The reviewer of the magazine "Football" and the permanent author of Football. Ua Sergei Shevchenko sums up the season in the championship of Italy.
The end of the season destroyed many negative stereotypes about Italian football. Low entertainment? On the contrary, the Serie A has become the most productive top-European championship, overtaking even the Example. At once six players scored more than 20 goals - an incredible figure! Predictability of matches in the end of the season? Again past: the team, not having a tournament motivation, tried to drown the contending rivals, sometimes very successfully. If the revival of Calco is a long and complicated process, then his rebirth took place before our very eyes, and the new face of Seria A seems to be not very familiar, but attractive. We will estimate everything that was played over the past year.
Regularities Juventus again champion For the sixth time in a row, which is a record of Serie A. The times of the hegemony of Juventus continue, and there is no end to it. If the field with Bianconeri can still compete, then their financial and organizational advantage over compatriots is a non-negotiable handicap and a pledge of the final success. The championship is for the current Juve an obligatory program, the main goal of the club was the Champions League, coveted and yet unattainable. Intrigue in the race for the Scudetto can only revive the crisis of Juventus, but it is unlikely that it should wait until 2018, when the stage will begin to leave the veterans led by Buffon.
Roma and Napoli squeeze the maximum On the eve of the penultimate round they even retained the theoretical chances of gold. The second consecutive season, the Romans with the Neapolitans threaten to challenge Juventus, and in fact - severely chopped off each other for the second place, giving the ticket to the group stage of the Champions League. Despite the loss of the leaders, Roma Luciano Spalletti and Napoli Maurizio Sarri, thanks to thoughtful selection and coaching resourcefulness, showed the football spectacle, the beauty of the highest test. The more curious is the contrast in the approaches after the end of the season: Napoli for stability, Roma for change.
The return of Inter Milan is delayed Here is who sat up in the depths of the table! Renaissance Calcio will take place only with the return of Milan clubs to the leading positions. Inter, which has already invested solid money, has become one of the main disappointments of the season. Milan was much more modest, the final sixth place corresponds to the level of performers, but at the beginning of the championship the team of Montella claimed the title of the opening. However, Rossoneri managed to return to European competition, and this is a small step on the way up (if there are no unpleasant surprises from the Chinese owners). The start of the transfer campaign of Milan inspires, Inter Milan does not sit still. Progress is inevitable?.
The middle peasants have no motivation The problem caused by the number of participants in the Serie A. As many as 20 teams, only three of which drop in class - a blow to the intrigue at the bottom of the table. Remember the golden years when the top Italian division consisted of 18 teams, and four took off - directly or with such a remarkable stage as "sparedjo". No one could relax until the finish! Now at least six teams (from the 10th Sampdoria to the 15th, Bologna) for a good half of the season played as they pleased - there were no chances either on the LE or on the departure zone. Such layouts played a cruel joke with Genoa, who in winter hit the crisis and almost collapsed in Serie B, but Griffins are an exception. The president of the Italian federation Carlo Taveccio supports the idea of ??cutting the Serie A, but the clubs will rest against the fact that the small ones do not want to play in the quagmire, big ones do not want to lose their matches.
Palermo flew the Sicilians long ago went to this. Maurizio Zamparini, eccentric president of the club, played in the castling of the head coaches, because of what the team plunged to the bottom. Palermo also lost leaders, not getting in return the performers of the appropriate level. As a result, the composition of Rosaneri did not exceed the competition in the struggle for survival, the bet on mysterious players from Eastern Europe was deliberately losing. In the course of the season happened what fans of Palermo dreamed about: the change of ownership. Instead of Dzamparini, Paul Bakkalini will lead, a colorful owner of tons of tattoos. Will he dispel doubts and put things in order in the most crazy club in Italy? An additional reason to follow the B Series.
Discoveries of Atalanta Magic from Gian Piero Gasperini! Instead of a dull struggle for survival, Atalanta became the "champion of hearts" thanks to an attractive game (the module with three centerbacks, active flanks and free artist Gomez on the left brow), and the abundance of young people. Better Score: Azzurra Squadron Gains Strength Among Footballers Atalanta. Fairy tale, pleasure, history. Fourth place - the highest achievement of the club from Bergamo. Keep at this height will not be easy, the basis of the team has already begun to buy up. So much more valuable past season: the year of Caldara, Conti, Cassie, Gomez and other guys in blue and black.
Lazio From Biancocele did not expect anything good after an unpleasant story with the invitation of Marcelo Bielsa - an authoritative mentor left the team because of the failure of the promises from the leadership, which was supposed to purchase a number of newcomers. Lazio is not rich and can not buy stars, and Simone Inzaghi was considered an economical option. The more surprising was the progress of the team, led by a beginner coach. Bold tactical decisions, youth play, and most importantly - the result. The eagles soared into the top five and reached the Cup final, knocking out Rom. Almost maximum for current conditions.
Crotone Championships championship ending. Initially, Croton, the debutant of Serie A, was considered an outsider # 1: no stars, no finances, no experience. Club from the very south of Italy a priori given a place in the relegation zone, and the Sharks, in general, there and sat almost the entire distance. The turning point came in the 30th round: Croton won a visit to Chievo. In the next round, Inter unexpectedly fell, Southerners caught courage and performed a miracle. Six wins in nine ending games! The hero of the club is mentor David Nikola, who did not previously train in the elite. He inspired the team to escape, and now the final spurt of Crotone will become a beautiful legend of Calco.
Disappointments of Inter Neradzurri have a subscription to similar nominations. The whole season - shuffling from side to side. Mancini was fired after an unsuccessful pre-season, but De Boer never got accustomed to the club. Replacing the Dutchman Pioli at first looked the best option. Inter played, issued a seven-match winning streak, chances of the Champions League became tangible, and further prospects - rosy, but then the Milanese trapped trap. Mad 7: 1 with Atalanta, when Inter all turned out, as if breaking a certain balance. The team soared in the clouds, held a series of weak matches, and then lost and began to lose any opponents. Now Inter left without European cups (which is hardly regretted) and starts another perestroika.
Fiorentina The failure is not so obvious, because Fiorentina is not able to sign players of the Bungea's caliber with Candreva. Just a drop from the fifth place to the eighth place. Violets aspired in the Champions League, and now they have lost even their usual place in the league. Paulo Souza put the team cheerful football, but this was the case when the spectacle was harmed by the result. The protection of Fiorentina was a delicious bun for many Serie A teams, the competition of the same attacking potentials often ended not in favor of Viola. In the summer, the team is waiting for large-scale changes, and it is far from the fact that Fiorentina will become stronger.
Empoli Sudden drop in class. Empoli was not expected to achieve feats, their maximum is the middle of the table that was in the previous two seasons. When the Tuscans occupied the first non-flying place, it was perceived as a pattern, compliance with the level of the team. Outsiders floundered deep down, Empoli calmed down, lost seven games in a row and ran into heroic sprint Croton. In fairness, the Marthushiello team also cheered up in the end, and by the last round had every chance to survive, but ran into the persistence of the already-fallen in the Palermo class. Series B will be a difficult test for Empoli: the club was not prepared for this development, and key players are either rented or at a respectable age.
The national team of the season Gianluigi Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan) - Andrea Conti (Atalanta), Mattia Caldara (Atalanta), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Alex Sandro (Juventus) - Mohamed Salah (Roma), Marek Hamshik (Napoli), Radja Nainggolan (Roma) Dries Mertens (Napoli) - Andrea Belotti (Torino), Edin Dzeko (Roma) reserve: Dzhanluidzhi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Fazio (Roma), Dani Alves (Juventus), Lukas Bilya (Lazio), Alejandro Gomez (Atalanta), Paulo Dibal (Juventus), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus) The most difficult choice - in the attack, where a lot of strong players, but all based not post twist. How can you not even include in the stock of such masters as Lorenzo Insigne, Balde Keita or Mauro Icardi? It is necessary! For a long time in the championship of Italy there was not such an abundance of scorers.
If someone seems to be a controversial candidate for Salah, the best answer is statistics: 15 goals and 13 assists. Donnarumma, despite a number of gross mistakes, has the best percentage of saves in the league, and is also one of three players (besides goalkeeper Roma Schensna and centerback Sassuolo Acherby) who played all 38 matches without substitutions.
Team disappointments Joe Hart (Torino), Stefan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Jason Murillo (Inter), Mattia De Chillo (Milan), Mario Rui (Roma), Marcelo Brozovich (Inter), Sally Muntari (Pescara), Emanuele Jacquerini (Napoli) , Riccardo Saponara (Empoli / Fiorentina), Leonardo Pavoletti (Genoa / Napoli), Philip Djordjevic (Lazio) In this team position are arbitrary. It is pertinent to recall that some of the players simply were not given a chance. Pavoletti was so completely a victim of circumstances - he was taken to Napoli for a problematic because of Milika's injury, the position of the striker, but in the course of the season, there was revealed Dries Mertens, who previously did not play the center of the forward. It's painful to include Saponaru here: the best assistant of Serie A-2015/16 (as part of Empoli!) Lost his motivation, and then never found himself in Fiorentina.
The best matches Milan - Inter - 2: 2 (13th round), Inter Milan - 2: 2 (32nd round) Both Milan clubs can be in crisis, but Derby della Madonnina always keeps the mark. Full house, uncompromising, unpredictable. In the last championship two fights mirrored each other: first in the compensated time, Inter saved, then - Milan. The second-round derby also received the nickname Derby della MadonChina, becoming the first game for the Chinese owners of Rossoneri.
Roma - Lazio - 1: 3 (34th round) Roman derby - another eternal confrontation. The game of the second round stands apart. The personnel problems of Lazio and the monstrous Simulation of Strootman did not seem to leave the Orlans a chance, but a number of tactical decisions by Simone Inzaghi brought Laticius an unexpected success. Speed, counterattacks and Balda Keita - the best that Biancochaelasti showed in the season-2016/17.
Napoli - Juventus - 1: 1 (30th round) Gonzalo Higuain first came to Naples, being a player of Juventus, and received a charge of selective hatred from the stands of Sao Paolo. The very same game is good in that both teams scored the maximum speed by April and showed the highest level. The corporate style of Napoli with an abundance of short programs, the verified defense and counter-attacks of Juventus - the tactical duel of Sarri and Allegri was a success.
Fiorentina - Inter - 5: 4 (33rd round) The antipode of the previous match. Fans of the "catenaccio" fretfully disgusted and in many respects will be right. This marvelous account is the result of blunders of defense and loss of control over the game. If you want goals and unpredictability, then by these criteria you can not find a more suitable meeting. Inter won the first half, but Fiorentina in 16 minutes of the second half drew 1: 2 in 5: 2! Nine goals and a hat-trick of the football player of the losing team - this is now Serie A.
Roma - Genoa - 3: 2 (38th round) The final chord of the championship. Roma needed only victory, but Genoa, not having a tournament motivation, fought to the last.
The shocking goal of the 16-year-old Genoese Pellegri, the violent attacks of Roma, the game on the oncoming courses after the break, the final assault on the Romans and the winning ball in the 90th minute. So the Eternal City saw off Francesco Totti, who played the last match for Roma. Farewell of the Emperor from the stands Olympico - the most beautiful and sad moment of the season, the quintessence of the attitude of Italians to football.
Author: Sergey Shevchenko.