Ronaldo raring to go as Serie A kicks off
CRISTIANO Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, coach Carlo Ancelotti’s homecoming and Parma’s return to the top flight a mere three years after going bankrupt have made the Serie A season one of the most eagerly awaited in recent years.
After years of falling attendances and top players choosing to ply their trade elsewhere, there is a feeling Serie A might be regaining some of its old allure. Last season, Serie A was the only one of the five major European leagues to produce a genuine title contest, with Napoli’s brave challenge ending two rounds from the end.
Napoli struck the first blow during the close season, hiring Ancelotti to replace Chelseabound Maurizio Sarri in an impressive coup that confounded more than a few pundits.
Ancelotti, who also won Serie A with AC Milan, seemed more comfortable at big clubs with spending power and where major titles were pretty much guaranteed, yet has now been lured to a club that last captured the Serie A crown in 1990. Napoli has lost influen- tial midfielder Jorginho but the bulk of the side remains intact and there are hopes that, even if his team is not as entertaining to watch, Ancelotti can provide the killer instinct missing under Sarri.
Never ones to be upstaged, however, Juventus hit back in style with its signing of 33year-old Ronaldo who, like the Turin club itself, shows no signs of resting on his laurels.
“I am going to prove that I am a top player,” said Ronaldo, who is set for his debut at Chievo on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST) in the seasonopening game. “I am very ambitious and I like challenges.”
The Turin side also resigned Leonardo Bonucci, a year after he left for AC Milan, to re-form the so-called BBC defence alongside Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.