AC Milan are considering how they will beat relegation, Lazio and Udinese already look like they would be elated to just be considered for the Europa League, and the rest of Serie A are struggling to find the back of the net. Sadly, that last part is almost always true of Serie A, but the teams that are pushing around Juventus and Inter to reach the zenith of the league are teams that have spent the last decade as “almost Champions League level” teams…AWESOME!
Roma has taken a maximum number of points from their games. For all you statisticians out there, that is 15 points from 5 games where Roma have scored 12 goals and have only allowed ONE! Roma also has a great mix of youth and experience. Their biggest transfer was simply the retention of Daniele De Rossi and they quietly moved a lot of pieces away from Rome this transfer window.
Why is this key? Because Roma used to juggle their line-up more than a clown at a county fair and they now have a strong line-up that seems to be chosen often enough to give them some type of momentum. Not to mention that all of us here in the USA are rooting for them as Michael Bradley is a proud member and a vital midfield addition. If they take full points from their next two fixtures, even this early in the season, it would take a massive pitfall to keep them out of the top four.
Napoli look like a team that Rafa Benitez coached pre-2008 instead of a team that Benitez would have coached post-2008. Considering he barely lasted a few months with Inter in his last Serie A stint, he may have found a new home and a new vigor that he has not had since mid 2000’s Liverpool. Look out Mourinho…this is what happens when he does not take the “special one’s” hand-me-downs at big clubs that the Portuguese manager has already ruined.
No team in the world can currently claim a better transfer window than Napoli. They made BANK by shipping Cavani over to PSG and then made some smart business by bringing in two Madrid rejects (Callejon and Higuain) and the best loan deal arrangement EVER by bringing in Pepe Reina as a keeper. Not only has Higuain made Madrid’s retention of Benzema seem like a bad decision, but Reina was the first keeper to ever prevent Mario Balotelli from scoring a penalty. For me, Napoli is the one team that had lowered expectations going into this season that are blowing any expectations away!
Serie A is typically 90 minutes of poor teams getting beaten 2-1 and 1-0 by the top six teams and the same teams ending the season on top of the table. But, this season seems to be anything but “business as usual.” If you have the option to enjoy any of this season that is happening over in Italy, take full advantage…it is shaping up to be a great one!
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