5 Reasons Why This Can Be Roma's Season in Serie A
It's been a long time since Francesco Totti, Gabriel Batistuta and Vincenzo Montella fired Roma to their third Serie A title back in 2001.
The Giallorossi have endured mixed fortunes since that great triumph. From being Italy's second-best consistently under Luciano Spalletti to slumping to mid-table misery in the final years of Rosella Sensi's presidency, they're now enjoying a renaissance under American ownership and the guidance of Rudi Garcia.
Will this be the year that Totti leads them to another Scudetto?
Uncertainty at Juventus
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It's early days for Massimiliano Allegri in Turin, but the general consensus is that his predecessor, Antonio Conte, was worth several points a season to Juventus.
Conte's managerial style created an almost siege-like mentality at the Bianconeri, bringing the entire squad together into a tight-knit group that had a never-say-die attitude and won games when it didn't necessarily deserve to.
Allegri doesn't have the same forceful personality, and judging from his results while at Milan, he is more likely to slip up against weaker opposition. He'll also be pre-occupied with the Champions League more than Rudi Garcia will, because after three consecutive Serie A titles, Juve desperately want to prove their worth in Europe.
By contrast, Roma won't be expecting to take the continent by storm in their first year back in the competition, especially after having been drawn in this year's "Group of Death," against Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
The Giallorossi will be free to learn from the experience, take the tournament as it comes and remain focused on their primary aim: winning the Scudetto for the first time since 2001.
With his eyes on two prizes, it will be easier for Allegri to get distracted—something he can't afford to do because Roma are stronger and more experienced than they were last year.
Despite Departures, the Squad Is Stronger
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The focus was all on losing Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich, but this summer the Giallorossi gained more than they lost in the transfer market.
Juan Iturbe is one of the most promising young forwards in European football, and though €22 million can hardly be described as a bargain, the hugely inflated prices being paid across the continent's top leagues for players of lesser ability certainly makes him look like good value, relatively speaking.
The fact that Roma beat other top clubs to the young Argentinian's signature was also an important psychological coup for the capital club, because it proved that their progress and ambition has not gone unnoticed. Roma is now a club that can compete with the likes of Juventus and the rest of the European elite for top talent.
Also worth noting is the fact that despite it being their first game alongside one another, Kostas Manolas and Davide Astori both acquitted themselves well in Roma's opening win over Fiorentina, keeping a clean sheet against one of the league's more threatening attacking sides.
The Viola were without Giuseppe Rossi and Juan Cuadrado, but likewise Roma were without Benatia's old partner Leandro Castan, the Brazilian rock who's been quietly putting in solid performances at the back for the Giallorossi for two seasons.
Castan almost certainly be first-choice when he returns to fitness, but the pairing of Manolas and Astori showed enough to suggest that they're more than capable of protecting Morgan De Sanctis in Castan's absence.
Bringing in Seydou Keita and Ashley Cole has also added title-winning experience and will give Garcia more options.
Milan's Giants Won't Be Ready
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Walter Mazzarri continues his rebuilding work at Inter this season, and the early signs are encouraging. There's been a huge turnover in players on the blue and black side of the San Siro, leaving space for younger talent and a couple of new arrivals who seem to suit Mazzarri's style better.
In particular, Gary Medel, Mateo Kovacic and Hernanes will be worth watching in the midfield, and Interisti will be hoping this is the year that Mauro Icardi fulfils his potential in front of goal.
The Nerazzurri are still some way behind Juve and Roma in terms of absolute squad strength, however, and while they're likely to throw up a few surprise results and could trouble the top teams if their starting XI is all fit, it will probably take more time and a few more signings to return Inter to the forefront of the Scudetto race.
Likewise, local rivals Milan need more time under Filippo Inzaghi—and more quality players—to undo the damage inflicted on the Rossoneri by years of underinvestment and neglect.
Inzaghi's new-look Milan were exciting to watch in their opening fixture against Lazio, which they won 3-1 with some flair, but they're nowhere near the finished product.
For now, at least, Italy's wealthiest city is no longer the most powerful in calcio terms.
Kevin Strootman's Return Will Be a Huge Boost
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After a brilliant beginning to his career in Giallorosso, Kevin Strootman's 2013-14 season was cruelly cut short by serious injury, not only forcing the Dutchman to miss half of Roma's campaign, but also denying him the chance to captain the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Once he's back fit, Strootman will be a huge boost to Garcia. The 24-year-old was one of the revelations of last season in Serie A and is now one of Europe's most in-demand midfielders.
A reunion with Louis van Gaal, his former coach with the national team, at Manchester United is being heavily rumoured both in England and Italy, as per Mark Ogden in the Telegraph, but unless the player pushes for a move, it wouldn't make much sense for Roma to sell to the Premier League side, or anyone else.
With Strootman, Daniele De Rossi, Miralem Pjanic and Radja Nainggolan Garcia now has one of the most impressive and dynamic midfields not just in Italy, but in Europe.
That central core is indispensible to Roma's style and their strength, and this season it should prove to be the pivot on which the balance of power in Serie A swings.
Fiorentina and Napoli Aren't Quite Up to the Task of Challenging
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The injury misery continues for Vincenzo Montella's Fiorentina. Having been dealt the merciless double blow of losing Mario Gomez and Giuseppe Rossi for much of last season, the Viola are once again without one of their two talented hit men.
Rossi, a player whose huge talent has been hobbled time and again by crippling injury, is again out of action and could miss up to half of this campaign. Even if the rest of the squad stays fit all season—something that's unlikely given their history in recent campaigns—it will be almost impossible for the Viola to mount a challenge without the Italy international.
Farther south, Napoli have what it takes to be title contenders, on paper at least. The Partenopei have a strong squad, a number of devastatingly talented players and a capable manager. But as their struggles against Athletic Bilbao proved during their failed attempt to qualify for the Champions League, something's still not clicking.
They also had trouble breaking down Genoa in their season-opener, and but for an injury-time winner from Jonathan de Guzman, they'd have had to settle for a point.
Bilbao are a side deserving of respect, but if Napoli can be upset so easily by the Basques, it's hard to see them troubling the better-equipped squads of Roma and Juventus over the course of an entire campaign.
The San Paolo is always a difficult place for sides to go, and no doubt Napoli will play some role in deciding the title, but unless Benitez can unlock his side's potential very quickly, this year's Scudetto looks out of reach.
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