Extra sprinkle of stardust rekindling Serie A sparkle
Ronaldo’s arrival, Ancelotti’s return lay foundation for intriguing season
MILAN — 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 attendance and top players choosing to ply their trade elsewhere, there is a feeling that Serie A might be regaining some of its old allure.
Italy will even be back to four teams in the Champions League group stage this season — although that is thanks to a controversial revamp of the competition by UEFA rather than a significant improvement in performance by Italian clubs.
Most of all, there is a hope that Serie A will continue where it left off last season, with Napoli moving ever closer to ending Juve’s recent domination, which has led the Turin side to win seven straight titles.
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 finally ending two rounds from the end.
Napoli struck the first blow during the offseason when it hired Ancelotti to replace Chelsea-bound Maurizio Sarri in an impressive coup that confounded more than a few pundits.
After winning domestic league titles in France, England and Germany, and the Champions League with Real Madrid, Ancelotti seemed to have outgrown Serie A.
The 59-year-old, who also won a scudetto with AC Milan, seemed more comfortable at super-rich teams where major titles were pretty much guaranteed, yet he has now been lured to a club which last captured the Serie A crown in 1990, when Diego Maradona was its main man.
Napoli has lost influential midfielder Jorginho to Chelsea, but the bulk of its side remains intact and there are hopes that, even if his team is not as entertaining to watch, Ancelotti can provide the killer instinct that was sometimes missing under Sarri.
Never a club to be upstaged, however, Juventus hit back in style with its signing of 33-year-old Ronaldo who, like the Turin club itself, shows no signs of resting on his laurels.
“I am going to prove that I am still a top player,” said Ronaldo, who will make his debut at Chievo in Saturday’s season opener. “I am very ambitious and I like challenges.”
Juve also re-signed Leonardo Bonucci, one year after he left for Milan, to reform the so-called “BBC” defense alongside Andrea Barzagli — still a formidable performer at 37 — and Giorgio Chiellini.
Capital gains
The capital city is also hoping to mount another challenge this season although Roma, which finished third from bottom last season, has once again sold a top player with goalkeeper Alisson moving to Liverpool.
City rival Lazio has retained the services of coveted Serbian playmaker Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who impressed at the World Cup and was linked with Manchester United — a muchneeded boost after the Biancocelesti’s narrow failure to qualify for the Champions League.
The two Milan sides are also expecting to have a say.
Inter, which led last year’s title race until early December, has spent heavily, bringing in Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan from Roma and highly touted 20-year-old Argentine striker Lautauro Martinez from Racing Club.
Inter was also involved in an unsuccessful chase for Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric, although coach Luciano Spalletti refused to be disheartened.
“I am already very happy with what I have at my disposal,” Spalletti said.
Milan, meanwhile, signed prolific Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain on loan from Juventus, although it remains to be seen whether the fiery and inspirational leadership of coach Gennaro Gattuso can overcome the club’s financial troubles.
Elsewhere, Parma returns to the top flight three years after being kicked out of the league due to bankruptcy.
Having been refounded and started afresh in Serie D, the former UEFA Cup champion won three straight promotions to return in remarkably quick time.