live up to his significant price tag. But now, with a move to the club most detested on the Curva Fiesole, can a 26-year-old Nicolas Gonzalez finally convince the doubters of his quality?

It wasn’t that he was a failure in Florence, just that he never quite made the step up to Serie A superstar on a regular basis. His leap for headers was a joy to behold for a guy who was not the tallest in the division. On his day, he could torture defenders for fun before delivering a telling ball into the box. And, for a while, his little skip-step penalty was impossible to save until – all of a sudden – it wasn’t any more.

Indeed, if you wanted a microcosm of Gonzalez’s time in purple then that was possibly it. His spot-kicks were magnificent and then infuriating which was often like his entire performances. When called upon to produce the brilliance that could finally win his club a trophy, he was unable to provide what they needed – and probably expected – from their standout star. A trophy might have made them remember him differently.

Now Nico Gonzalez makes a move that has remained a contentious one since Roberto Baggio travelled the same route more than 30 years ago. There was a time when the Viola would sell to anyone but Juventus but recent years have seen that change significantly. Federico Bernardeschi, Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic are among the most recent men to be flogged off to La Vecchia Signora with somewhat mixed results.

Nico Gonzalez faces Juventus pressure

Juventus confirm squad numbers for new signings Nico Gonzalez and Conceicao

All the elements look there to make Gonzalez a success with the Bianconeri. While Max Allegri could be a bit of a graveyard for attacking players, Thiago Motta was able to mine gold from his forwards and creative midfielders at Bologna. If he can wave the same magic wand that he used on Riccardo Orsolini then everyone in Turin would surely be happy.

But something has to click in the player himself and he is about the right age to make the step from intermittent to regular matchwinner. Undoubtedly, Gonzalez will be surrounded by more quality at his new club than he was at his old so that should help him too. There really can be no excuses not to perform at the highest level week-in, week-out at Juve.

We know, of course, that anything less will not be accepted. Allegri famously told Bernardeschi he was no longer at Fiorentina when he was unhappy with his displays, and although Motta is unlikely to repeat that slight, its essence still remains. They are habitual winners at the Allianz Stadium, and it surely won’t be enough to make the finals, lose them, or perform gallantly, but fail to achieve much in Serie A.

So it is time to leave the thumping of the Fiorentina badge behind him and move on to kissing the Juve emblem – with all the pressure that brings. A slightly convoluted big money deal brings with it great expectations that he will have to live up to. This is the acid test of whether Nico Gonzalez can make a lasting mark on Italy’s top flight or be no more than a passing meteor. His new fans will hope he can become the best of a long string of acquisitions to arrive in their colours from a club that loves to hate them.

There are no awards given out for how your team performs in the transfer window, but fans still love to delight and despair at their arrivals and departures. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at who has the most to celebrate as the Calciomercato door slams shut.

Many a good team on paper has been found wanting on the pitch, as Brian Clough famously suggested. Still, a big name signing or the loss of a star has the ability to provoke a passionate response from supporters. Here are some ratings of how each Serie A side has performed in its buying and selling this summer.

Atalanta 6.5/10

Perhaps their greatest victory was keeping hold of coach Gian Piero Gasperini after overtures from bigger clubs. Other than Teun Koopmeiners, they managed to keep hold of the majority of the team which did wonders last season and acted quickly to replace the injured Gianluca Scamacca with Mateo Retegui. Ben Godfrey, Nicolò Zaniolo and Raoul Bellanova are intriguing additions.

Bologna 5/10

It was inevitable teams would take notice of their revelation season and the loss of Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori is definitely a blow. However, at least they got the deals out of the way quickly. Arrivals like Emil Holm from Atalanta, Tommaso Pobega from Milan and Sam Iling-Junior in a circuitous route from Juve are not the kind of purchases to get the pulse racing, though.

Cagliari 5/10

Having secured late survival last term, they look awfully like a side that will face another battle to stay afloat – and this time without Claudio Ranieri. Experienced Sebastiano Luperto from Empoli will hope to guide the defence, while Atalanta loanee Roberto Piccoli might pep up the attack.

Como 7/10

It certainly was not your ordinary newly-promoted side’s summer under Cesc Fabregas, as a string of household names were acquired. Andrea Belotti, Pepe Reina, Alberto Moreno, Raphael Varane and Sergi Roberto are the kind of established performers many sides would dream of. How it all fits together, of course, remains to be seen.

Empoli 6/10

They have started the season well, but their transfer market did not set the heather alight. Sebastiano Esposito has the potential to have a breakout campaign while Lorenzo Colombo is another young prospect who arrives on loan. As always, they will hope their youthful enthusiasm can keep them in Serie A for another year.

Fiorentina 6.5/10

Arrivals like Andrea Colpani, David De Gea, Moise Kean and Albert Gudmundsson were headline grabbers, but the loss of Nico Gonzalez, Giacomo Bonaventura and Nikola Milenkovic felt like they counteracted that. A late scrabble to bolster their squad did not smack of much in the way of forward planning, but names like Robin Gosens and Yacine Adli gave much-needed depth.

Genoa 5/10

The names on the way out were definitely bigger than those that came in, with Albert Gudmundsson and then Mateo Retegui lost to Fiorentina and Atalanta respectively. Alberto Gilardino has just rolled up his sleeves, however, and the arrivals of Andrea Pinamonti, Fabio Miretti and Pierluigi Gollini gave him something to work with.

Inter 7.5/10

They got their transfer work done early with Mehdi Taremi and Piotr Zielinski the big acquisitions to try to make the champions even better in the league and more convincing in Europe. With few departures of note other than veterans like Alexis Sanchez and Juan Cuadrado, they will set the standard again.

Juventus 9/10

There was plenty to be changed but, on paper at least, they have done big work on the transfer market. Douglas Luiz, Khephren Thuram and Michele Di Gregorio were their early strikes, but it was the late landings of Nico Gonzalez, Teun Koopmeiners and Francisco Conceicao that were the icing on the cake. Now it is up to Thiago Motta to transform them into a team.

Lazio 5/10

Losing Luis Alberto, Ciro Immobile and Felipe Anderson looks like a challenge for new boss Marco Baroni, although he has brought in his own men to compensate. Tijjani Noslin is an interesting addition and one he knows from Verona. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru has also impressed early, but time will tell if they can make up for the loss of three stellar performers.

Lecce 5/10

Having had some of their better players picked off, it will be a tall order to deliver salvation again, although don’t rule out the expert eye of Pantaleo Corvino unearthing more talent. A lengthy list of relatively unheralded names arrive – and the experienced Ante Rebic – but they have surprised us in the past and will hope to do so again.

Milan 6.5/10

It wasn’t perhaps the summer the fans hoped for, but the additions have all got potential to improve the side. Alvaro Morata knows Serie A well, while Strahinja Pavlovic and Youssouf Fofana have strong reputations from other leagues. Emerson Royal is a bit of a gamble, but with the only big loss Olivier Giroud – replaced late by Tammy Abraham – they should be fine, if not brilliant.

Monza 4.5/10

The departures of Michele Di Gregorio to Juve and Andrea Colpani to Fiorentina look like big blows with no real excitement on the arrivals front. Coach Alessandro Nesta will have high hopes that Stefano Sensi can deliver, while Omari Forson has to be considered a roll of the dice acquisition. There could be tough times ahead, unless Adriano Galliani dives onto the market of free agents.

Napoli 7/10

The main news was Antonio Conte’s arrival and also the chaotic handling of the Victor Osimhen situation. David Neres should add something to the side and, in Alessandro Buongiorno, they have one of Italy’s best defenders. Things took a late positive twist with a deal for Romelu Lukaku getting over the line and the intriguing Scottish arrivals of Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour. Few of the departures will be much regretted, apart from Piotr Zielinski.

Parma 6/10

It was good to see a newly-promoted team keep faith with the side which got it there in the first place. Matteo Cancellieri is a genuine prospect, while Pontus Almqvist shone with Lecce last year and both can add a bit of quality. Fabio Pecchia will look to confirm the good things seen in Serie B can continue in the top flight.

Roma 7.5/10

It might not have pleased the accountants, but keeping Paulo Dybala has given Daniele De Rossi a real array of attacking talent. Matias Soulé might have been his replacement, but instead the club can now call on both. Artem Dovbyk was a goal machine for Girona, but he will need time to adjust to his new surroundings.

Torino 5.5/10

Losing Alessandro Buongiorno was bad, but it was the late departure of Raoul Bellanova to Atalanta that really hit their transfer market. However, new boss Paolo Vanoli has the potential to be their real added value along with Scotland striker Ché Adams, who has already hit the ground running along with Saul Coco.

Udinese 6/10

It’s almost impossible to tell if the usual gathering of talent from across the world will do the job, but early indications have been good. There’s an emotional return for Alexis Sanchez which might provide a boost, but it really will take time to see if this mix proves better than last season’s random assortment in Friuli.

Venezia 5.5/10

Keeping Joel Pohjanpalo and Gianluca Busio is something of a victory, although the eventual loss of Tanner Tessmann was a blow, if not an unexpected one. Perhaps the consistent Alfred Duncan can fill that gap a little along with the promising Gaetano Oristanio. Hans Nicolussi Caviglia is another one to watch.

Verona 5/10

A lot of the new names are unheralded ones, but Paolo Zanetti has a track record of developing youngsters, so the club will hope he can work his magic at the Bentegodi. Seeing Michael Folorunsho and Tijjani Noslin leave, however, can only mean he will face a tough season ahead.

Giancarlo Rinaldi is the author of a number of books on Italian football. You can follow him on X @ginkers , visit his website or listen to him on the podcast Rigore!.

Just when a deal seemed done in Saudi Arabia, Roma’s Argentinian star turned his back on a fortune. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at why the celebrations among the Giallorossi’s supporters may not be echoed in the boardroom.

It is, perhaps, the fate of creative footballers to divide opinion. One man’s only player worth the admission fee is another man’s source of eternal frustration. In a land as results-obsessed as Italy, Paulo Dybala was the latest in a collection of such stars to generate such polar opposite views.

Serie A is where we watched the boy become a man, but it looked as if we were going to have to get out the red and yellow hankies to wave him goodbye to the Saudi Pro League. Another special talent lost to Italy’s top flight, we thought, and a further blow to the division’s prestige. But then he produced a twist in the narrative worthy of his own footballing exploits and announced he was going nowhere. Cue delirium among a section of the Roma support.

La Joya has aroused such passions since the day and hour he set foot on Planet Calcio. His ability to entertain was unequivocally adored in Palermo, where he was part of a sparkling side that made Sicily swoon. It was also where he earned one of the earliest of the daft comparisons that have weighed down many an Argentinian star. President Maurizio Zamparini –  a man prone to exaggeration more than most – dubbed him “the new Sergio Aguero” before patting himself on the back for seeing off the likes of Inter, PSG and Chelsea. It might have been better if he had just let Dybala be Dybala.

Still, the fresh-faced forward shone and, when the goals really started to flow in his third season, he attracted covetous eyes from across Italy and beyond. In the end, it was Juve who found the funds to acquire him and it looked like the perfect fit. Serie A’s most successful side had given one of the league’s most talented individuals a perfect platform to strut his stuff. Having previously won Serie B, the Scudetti would start to pile up with remarkable ease.

De Rossi: ‘Dybala’s decision unusual, he can play with Soulé’

His first three seasons in Turin were undoubtedly his best. Although not an out and out striker, he delivered goal returns worthy of any classic number nine. His speed of thought and action left defenders trailling in his wake as he wheeled away with his trademark hand over mouth celebration. He didn’t need to be the new Messi, being the current Dybala was enough.

It would be the arrival of his countryman’s great rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, that probably – with hindsight – hindered his efforts to become a legend with La Vecchia Signora. The Portuguese became the focal point of the attack and that left Dybala – like the rest of the team, really – playing a more supporting role. It was one which he could more than capably perform, but you felt he was selling his talents a bit short by doing so. The net was always that little bit further away and he had a pretty big figure blocking his path.

The goals dried up significantly as he struggled to get to double figures in his remaining four seasons. He could still deliver a great contribution, but not as regularly as during his early impact. Some tifosi started to grumble that he would never be up to the club’s high standards – not dissimilarly to how they viewed Roberto Baggio a few decades before. At any other team he would probably have been a certainty for the Hall of Fame but they are a tough bunch to please at Juventus.

Just the same, he produced some great performances and a better than a goal every three games ratio. He was probably sacrificed at the altar of trying to win the Champions League which became something of an obsession. He might not have delivered that trophy but – for neutrals and Juventini alike – he was a joy to watch.

However, there was a growing feeling that his time under Max Allegri had run its course. Nagging injuries had started to undermine his influence as he struggled to play with the consistency he achieved over six 30-game plus seasons in Serie A between 2014 and 2020. There was a perception – real or imagined – that the club hierarchy would be happy to show him the door.

Finances are a huge part of football and it became ever clearer that there was no place for him in the new Juventus. Perhaps his most ardent fans would have kept him, but he was freeing up a big wage that could be spent elsewhere. Roma were glad to gobble up a proven Serie A performer.

His early impact with the Giallorossi was great but it appeared that history might be repeating itself recently when they looked able to offload him and free up funds to spend elsewhere. A multi-million pound deal was in the pipeline until, it appears, fans let their displeasure be known. Suddenly, Dybala announced he was staying put.

Roma fans and teammates react as Dybala rejects Saudi millions

That undoubtedly plays well with supporters and, when he kisses the badge this season, they will have about 75m reasons to believe him. It is very rare in the modern game to see someone forego a fortune to remain loyal. His place in Giallorossi hearts seems secure forever.

That might not be the case with the club’s accountants, though. In the sports business, they now have a large wage to pay that they might have thought they would be clear of. It remains to be seen if it will impact their plans on the pitch.

It is easy to forget that footballers are still human beings, after all. In the early days of the game, players would often return to their club after the summer and find that they had been sold to someone else. Nowadays they wield significantly more power and are not treated like a chairman’s possessions to be bought and sold at a whim. If Roma wanted rid of Dybala, they will have to think again.

In the short-term, at least Daniele De Rossi has a wonderful attacking resource at his disposal that he thought he might have to do without. He confessed recently that he found it hard to imagine his team without their talisman and now he will not have to. What collateral damage there might be – in terms of having to sell other players or find other ways to generate funds – will come out in the wash.

They won’t be too worried among the more passionate sections of the Roma support and he is assured of a hero’s welcome the next time he plays. This is a story that is unusual in the modern era and he will be lauded by supporters for putting passion before pound signs in the summer transfer window. They will cheer, they will applaud and they will no doubt start chanting his name. Just don’t expect the club’s ownership to be joining in any time soon.

@ginkers

The number of overseas owners in Italy’s top division now sits at half of its 20 teams. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at how Serie A has become more attractive to outsiders and what that means for the game.

Once upon a time they were the “Ricchi Scemi”, the rich fools. Businessmen with perhaps more money than sense drove Italian football to the top of the continental tree in a golden age of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Colourful, controversial and voluble they also had something else in common – they were Italian. But with all three newly-promoted sides from Serie B this summer under foreign ownership, the game of Calcio has started to take on a distinctly Stateside drawl. But why has it happened and does it really matter for the state of the game and its fans?

The answer to the first part is, on the surface at least, pretty obvious. Having snapped up sides in other leagues, many of the top teams in Italy remained open to overseas investors and – slowly but surely – they have started to move in on the biggest names. Juventus might stubbornly cling to its historic links but both Milan and Inter are now in the hands of US investors. Roma, too, have been in American hands for some time while Genoa are a more recent acquisition by 777 Partners. As a nation with a huge number of emigrants from the Bel Paese, it is hardly such a surprise.

Official: Oaktree takes control of Inter

Indeed, there is more than a bit of the local boy made good about the likes of Rocco Commisso at Fiorentina, Stephen Pagliuca at Atalanta and the Canadian Joey Saputo at Bologna. What better way to show your success to your long-lost relatives than taking a top team under your wing? Only a handful can afford the luxury, of course.

Another attraction, without a doubt, can be the beauty of the places involved. Who wouldn’t want to fly out to Parma every other weekend for dinner? Or a trip to Venice for some Cicchetti before kick-off? Or a stroll along the banks of Lake Como to digest your post-match pasta? This is not only what can make the place attractive to buyers but it also sells the product to potential supporters worldwide.

So far, so marketable but it is not always without its difficulties. Big international businessmen are usually used to making things happen and making them happen quickly. The collisions between that can-do attitude and the slow, slow and even slower approach of Italian bureaucracy can be spectacular. More than once there have been hands thrown up in the air and threats to walk away.

The positive for the Italian game is that these big-money owners, like the Indonesian Hartono family at Como, should be able to compete financially with other leagues more equally than they have done for some time. Take a look down the divisions and you will see a string of other sides now in the hands of groups from outside Italy. The City Group at Palermo or Alexander Knaster at Pisa have billions of pounds at their disposal.

Drake confirmed as new investor in Venezia

Old-timers, though, might wonder about more intangible matters like the soul of the Italian game. Those old owners might have been eccentric and irascible but they were part of the fabric of the society in which their clubs existed. Romeo Anconetani, Luciano Gaucci and the likes were truly bonkers and often made more headlines than the Pisa and Perugia sides they ran. Will we ever see their likes again? Probably not.

Maybe it doesn’t matter, as long as the proper financial checks are in place and – given Calcio’s past – it would be hard to take any sort of moral high ground. All that fans will care about is whether they have a winning team – not too much about where their owners come from. Only when things are going badly, do you feel, is there much outcry about why they are thousands of miles away when their team is losing on the park.

Nobody seems too fussed about the issue in England, anyway. You have to scroll all the way down to League 2 to find any significant number of home-owned sides in their football set-up. The direction of travel seems a well-worn one.

Indeed, it is surely only a matter of time before the majority of Serie A sides have their finances governed by someone from overseas. If it makes them more competitive in European competition then nobody will be complaining. But Silvio Berlusconi, Gianni Agnelli, Massimo Moratti and the likes have given them quite a lot to live up to.

Even in the hire them and fire them world of Italian football this summer has seen a spectacular number of clubs appoint new managers. Giancarlo Rinaldi examines their chances of success in their recently-acquired roles.

Blame it all on Max Allegri, well sort of. When he threw away his jacket for the final time at Juventus it sparked a series of events that led – in a roundabout way – to four Serie A outfits putting new men in charge. The patron saint of managerial changes – former Venezia and Palermo boss Maurizio Zamparini – must be looking down from presidential heaven with pride.

In truth, Juventus seemed headed for a change of direction anyway before the Tuscan coach helped bring matters to a head. Thiago Motta’s form at Bologna had not escaped anyone’s attention and nor had the stultifyingly dull football that the Bianconeri had been churning out. La Vecchia Signora was in need of a makeover.

Of all the men in Italy taking up a fresh role, the former Inter midfielder surely has one of the most challenging but also the greatest array of weapons at his disposal. He has not been slow to bring in his own players and get rid of some illustrious names he no longer requires. Pre-season results have shown, however, that this revolution will not be completed overnight.

The ex-Italy international has been given the stern task of both overhauling Juve’s attitude while still delivering winning football. If there is anything we know about the club and its supporters it is that a Scudetto challenge is the bare minimum expected. Fail to deliver that, and he could be swiftly updating his LinkedIn profile in pursuit of another position.

His move, of course, left the Bologna hot seat vacant, and they have intriguingly appointed the end of an era at Fiorentina man Vincenzo Italiano. Unable to secure Champions League football with his previous employers, he has been gifted that tantalising prospect with his current ones. Under Motta, the Rossoblu were a joy to watch but with a pretty clearly defined starting XI. Their new manager likes to change his formations as often as he alters his touchline attire. He certainly has a lot to live up to at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

That switch, in turn, saw the Viola move for Raffaele Palladino as they sought to build on the foundations built by his predecessor. For all their lengthy European campaigns and Coppa Italia runs, the men in purple were stubbornly unable to deliver a trophy. The one-time Juve man will have to achieve that or, at the very least, qualify for a better competition than the Conference League in order to be considered a success.

And, finally, in this particular chain of changes, Monza have gone for Alessandro Nesta as their new man. It comes as no surprise given his links to his old Milan boss, Adriano Galliani, but, on his managerial record, represents something of a gamble. Nobody doubts his credentials as a player but his win percentage as a coach has dwindled sharply since he left Miami FC and took on less glamorous jobs at Perugia, Frosinone and Reggiana. He will need all the composure and class he showed on the field to prove himself a hit with an ambitious side.

Elsewhere, there have been plenty of other changes near the top end of last season’s table. Milan fans finally got what they wished for when the days of “Pioli’s On Fire” were finally extinguished. Having turned up their noses at the prospect of Julen Lopetegui, the supporters have ended up with Paulo Fonseca. The Portuguese manager has trophies galore from his time with Shakhtar Donetsk but he faces a more complex proposition with the Rossoneri. A distant second to their city cousins was unacceptable last year and it will be his unenviable job to narrow that gap significantly.

And, perhaps most appetising of all, is the return of Antonio Conte to take over at the helm of Napoli. Last season produced probably the worst title defence ever seen in Serie A history and it will take a recovery of equally seismic proportions to see them compete for the Scudetto again. What is not in doubt, though, is that they have appointed a serial winner who is in charge of a squad which is still very capable of being competitive. Expect some fireworks on the touchline – and in post-match interviews – as he looks to haul the Partenopei back to where they belong.

Another big team in search of scaling greater heights are Lazio who – having tired of Maurizio Sarri last season – have turned, somewhat surprisingly, to Marco Baroni. The Florentine coach performed something of a minor miracle in keeping Verona afloat last term and it has earned him a shot at the top table. It is nice to see him get the opportunity, but expectations are a whole lot higher than at the Stadio Bentegodi.

Even a newly-promoted side has switched from the man who gained them access to Serie A although it was hardly through choice at Venezia. They would gladly have kept hold of Paolo Vanoli but the overtures of Torino were too much for him to resist despite the glorious scenes of celebration in La Serenissima. Their old boss will be charged with making the Granata a little less dull and a lot more successful than they were last season. His replacement, Eusebio Di Francesco, is likely to face another battle to survive like the one he failed to complete – very unfortunately – with Frosinone.

Another man with Venezia connections – Paolo Zanetti – gets the gig at Verona after Baroni’s departure. Last seen in Serie A with a pretty dismal spell at Empoli, he has shown himself to be good at developing young players in the past but is likely to be in another fight to avoid relegation with his new charges. It is not unfamiliar territory to him, and much the same could be said of Davide Nicola – Mr Miracles – who will try to repeat the magic of Claudio Ranieri at Cagliari.

Kosta Runjaic is the only completely new face to Italian football as he moves in from a successful spell with Legia Warsaw to take the helm at Udinese. It is a typically bold move by the side from the Friuli that will be a fascinating watch. They will hope to be more comfortably mid-table under his stewardship.

Last, and probably least, is Empoli’s appointment of Roberto D’Aversa, who finished his time at Lecce with the ignominy of head-butting Verona player Thomas Henry in a heated clash. He has already said that he wishes to start a fresh chapter in his coaching career and hopes he won’t be remembered for the unsavoury end to his last job. He may have his work cut out, though, as the Tuscan side embarks on a record-breaking fourth consecutive Serie A campaign. Don’t bet on their boss being there to see the whole thing through.

After a slow transfer window, Fiorentina struck late with the big name goalkeeper their supporters have craved for years in David De Gea. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at the impact the former Manchester United man could make in Serie A.

Even the ever-contrary Fiorentina fans have struggled to complain about this one. After years of grumbling about their goalkeepers, they at last have a name that everyone in the football world recognises. Still only 33 years old, there could be plenty to come from David De Gea.

No disrespect to Pietro Terracciano, but the Spaniard is on a different level to his Italian counterpart. A regular trophy winner with hundreds of Premier League appearances to his name, the man from Madrid has added some much-need stardust to the Viola’s transfer window. Rocco Commisso should be safe from accusations of a lack of ambition for at least a couple of days.

There’s an argument that the Tuscan club have not had anyone of his stature since Sebastien Frey departed more than a decade ago. Artur Boruc was decent, for sure, but he was followed by young prospects who always looked likely to move on for one reason or another in the shape of Norberto Neto, Alban Lafont and Bartlomiej Dragowski. They were also prone to the mistakes that players early in their career will always make. De Gea has signed for a season but they will hope he proves successful enough to take up the option of a second one at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

De Gea back in business

A hot prospect at Atletico Madrid as a teenager and European champion with Spain Under-21s, De Gea stuttered a bit when he was signed by Manchester United. If there were doubts, though, they didn’t last too long as he went on to become one of the Old Trafford side’s top 10 appearance makers. That kind of pedigree is something that Fiorentina and new boss Raffaele Palladino will have been crying out for.

His arrival looks set to see Terracciano depart and, despite his lowly reputation, the club owes a debt of gratitude to the man they dubbed San Pietro. He was central to their progress in the Europa Conference League over the past couple of seasons with some superb saves. He leaves De Gea in a straight fight for the starter’s role with the erratic and colourful Dane Oliver Christensen. There is not much doubt over who will be first choice.

There are question marks, of course, and the biggest one has to be his year or so of inactivity. Despite overtures from the Middle East, he has gone without competitive football for a prolonged spell and it will be fundamental that he readjusts quickly. Fiorentina need him back to his best levels as quickly as possible.

Nonetheless, it feels like the club has traded in its humble three-wheeled Ape van and been given the keys for a Lamborghini. If it works out, it could be one of the smartest acquisitions they have made in recent years. Another new era is under way and the big Spaniard could be an important figure in all of that. If he can help his new employers lift a trophy – something he knows a thing or two about – that would be the icing on the cake.

Giancarlo Rinaldi is the author of a number of books on Italian football. You can follow him on X @ginkers and listen to him on the podcast Rigore!.

They went with little expectation of victory but few could have suspected how badly Italy would slump out of contention in Germany. Giancarlo Rinaldi gives his marks to Luciano Spalletti’s underperforming troops – and the coach himself.

At the very least it might have been a building block towards the next World Cup. Instead, the Azzurri came back from their European adventures with very little to be happy about. It looks like another rebuilding project will have to begin after four largely underwhelming displays this summer.

Gigio Donnarumma 8/10 – If there was any player to boost his reputation it was probably the big PSG goalkeeper. After many calling for him to be replaced he confirmed himself as one of his country’s few world class performers. Without him, their campaign might have been even worse. Guglielmo Vicario will have to wait.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo 3.5/10 – It was a painful competition for the Napoli man who has been at the centre of transfer speculation and looks to have lost his way. From one of the most solid and dependable right-backs in the game, he looked shell-shocked after being terrorised by Nico Williams. His days in the blue of his country might be approaching an end.

Federico Di Marco 4.5/10 – Off the back of a storming season with Inter, a lot more was expected of the flying wing-back. He threw away the first goal Italy conceded in the tournament and never really recovered his form. A shadow of the man who shone in both Serie A and Champions League.

Riccardo Calafiori 7/10 – Despite an own goal against Spain this was a coming of age event for the Bologna defender. He stepped up for his country as if he had played there forever and formed a fine pairing with Alessandro Bastoni. His absence in the vital knockout match with Switzerland was sorely felt.

Alessandro Bastoni 6.5/10 – His goal kick-started the comeback against Albania and he confirmed his qualities that should see him star for La Nazionale for many years to come. He looked sluggish in the final game – as did the whole team – but had been battling illness in order to even play.

Jorginho 5/10 – He gave Italy order and quality in their opening match but quickly got submerged as the pace of the clashes increased. Overrun against Spain and not very effective against Croatia, he sat out the final match entirely which seemed to indicate Spalletti will look elsewhere in future.

Nicolò Barella 6/10 – A lovely strike against Albania saves his blushes but he was another Inter star to look much poorer for his country. He battled through injury concerns to play and that may have had an effect as he was a shadow of himself against Switzerland. Still a player Italy should count on, though.

Davide Frattesi 5/10 – He came into the tournament as the most consistent goalscoring threat of the Spalletti era but his manager struggled to find the position to get the most out of him. It resulted in him playing a dwindling role where he struggled to affect the outcome of any match.

Lorenzo Pellegrini 5/10 – Given the number 10 shirt it was a chance for the Roma man to shine which he largely spurned. Some nice touches but he did not look anywhere near as influential as he should have been. Maybe a useful substitute going forward but made no case to be a regular starter.

Federico Chiesa 5/10 – A season of struggles with Juventus following serious injury continued for one of the stars of Euro 2020. There was the odd flash of what he can do but, like Frattesi, his coach struggled to find his best position. The hope is he can return to top form quickly.

Gianluca Scamacca 4/10 – He was the great goalscoring hope after some stunning strikes with Atalanta but he left all his form in Bergamo. Hesitant, uncertain and wild with the few finishing chances he had, this was a tournament to forget. The search for a striker continues.

Andrea Cambiaso 5/10 – A bit-part player, he avoided the worst condemnation by appearing pretty rarely. However, even when he did it was rarely influential and he will need to step up if he hopes to become the stalwart for his country that many would like him to become.

Bryan Cristante 4.5/10 – Another whose stock has fallen since the last Euros and he brought little to this competition. A start in the ill-fated Switzerland clash was largely ineffective and there must be better, younger options available to employ in future.

Mateo Retegui 5.5/10 – He showed the odd spark as understudy to Scamacca but it was not enough to suggest he was the answer to Italy’s goalscoring woes. Another who might be alright as a squad player but did not look like you would want him to be your mainstay.

Matteo Darmian 5/10 – He is versatile but it just meant he was not very impressive in a range of positions. Another Inter player who did not live up to his league form in the chances he got. Time to move on if Italy hope to move forward.

Michael Folorunsho No Vote – Impossible to judge on his few minutes against Albania late in the day. He deserved his call-up after a cracking campaign with Verona but we will need to see more of him to judge if this was a one-off competition for him.

Mattia Zaccagni 6.5/10 – He didn’t get much game time but he did deliver the most special moment of the Euros for Italy with his Alex Del Piero impersonation against Croatia. He showed a bit more zest than others against Switzerland too so will merit closer inspection in future.

Giacomo Raspadori 5/10 – Hard to judge on not a lot of football but another potential scoring hero who failed to fire. Only really saw significant game time against Croatia but he did little to suggest that he would have made a big difference had he started more matches.

Nicolò Fagioli 5/10 – It was a risk to select him and one which surely failed to pay off. No doubt he can be one for the future but asked to show his qualities against Switzerland he singularly failed to do so. Hopefully there are brighter times ahead as he gets back to full match sharpness.

Gianluca Mancini 4/10 – Kept on the sidelines until the knockout stages he only highlighted how badly Calafiori was missed. In a poor team performance he was one of the worst culprits as he constantly seemed to misjudge his interventions. Not one to depend upon, at least on this evidence.

Stephan El Shaarawy 4/10 – A surprise starter against Switzerland, he was hooked at half-time after failing to make an impact. The only real shock was that not more of the team was substituted along with him. His days as a great prospect seem long, long ago.

Luciano Spalletti 4/10 – It was not a great start for the new Italy boss at his first major competition. His only excuse can really be that he is still finding his feet. He now needs to learn pretty fast on the job or the World Cup in two years time could be a disaster or missed entirely.

Did not play, and probably glad of it, were Guglielmo Vicario, Alex Meret, Alessandro Buongiorno, Raoul Bellanova and Federico Gatti.

Only three years have passed since an epic penalty shootout saw Roberto Mancini’s men lift their country’s second continental crown. But, as Giancarlo Rinaldi reports, much has changed as they look to achieve an unlikely repeat of that triumph.

Italy’s Euro dreams look a long shot

The European Nations title is a devilishly difficult honour to defend. In more than 60 years of existence it has only ever been retained once – and that was by a Spanish side which sandwiched a World Cup triumph in between. The odds, therefore, are stacked against the Azzurri reprising their Wembley heroics in Germany this summer.

If Italy went into Euro 2020 in a run of form that was one of the finest international football had ever seen, the same cannot be said this time around. Some of their star performers have either retired or sought refuge in the United States or, indeed, the Middle East – where their inspirational coach has also found a home. Having missed out entirely on playing in the World Cup, their preparations have been about as smooth as a mountain track across the Appenines.

A look at the injury list makes for painful reading too. Destiny Udogie, Giorgio Scalvini, Nicolò Zaniolo and Francesco Acerbi have all been sidelined in the build-up to the tournament. None of them guaranteed starters, perhaps, but all of them could have added depth to the squad of 26 which was ultimately selected by Luciano Spalletti. Examining that list was hardly the stuff to inspire enormous confidence.

On the pitch, too, it has been a tricky test drive for the new man in charge with more than a few bumps and bashes along the way. The latest friendlies underlined the difficulty in finding a prolific goalscorer which, in fairness, he inherited from his predecessor. They also showed a proclivity for sloppy defensive errors which would surely have cost them dear in the cut and thrust of proper competition and against more illustrious opponents.

That is not to say that they should abandon all hope before entering the gates of Euro 2024. There are some bright spots, if you care to pick them out, which should save Azzurri fans from total desolation. If they can build upon them then, just maybe, they can hit the kind of form which could take them deep into the tournament.

The format, after all, allows for some pretty poor early showings. If ever a nation made sneaking through as a best third-placed side a trademark it was probably Italy and even a sluggish start might not be fatal. Make it to the last 16, of course, and few would relish facing the reigning champions as lucky losers.

This team, lest we forget, still has a good slice of the side that did win the title in 2021. Although some stars have departed, they can still count on Gigio Donnarumma, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Nicolò Barella, Jorginho – just keep him away from the penalty spot – and Federico Chiesa, who all started that final. Bryan Cristante, Alessandro Bastoni, Giacomo Raspadori and Alex Meret are also survivors from that squad. It is not a bad backbone to take into the fight.

There are also some bright new lights worth pinning a few hopes on as well. While far from as bold as Mancini in giving youth a chance, Spalletti still has some fresher faces who will hope to make their mark on the international stage. Federico Dimarco has had an outstanding season with Inter and could well be the Leonardo Spinazzola of this edition. Riccardo Calafiori looked impeccably composed and elegant in the friendly clash with Bosnia – one small mistake aside. And the galloping Raoul Bellanova has potential to cause opposing full-backs a few headaches should he get his chance. Andrea Cambiaso offers the kind of adaptability that every manager loves.

The roll of the dice – apologies for a possibly insensitive pun – on Nicolò Fagioli is perhaps the most intriguing inclusion of all. Spalletti, perhaps, was feeling superstitious and cast his mind back to 1982 when another player returning from a ban – Paolo Rossi – did none too shabbily at a major tournament. If omens count for anything, that is not a bad one to have.

Inter’s Davide Frattesi confirmed in the last friendly before the competition that he is something of a lucky mascot for the new regime as well. He has a happy knack of popping up with a goal while playing behind a striker in the 3-4-2-1 formation that seems to be Italy’s preferred option for now. If he hasn’t played his way into the starting XI against Albania then many will be asking what more he could possibly have done.

And we wait, anxiously, for Gianluca Scamacca to deliver for his country what he did for Atalanta this season. He has all the qualities to terrorise defences and finally give the Azzurri the reference point in attack they have been missing for some time. If he could click into gear over the next month then there would be every chance of seeing echoes of Totò Schillaci in his eyes as he celebrated taking his country to the later stages of a tournament. Every nation will have the same hope that their hitman can find his mojo in the state of the art stadiums of Germany.

In tactics, too, there is cause for some national pride. Alongside Spalletti there will be no fewer than four of his countrymen in charge of teams at the Euros which surely attests to Italian expertise on the coaching front. He will hope to surpass Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey, Domenico Tedesco’s Belgium, Marco Rossi’s Hungary and Francesco Calzona’s Slovakia and show that he is top of that particular class. In doing so, he might well get close to lifting the trophy.

Nonetheless, the evidence before our eyes suggests that ultimate victory remains a tall order. The new Italy boss is not long in the job and this feels like a transitional squad rather than one to actually go all the way. The main thing would be to do themselves credit and show some progress has been made after the embarrassment of missing a World Cup. If they can do that – and produce some decent football along the way – most Azzurri fans would look forward to events in  the USA, Canada and Mexico in a couple of years with a little more cheer in their hearts.

Giancarlo Rinaldi is the author of a number of books on Italian football. You can follow him on X @ginkers and listen to him on the podcast Rigore!.

Their purple shirts remain well-known across the continent, but it is more than half a century since they lifted the old Cup Winners’ Cup. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at Fiorentina’s painful record in European finals down the years.

In the early days of European football, Fiorentina must have thought they had cracked it. In the space of five glorious years straddling the 1950s and 1960s they made no fewer than three finals. It has taken them more than 60 years to reach another three.

With more than 30 participations in continental competition – sixth in the all-time Italian standings behind Juve, Inter, Milan, Roma and Napoli – it gives you an idea of the scale of the heartache the Viola have suffered. Their only triumph remains that Cup Winners’ Cup crown more than six decades ago.

Ahead of Wednesday’s Conference League Final against Olympiacos, here is a snapshot of Tuscany’s finest and their agonising record in their five previous European finals.

Real Madrid 2-0 Fiorentina (European Cup 1956/57)

In the formative years of the competition, Los Blancos were already its dominant force, but the Serie A side’s task was made all the more difficult by playing the game at the Santiago Bernabeu in front of a reported 124,000 crowd. Despite playing with “courage and honour” – according to La Stampa – Giuliano Sarti could only hold out for so long in goal. He was eventually beaten by an Alfredo Di Stefano penalty, with more than a suspicion of offside in the build-up, midway through the second half. Francisco Gento added another as the Spanish giants continued their impressive run.

Fiorentina 4-1 Rangers on agg (Cup Winners’ Cup 1960/61)

The Lions of Ibrox saw off their Scottish rivals in some style with wins both at home and away in what remains their only major European trophy. Luigi Milan was the protagonist of the first leg in Glasgow with a deadly double, making the return to Florence something of a formality as Kurt Hamrin ran riot. Milan struck again early in Italy to put the outcome beyond doubt before Alex Scott got a consolation for the Scottish side. It was the outstanding Hamrin – who passed away earlier this year – who fittingly delivered the final goal to lift the trophy. Little did fans suspect they would never see another.

Fiorentina 0-3 Atletico Madrid (Cup Winners’ Cup 1961/62)

A brave defence of their title would end up in heartache against a club from the Spanish capital once more for the Viola. This time around it would take a replay to deny them the retention of their crown, having drawn 1-1 with Atletico in front of fewer than 30,000 fans at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Hamrin was once again the scorer for the Tuscans after future Serie A star Joaquín Peiró had given the Colchoneros the lead. Incredibly, for nowadays anyway, the replay would take place nearly four months later in Stuttgart. While Atletico were largely unchanged, the Viola had altered nearly half their team, and it showed as the Spaniards strolled to a 3-0 triumph.

Fiorentina 1-3 Juventus (UEFA Cup 1989/90)

Bad enough to lose a final, but worst of all to lose it to your most bitter rivals. In a quick fire exchange in the first leg in Turin, Roberto Galia gave the Bianconeri the lead before Renato Buso equalised with a flying header. But it was Gigi Casiraghi’s goal near the hour mark which most irked the men in purple, as there was a pretty clear shove in the back in its build-up. A long-range Gigi De Agostini effort – badly judged by keeper Marco Landucci – left them with a mountain to climb. It might have been surmountable in their own ground, but they had to play the return match in Avellino due to pre-World Cup work in Florence, and their alternate option in Perugia denied due to fan misbehaviour in the semi-final. The choice of venue, seen by Viola fans as heartland of Juve support, only made it all the more painful.

Fiorentina 1-2 West Ham (Conference League 2022/23)

The latest agonising chapter was just last year, as Vincenzo Italiano’s men gained the unwanted tag of becoming the first side to lose a final in all four major European competitions. Having battled through round after round, they fell behind to a Said Benrahma penalty, but hit back through Jack Bonaventura. The stats would show that the Serie A side had more possession and more shots as they pressed for a winner, but they were caught by a sucker punch late in the day from Jarrod Bowen. The bitter end to the season was only compounded by Fiorentina losing the Coppa Italia final to Inter in the same campaign.

There was joy and disappointment, success and failure, skill and controversy in another captivating Serie A season. Giancarlo Rinaldi gives his grades to the 20 participants in this year’s colourful Campionato.

Not all teams are created equal. Expectations at football’s giants mean that sometimes a finish near the top end of the table can still constitute underachievement. And at the same time, dodging the drop on the final day could represent a glorious triumph for those with more modest resources. Context, as always, is king.

It all makes it devilishly tricky to grade a league campaign with so many different shades of display over 38 matches. A change of coach, a January transfer or an injury to a key player can all have deep transformative effects on a football team. Only a fool would try to make sense of that deeply complex issue and convert it into marks out of 10. So, here we go then. Please remember, this is for their Serie A displays alone.

INTER – 9/10 – It probably could have been a perfect 10 if it wasn’t for their version of kryptonite – Sassuolo. Otherwise, the Nerazzurri were the uncontested best in Italy and finished streets ahead of their chasers. They had, far and away, the best squad and proved it with devastating effect.

MILAN – 7/10 – It was painful to watch their city cousins crush everything in their path and Stefano Pioli bore the brunt of supporters’ anger. Still, to more impartial eyes, he did a respectable job with the resources at his disposal. Time will tell if a new occupant can deliver any more with the players the Rossoneri possess.

JUVENTUS – 5/10 – When winning is the only thing, a top-four finish simply doesn’t cut it. The Bianconeri briefly flirted with a title challenge but their dreadful 1-0 win football eventually caught up with them. The Coppa Italia was consolation but that doesn’t boost their mark for a miserable Serie A battle.

ATALANTA – 8/10 – A sluggish start suggested to some – myself included – that Gian Piero Gasperini might have lost his magic but he made a mockery of that assessment. Slowly but surely he reinvented another great side and blasted his way back into the Champions League. Their European form would send the mark even higher into the stratosphere and Atalanta can still finish third if they win their game in hand against Fiorentina on Sunday.

BOLOGNA, WE DID IT. #UCL #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/OCzf1RD2E4

— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en) May 12, 2024

BOLOGNA – 9/10 – To return to Europe would have been achievement enough but to make the Champions League could be revolutionary for the Rossoblu. They played cracking football and developed some of the league’s most envied talents in the process. Now they will hope to make sure the loss of Thiago Motta is not the start of a wider exodus.

ROMA – 6.5/10 – A real season of two halves from the surly, grouchy, red card heavy José Mourinho days to the more jovial, free-flowing form under Daniele De Rossi. A top six spot was enough to give them Europe of some flavour but they will hope to press on and finish higher in the next campaign.

LAZIO – 5.5/10 – Another club who changed coaches through the season to some effect but it couldn’t completely erase feelings of disappointment. Second place in 2022/23 should have been something to build on but instead their football went backwards and it looks like any advantage over their city rivals has been spurned.

FIORENTINA – 6/10 – The last dance for the Vincenzo Italiano era was an inconsistent one which delivered much more in cup competitions than it did in the league. They stumbled to another European finish, which owed a bit to their own efforts on the continent, but the pursuit of a consistent scorer hampered them throughout.

TORINO – 6/10 – They might yet end up with European football which would be a reward for some progress – if not spectacularly so. A tight defence helped to boost them up the table but an average of less than a goal per game did not make them a side many neutrals would tune in to see.

NAPOLI – 4/10 – The reigning champions delivered probably the worst defence of a Scudetto crown in history. Despite the loss of their coach they should have managed much more but it felt like a lengthy hangover after a glorious celebration. It started badly under Rudi Garcia and never improved. Fan delight, though, may still take years to subside.

pic.twitter.com/miLW6T5vt1

— Genoa CFC (@GenoaCFC) May 24, 2024

GENOA – 7/10 – Some bad early results had many concerned about the Grifone’s fate but Alberto Gilardino steadied the ship to achieve a more than comfortable survival. With Samp stuck at least another year in Serie B, it gives them bragging rights in the city for some time. And all done while playing some more than respectable football.

MONZA – 6.5/10 – To confirm last season’s revelation was impressive enough but still there must be some regret that they failed to push on. On their day they were more than capable of giving anyone a game but a little more work is needed to make another leap forward. Decent, but felt like it could have been even better.

VERONA – 7.5/10 – Not everyone could lose half their team in January and still build Serie A survival out of it but Marco Baroni did. Hats off to the Florentine coach and his players for battling with such spirit and resolve to defy the odds. Can they do it again next season? Never say never.

LECCE – 6.5/10 – Survival was always the objective and it was managed with the backing of a never anything less than vociferous support. Still, they feel a bit caught in a halfway house where they could aspire to a little bit more than just keeping their heads above water. Credit for staying up but with a nagging thought that there might have been more possible.

CAGLIARI – 7/10 – A sentimental vote for Claudio Ranieri’s last campaign which delivered another season in Serie A just as he did in the islands so many years ago. There were so many epic moments that his substitutes turned a game that you could hardly fail to have been entertained. Hail Claudio indeed.

Tu che chiamale se vuoi… EMOZIONI pic.twitter.com/PKLJCjIyek

— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 22, 2024

UDINESE – 5.5/10 – Another club of constant sliding doors where the lack of consistent personnel from season to season took its toll. They chopped and changed their coaches too in a bid to find the form that could banish thoughts of Serie B. On the final day, Fabio Cannavaro oversaw the win that got them home but it was far from easy.

EMPOLI –  6.5/10 – They were always under pressure in Tuscany after a dreadful start to the campaign but they never lost faith. They binned Paolo Zanetti quickly, turned to Aurelio Andreazzoli before eventually going for Mr Miracles – Davide Nicola. He delivered with an epic late win over Roma on the last day to keep them up.

FROSINONE 6/10 – There was a brief spell at the start of the season when they threatened to outshine regional rivals Roma and Lazio but it soon settled into a tougher fight. Still, they kept Eusebio Di Francesco and it produced some decent football at times. It ended, though, in the cruellest heartache in the season’s dying embers.

SASSUOLO – 4/10 – The victories over Inter aside this was largely a depressing campaign as all the player sales seemed to take their toll. A serious injury to Mimmo Berardi was the lid on the relegation coffin after more than a decade. Now the hard work begins to ensure they bounce back quickly.

SALERNITANA – 3/10 – A chaotic summer quickly led to a desperate year where they seemed destined for Serie B almost from the outset. Without the goals of Boulaye Dia they looked like a Second Division side with a scattergun approach to signings. A big shake-up will be needed to get back to the top flight.

Having steered his beloved Cagliari to safety, the Tinkerman has decided to put away his tactics chart at a club level and Giancarlo Rinaldi reflects on the beautiful career of one of Italy’s finest coaches.

Just a few days after Max Allegri’s touchline histrionics and semi-striptease perhaps this was the perfect antidote. Claudio Ranieri saw off Sassuolo in a vital relegation clash before deciding to sign off from a managerial life which saw many more sardonic smiles than it did temper tantrums. He had burst the myth that nice guys always finish second a long time ago but keeping the Sardinian side in Serie A was a suitably stylish way to say goodbye.

That you don’t have to have been a great player to make a fine coach is a well-known fact and the butcher’s son from Rome was just another case in point. After failing to make the grade with his hometown club, he left the Giallorossi to enjoy spells as a defender with Catanzaro, Catania and Palermo. All decent clubs, no doubt, but not the kind of places that get on the front page of La Gazzetta dello Sport too often.

His route into management, then, was always likely to be the old-fashioned one without his path being eased by a lofty playing reputation. Vigor Lamezia and Puteolana are the kind of places where you serve your apprenticeship before a bigger club comes calling. Young Ranieri – just in his mid-30s when he started coaching – would soon establish himself as a savvy operator.

Tu che chiamale se vuoi… EMOZIONI pic.twitter.com/PKLJCjIyek

— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 22, 2024

It was the club he has just kept in Serie A – Cagliari – which first saw something it liked in the always dapper dresser and gave him his shot at the big time. He won the struggling island outfit back-to-back promotions from Serie C1 to Serie A and then secured their salvation in the top flight – just as he did this week. It was enough to see an even bigger fish snap him up.

A move to Napoli never quite delivered what both parties had hoped for, but when he switched to Fiorentina, he started to show that he could deliver silverware alongside attractive football. A Coppa Italia and an Italian Super Cup were nice recognitions of his abilities although, for some, there were still question marks about whether he had the ruthless streak necessary to become a serial winner.

It would dog him for much of his managerial life. More trophies followed in Spain with Valencia but his time with Chelsea in England would long be seen as symptomatic of his shortcomings. It was there that he became dubbed the Tinkerman for his regular changes of personnel. This was still a time – hard to think of it as it is – when foreign coaches were regarded with some distrust and occasional ridicule.

Ranieri took it all in good part and rarely rose to the bait as he set off trundling across Europe after leaving the Blues. After returning to Valencia he came back to Italy to manage a string of big clubs – Parma, Juventus, Roma and Inter – but it felt like maybe his moment had passed. The game was moving on and perhaps there was no more room for Claudio. Luckily for him – and for the Foxes – they thought differently in Leicester.

His name will be forever associated with one of European football’s most improbable league triumphs in recent years when he took his unfancied group of players to the pinnacle of the Premier League. He was the perfect man for the job as he constantly deflected the pressure away from his players and let them concentrate on delivering an achievement which will never be forgotten. It would be impossible to quantify just how many league titles with a giant his solitary crown with such a relatively small side was worth.

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— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 21, 2024

That love story ended and he went on his travels again – with mixed results – before the call of Sardinia drew him back again. He delivered another epic promotion and then, this season, salvation with all his customary calmness and aplomb. His feathers may get ruffled from time to time, but it never seems to take him long to smooth them down.

In the book, Hail Claudio!, Gabriele Marcotti describes the “passion without volume, enthusiasm without bluster, cosiness without overbearance, kindness without familiarity” which were the hallmarks of his approach. He has added an exit with impeccable timing to that list of qualities. There are not that many managers who genuinely felt like a pleasure to watch in post-match interviews, but Ranieri was certainly one.

It would take a hard heart not to feel affection for one of the elder statesmen of the game as he heads towards the last league game of his career. He won’t coach another club after Cagliari but left the door open for a national team. Fans across the football globe will surely wish the man well as he turns his back on the sport he gave so many special moments for the final time.

They could hardly be at more different stages of their managerial careers but they share the same hunger for silverware. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at what it would mean for the coaches of Atalanta, Roma and Fiorentina to lift a trophy this season.

Don Carlo Ancelotti might well look on and smile. Perhaps he can remember what it was like when he too was a tactician without any titles to his name. Now he sits at the very top of the European trophy tree but three of his countrymen would kill to take a first major honour on the bench for their Serie A clubs this year.

Atalanta, Roma and Fiorentina have played a huge part in ensuring Italy will have five representatives in the Champions League next season so it would be fitting if they could earn a trophy to crown their efforts. Last term was a heartbreaking one when the world of Calcio went three for three in continental cup final disappointments. They stand on the brink of a potential double once more.

Their bosses, of course, are of very differing ages and experience levels. Nonetheless, for each one of them it would be a significant boost to their CV to win something that matters as a manager. Any success would be a special moment for the men involved.

Gian Piero Gasperini, at the tender age of 66, is finally getting the European kudos his skills deserve. Isn’t it amazing what a resounding victory over an English Premier League side can get you? With a Coppa Italia final against Juventus in the bag and a Europa League battle with Marseille in store, he would love to get his hands on a trophy as he closes in on 400 games in charge at Atalanta with the best part of a decade at the helm. To earn such an honour in Bergamo would truly be a stratospheric achievement. La Dea – The Goddess – would genuinely be in heaven.

It hasn’t always been easy, of course, and at the start of this season there were many – myself included – who doubted his ability to reinvent his team once more. Instead, he has rolled up his sleeves and got on with the job of creating yet another unit which has been capable of going on a great run both at home and abroad. On their day, the Bergamaschi are capable of beating anyone.

At the other end of the coaching spectrum, of course, is his Europa League rival Daniele De Rossi. A trophy-laden playing career does not guarantee success as he found out to his cost during a brief spell in charge of Spal in Serie B. But his work to transform Roma from the grumpy, grouchy Giallorossi we witnessed under Jose Mourinho to a much more spectator-friendly outfit has been impressive. He has, of course, the little matter of a seemingly unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen side to defeat to even make it to the final in Dublin.

Still, it would be something pretty magical if he could take his hometown club to glory. Europe has often reserved more heartache than happiness for the capital side and it would be brilliant for him to take another open-top bus round the Eternal City. He is already a legend but it would cement that status still further.

Somewhere in between the two, in managerial experience terms, is Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Italiano – now apparently approaching the end of his three-year cycle with the Viola. Considered by many to be an up-and-coming coach, it would surely boost his credentials to actually win something. Last year, of course, his team made two finals and lost them both.

This time around they have blown the Coppa Italia a little earlier – to Gasperini’s men – and so will have to go all in on the Conference League. They face a Club Brugge side in impressive form but they know it is the only way they can send their coach off in style. Otherwise, it will always be a story of what might have been for his time in Tuscany.

Trophies aren’t everything, of course, and no doubt all three men will have another crack at a title or two in the years to come. Nonetheless, having come this far it would be a shame for them not to have something to show for all their great efforts. If nothing else, it would let them sit down at the dinner table with Don Carlo without feeling quite the same inferiority complex.

The boys from Bergamo were rightly praised for their astonishing and well-deserved win at Anfield last week. But, as Giancarlo Rinaldi warns, history suggests the Serie A side should take nothing for granted.

Momentum is as precious as gold dust in football. It is a glorious feeling when the tide is in your favour – as Atalanta found when they blew away Liverpool in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final. However, Italian teams have some history of sinking horribly when the wind changes direction. Here are a few occasions when that sickening feeling struck and success slipped away like that last elusive pea dancing around your plate in a dish of risi e bisi. Gianluca Scamacca and company will hope to avoid hitting the wall in such spectacular fashion.

Napoli v Chelsea (Champions League 2011-12) It was a last-16 tie which started badly in Naples for Walter Mazzarri’s side but, inspired by Ezequiel Lavezzi, they emerged in a “position of strength” with a 3-1 home triumph. Juan Mata had given the visitors the lead but a double from the Argentinian either side of an Edinson Cavani strike put the Partenopei in a commanding place. Perhaps goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis had a premonition of what was to come when he told reporters: “It is a good result but we are not fully happy because we could have added a fourth.” Didier Drogba started the comeback at Stamford Bridge before John Terry levelled things on aggregate. A Gokan Inler goal gave the Italians the upper hand once more until Frank Lampard took the tie to extra time. Branislav Ivanovic then scored for the Blues to deliver what had looked an unlikely triumph for Roberto Di Matteo’s men en route to the trophy. “We go out with our heads held high,” insisted Paolo Cannavaro.

Inter v Real Madrid (UEFA Cup 1984-85) The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza was packed to the rafters for a semi-final first leg between two of the continent’s elite sides. Alessandro Altobelli was at the heart of everything as he was fouled to win a penalty which was calmly slotted away by Liam Brady before tucking away a goal himself from a Karl-Heinz Rumenigge assist. Ilario Castagner’s side looked in a strong position with a 2-0 triumph. Santillana kick-started this Remontada as he struck twice to level the tie. The Nerazzurri’s hero in Milan, Altobelli, suffered heartache this time as Uli Stielike made a goal-line clearance from his shot which – due to the away goals rule – would surely have seen the Nerazzurri progress. Instead, Michel delivered the killer blow past a despairing Walter Zenga dive and the disaster was complete. And if you want proof that lightning can strike twice – Inter blew a 3-1 lead at the same stage of the same competition against the same opponents the following year.

Juventus v Fulham (Europa League 2009-10) It should have been no-contest as La Vecchia Signora strolled to a home 3-1 triumph over the unfancied Londoners in the last 16. Nicola Legrottaglie, Jonathan Zebina and Hasan Salihamidzic struck for the Bianconeri in Turin while a heavily deflected Dickson Etuhu shot gave the English side a slim hope. At Craven Cottage, however, it was a different story as Alberto Zaccheroni’s men capitulated in spectacular fashion. An early goal for David Trezeguet should have made qualification a formality but, instead, Roy Hodgson’s team roared back. Bobby Zamora levelled the game before Fabio Cannavaro saw red and the game began to turn sour for the Serie A giants. Two Zoltan Gera goals made it 4-4 on aggregate and the stage was set for a Clint Dempsey chip to humble the mighty Juve.

Milan v Deportivo La Coruna (Champions League 2003-04) A fine Milan vintage thought the job was done in this quarter-final encounter as a Kaka double and goals from Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko gave them a seemingly unassailable 4-1 advantage at the San Siro. The reigning European champions possibly thought the job was done but things would fall apart for the Rossoneri after Walter Pandiani struck an early goal to shake their resolve. Juan Carlos Valeron and Albert Luque ensured the tie was – incredibly – level before the half-time whistle blew in Spain. Club legend Fran would seal the deal in the second half in a clash that became a byword for bottling a big lead in Europe.

Milan v Liverpool (Champions League 2004-05) Not a two-legged tie but just a year later and Milan were busy squandering another three-goal advantage – this time in a single game. A clash which will go down in legend was completely dominated by Carlo Ancelotti’s players in the first half as Paolo Maldini opened the scoring before Hernan Crespo struck twice. They appeared to be out of sight and could have had even more of an advantage as their fans were busy planning their full-time celebrations and lifting the trophy. Something snapped, though, in this brittle Rossoneri setup and Steven Gerrard planted the seeds of doubt by pulling one back. Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso made the miracle of Istanbul a real possibility and heroics from Jerzy Dudek in the penalty shootout completed the job. Revenge a couple of years later in Athens would only slightly dull the pain.

Luciano Spalletti is taking his Italy team across the Atlantic in search of answers for its future. Giancarlo Rinaldi argues he should make maximum use of his new faces in order to boost his chances at Euro 2024 and beyond.

As warm-up locations for the European Nations go, it is not the most obvious choice. In the middle of a gruelling season, it is not easy to understand why the Azzurri are upping sticks to head to America to face Venezuela and Ecuador. However, there could still be valuable lessons to be learned – if they are willing to take the risks required.

It is worth remembering that Luciano Spalletti is just half a dozen games into his Italy reign and this will be his first opportunity to see his players in anything other than a pressure-cooker atmosphere. We last saw his troops in action in the sigh-of-relief draw which got them past Ukraine and on to Germany this summer. The back-to-back friendlies will finally give him a chance to remove the sticking plaster and start to carry out some more major surgery.

That is why it feels most logical for him to use the games against sides ranked 31st and 52nd in the world to throw caution to the wind and try out some fresher faces. We already know what Gigio Donnarumma, Matteo Darmian and Jorginho can offer, it is time to find out what less experienced names can deliver. It’s a sink or swim world in international football and this is a decent chance to discover who has what it takes to float.

The new Italy boss has remained pretty loyal to his most-picked players, in truth. Of his 10 ever-present call-ups for his six games in charge thus far, only Fiorentina’s Christian Biraghi and Roma’s Bryan Cristante have been left out. The rest – including the likes of Nicolò Barella, Federico Dimarco and Giovanni Di Lorenzo – will be on the plane. But around that backbone, he has to roll the dice when he gets Stateside.

Three completely new faces make for the most intriguing inclusions. Raoul Bellanova has been in absolutely rampaging form at full-back for Torino and more than merits his spot in the squad. It completes a journey with the national team that started with the Under 15s and has seen him represent his country nearly 90 times on his trip to the top team. Hopefully that can help him with a smooth transition.

He is joined by the one-time Tower of Pisa, Lorenzo Lucca, who offers Spalletti a different option up front. The Udinese striker – once of Ajax – gives him a target for others to play off which he has not always been able to utilise. Completing the new boy trio is Michael Folorunsho who is on a one-man mission to keep Verona afloat. For a national team in need of an infusion of enthusiasm, they could prove just the tonic.

Much of the rest of his squad is on the inexperienced side as well. Giorgio Scalvini, Riccardo Orsolini, Marco Carnesecchi, Guglielmo Vicario, Alex Meret, Destiny Udogie, Andrea Cambiaso, Alessandro Buongiorno, Mateo Retegui and Mattia Zaccagni all have less than 10 caps to their names. But it is precisely for that reason that they must get game time in order to assess their ability to represent their country.

If there’s another theme to Spalletti’s selections, it is probably the willingness to wipe the slate clean for players who had fallen out of favour with Roberto Mancini. Lazio’s Zaccagni is one such player but it has been a similar story for Manuel Locatelli of Juventus and the eternal promise Nicolò Zaniolo of Aston Villa. It is up to them to seize this opportunity.

Preparations were not helped by Francesco Acerbi getting caught up in a racism row which resulted in Gianluca Mancini being called up to take his place. However, that is exactly the kind of stramash which is often the unwanted bread and butter of being Italy’s boss. It is how you handle some of these off-the-pitch distractions which is sometimes just as important as any magnificent coaching insight.

The venue of these friendlies, of course, brings back bittersweet memories for most fans of the Azzurri of a certain vintage. Of 16 games played in the US, Italy boast seven wins, six draws and three defeats, but by far, their most memorable sortie was at the World Cup now nearly 30 years ago. That was when Roby Baggio became La Nazionale’s all-time top scorer on American soil with five strikes to his name. If any of Spalletti’s new generation turn out to be half the player he was, this lengthy pre-Easter journey may yet have been worthwhile.

@Ginkers