Serie A: Assessing the Needs of Juventus' Title Challengers
The 2014-15 season saw Juventus waltz to their fourth consecutive Scudetto while adding a Coppa Italia win and a Champions League final appearance for good measure.
The Bianconeri's dominance is without question, but there are several teams who will be hoping to end it in the upcoming 2015-16 campaign.
Roma were bitterly disappointing last season and will be hoping to resurrect their title ambitions, while their city rivals Lazio will seek to prove that their third-place finish was no flash in the pan.
Both Milan giants have emerged from years of underachievement to come out firing this summer, announcing their intentions spectacularly with some high-spending and big-name purchases.
Elsewhere, Napoli have quietly got on with their own revolution, bringing in a new coach with different ideas.
These five clubs are the most obvious threats to Juventus' domestic authority, but what do they still need if they are to challenge next season?
Roma
1 of 5
Find a more effective forward line
A huge part of Roma’s downfall last season was an ineffective attack. Their possession football was attractive to watch but ultimately lacked a cutting edge as the club drew eight of nine Serie A matches between January and March.
With Francesco Totti well into his late 30s, Roma cannot continue to rely on their iconic veteran to pull them out of sticky situations, as he did with a double in the Derby della Capitale in January.
Roma may have to ditch playing with a false nine—rather than replacing Totti—and implement a more orthodox front three with an out-and-out centre-forward at its apex. This may well be coach Rudi Garcia’s plan, with Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko heavily linked with the club this summer, per Simon Jones of the Daily Mail.
Establish new leaders
With Totti and Daniele De Rossi showing average form throughout large parts of last season, the Giallorossi must find inspiration from other players going forward.
Radja Nainggolan’s combative displays dragged Roma to second place last season, while Kostas Manolas shepherded the defence well. Alessandro Florenzi is the latest homegrown talent to establish himself in the side, following in the footsteps of Totti and De Rossi.
These three players are the main candidates to be the new influential core of Roma, but even if not, the club cannot continue to look to the same old guard for a source of leadership.
Sign full-backs
Jose Holebas recently left Roma for Watford, ending a strange transfer saga that suggested the Greek left-back had not even been aware of his sale.
Holebas’ departure leaves Roma with Maicon, Vasilis Torosidis and Ashley Cole as their full-back options, none of which inspire confidence.
The club has been linked with a move for Torino right-back Bruno Peres, per Tuttosport (via Football Italia), and the Brazilian would be an excellent addition, although there remains the need for a left-back.
Lazio
2 of 5
Keep hold of star players
Lazio’s resurgence in 2015 was founded on the excellent work of sporting director Igli Tare bringing in quality players for reasonable prices and coach Stefano Pioli assembling those individual players into a coherent team.
Several players were key to Pioli’s system, namely Dutch centre-back Stefan de Vrij, Argentinian defensive midfielder Lucas Biglia and young Brazilian attacking midfielder Felipe Anderson.
It is of utmost importance that Lazio keep a hold of these players as they essentially represent the spine of the team. Without them, the Biancocelesti aren’t the same, and it would also be extremely difficult to replace them.
Hope for a nice Champions League draw
Lazio will return to the Champions League for the first time in a number of years in 2015-16 thanks to their third-place finish last season. Unfortunately, they do not qualify automatically and will thus have to go through the rigmarole of a play-off round.
Given they could well be unseeded for this phase, Lazio may end up drawing Manchester United or Valencia, both of whom would represent a tough task.
Lazio will be hoping to avoid these two, however, as qualifying for the Champions League proper would bring financial rewards that may ensure they are more able to keep hold of their aforementioned key players, as well as invest in new ones.
Filip Djordjevic form key
Filip Djordjevic enjoyed a positive first season with Lazio, albeit one tinged with an element of melancholy after he was denied by both posts with one shot in extra time of an ultimately unsuccessful cup final against Juventus.
Near misses aside, the Serbian international hit the net eight times in Serie A; a decent total considering he also missed part of the season with injury.
There’s only so long Lazio continue to rely on Miroslav Klose to lead the line up front, so it is imperative that Djordjevic shows the kind of quality necessary to replace the German sooner rather than later.
Napoli
3 of 5
Sarri must hit the ground running
Coach Maurizio Sarri is still relatively new to Serie A, with just one year of experience in Italian football’s top flight coming with Empoli last season.
With this in mind, it will be interesting to see not only how he handles working with a higher quality of player, but also how Napoli’s squad of well-paid internationals reacts to Sarri’s ideas.
If Sarri can get figureheads like Gonzalo Higuain and Marek Hamsik to buy-in to his tactics and make a good start to the 2015-16 season, it should take some of the strain off him and avert any talk of him being too inexperienced for such a job.
Improve the defence, part one: Sign a centre-back
No other team in the top-half of Serie A conceded more goals last season than Napoli’s 54. This was more than double that of eventual champions Juventus.
If Napoli are to shore up their back line, a good start would be buying a new centre-back. Raul Albiol needs a steady partner with Kalidou Koulibaly showing a lack of finesse and positional intelligence in his debut Serie A campaign.
Rumour has it that Davide Astori will be brought in once Napoli obtain his image rights, as noted by Sky Sport Italia (via Football Italia), although the jury remains out on whether he will prove to be much of an improvement.
Improve the defence, part two: Sign a ball-winning midfielder
Napoli have already strengthened their midfield by adding Mirko Valdifiori, who follows Sarri from Empoli. Another crucial midfield addition has yet to be made, however. Napoli need a ball-winner.
With Walter Gargano gone and with SportItalia (via Football Italia) reporting that Gokhan Inler is on his way out, Napoli need to add steel to a midfield that too often left their defence exposed last season.
As per Radio Kiss Kiss (via Football Italia), the Partenopei are said to be in talks with Udinese over the signing of Allan, who would bring the correct defensive qualities to Napoli’s midfield; no-one in the league made more tackles than the Brazilian in 2014-15, per WhoScored.com.
Inter Milan
4 of 5
Choose a system and stick to it
After arriving last November, coach Roberto Mancini spent much of his time rotating between formations as he looked for a system to make Inter tick.
Results didn’t improve after his appointment, and the rotation likely had a lot to do with that. 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 4-3-1-2 were all used as Mancini tossed and turned over his selection.
Now, with a whole pre-season to strategise, there will be no excuse for Mancini not to know his best system going into the 2015-16 campaign. He must decide on a formation and allow time for his players to develop within it if Inter are to obtain any kind of consistency.
Find a position for Mateo Kovacic
That Mateo Kovacic is yet to establish himself in any one position for Inter as of yet is a mystery. The young Croat is one of the finest technicians in Serie A and deserves a regular spot in the Nerazurri lineup, but where?
Toward the end of last season, when Mancini finally set Inter up in the same 4-3-1-2 system on a frequent basis, Kovacic found himself utilised in the central midfield area.
Rumours persist that he could be on his way, with the London Evening Standard (via the Independent's Tom Collomosse) suggesting he is set for Liverpool, but Inter should resist offers and give Kovacic a regular starting place. With consistency in the coach and system, he could finally thrive in Inter’s midfield.
Bring in a partner for Mauro Icardi
Icardi shouldered most of the goalscoring burden for Inter last season, bagging 22 of their 59 league goals. With usual strike partner Rodrigo Palacio in poor form and lacking confidence, Icardi had little support.
If Inter are to push on and seriously challenge Juventus, they will need an additional striker to supplement their young Argentinian star. If Icardi were to pick up an injury, Inter’s lack of forward options would render them virtually toothless.
AC Milan
5 of 5
Sign central defenders
For a club that has boasted the likes of Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta in its past, the sight of AC Milan’s current central defensive roster is enough to make eyes bleed.
Philippe Mexes has renewed his contract, but he is past his best and temperamental to boot. Alongside the Frenchman, Alex, Cristian Zapata and Gabriel Paletta don’t inspire much confidence.
Milan may have a much improved strikeforce with the additions of Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano, but unless they add central defenders, they could well concede just as many as they score.
Sign a defensive midfielder
When your defence is as open as Milan’s, the last thing you need is a midfield that leaves gaping chasms through which opponents can run at your back line. Unfortunately, the Rossoneri also suffer from this problem.
While filled with creative talent, Milan’s midfield lacks the sufficient defensive nous to nullify opposition attacks at source. Nigel De Jong is really the only central midfield player they have that can get stuck in, although his positioning isn’t particularly special.
Having missed out on Geoffrey Kondogbia, who instead joined rivals Inter, Milan are close to signing Axel Witsel, according to his agent's comments to Tuttosport (via Goal). The Belgian would provide an air of composure in the defensive midfield area, something the team is otherwise lacking.
Give youth a chance
Last summer, the sale of Bryan Cristante reinforced the viewpoint that Milan no longer give opportunities to their best young talent. It’s a crying shame, given the facilities they have, that they are seemingly unwilling or unable to bring through their own youth prospects.
Hachim Mastour has garnered rave reviews from some circles, although he has recently been linked with a move away, per Corrierre dello Sport (via Football Italia). If he does, he would become the latest in a line of unfulfilled talents.
If Milan are to get back into the Champions League in the short-term, investment in proven quality is a necessity. However, the long-term plan must incorporate some sort of youth strategy. Without it, Milan’s return to the top of Italian football may be fleeting.
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