The Serie A season is now over, and it's time to look back and see what happened over the past months. Inter dominated the league and won their 20th Serie A title after winning the Derby della Madonnina against AC Milan on April 22, while Napoli, after winning the 2022-23 Scudetto, didn't even end up in the European spot for next season.
Here are the winners and losers:
⭐️⭐️🖤💙#ForzaInter #IM2Stars pic.twitter.com/QCBxdVxXL8
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter) May 19, 2024
Best team: Inter
The Nerazzurri dominated the Italian Serie A over the season since the beginning as they started off strongly and ended up with 94 points from 38 games played. Inter were the best attack (89 goals scored), the best defense (22 conceded), and the team with most wins (29) and only two defeats, both times against Sassuolo. Inter slowed down a bit after clinching the title five matches before the end of the campaign after beating AC Milan on April 22, becoming the only second Italian side to win at least 20 Serie A titles. Coach Simone Inzaghi was able to win his first Scudetto at the club after winning two Coppa Italia and three Supercoppa Italiana in his first two years in charge. The question now is who will be able to stop Inter next season, as the Nerazzurri don't seem inclined to stop winning trophies in the future.
Most disappointing team: Napoli
At the beginning of the season, I expected Napoli to be one of the disappointments. And for once, I was right. Napoli changed too much last summer after winning a historical Scudetto. They sold the best defender of the past season, Kim Min-Jae, to Bayern Munich, and also coach Luciano Spalletti decided to leave the club after winning the Scudetto. Napoli decided to appoint former Al-Nassr boss Rudi Garcia who was sacked and replaced by Walter Mazzarri back in November. The second Mazzarri spell at the club didn't last long, as on Feb. 19 Aurelio De Laurentiis decided to change again and appointed Francesco Calzona as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Three managers, but none of them was able to restore Napoli's winning mentality of the past season and the club ended up 10th and won't play European soccer next year.
Best coach: Marco Baroni, Verona
Apart from Inzaghi who was able to win the title with Inter, we need to mention Marco Baroni and his outstanding work at Hellas Verona. The club was forced to sell some of their best players in the January transfer window due to financial issues. Verona sold Isak Hien to Atalanta, Filippo Terracciano to AC Milan, Davide Faraoni to Fiorentina, Cyril Ngonge to Napoli, Josh Doig to Sassuolo and Milan Djuric to Monza among some others, and the club replaced them with other players that on paper didn't have the experience and the qualities to survive in the first division. However, thanks to the work of Baroni, Verona were able to avoid relegatation and also played some very attractive football. Baroni is a manager who definitely deserves a step up in the coming season.
Most disappointing coach: Jose Mourinho, AS Roma
Talking about managers, well, this time Jose Mourinho was disappointing. His third season at AS Roma ended on Jan. 16 when the club decided to sack him and replaced him with former club legend Daniele De Rossi. Despite winning the UEFA Conference League in 2022 and losing the UEFA Europa League final in 2023, things didn't really work out and the Portuguese coach was sacked before the summer. Mourinho left AS Roma ninth in the Serie A table (they ended up sixth), five points behind the top four. Roma lost to Lazio in the Derby della Capitale in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal, the game that probably defined his end at Roma.
Best player: Lautaro Martinez, Inter
The Argentinian striker was the best player of the season and earned MVP honors. Lautaro scored 24 goals in 33 Serie A matches and also lifted his first Scudetto title as captain of the club after he was named last summer by Inzaghi. His relationship on the pitch with Marcus Thuram, one of the best signings of the summer, was just perfect. The duo worked out magically and was one of the secrets of Inter this season. The club and Lautaro are now working to sign a new deal, with the current contract expiring in 2026.
Best signing: Christian Pulisic, AC Milan
USMNT winger Christian Pulisic was definitely the best signing of the season. In the end, Pulisic scored 15 goals and had 11 assists and played 50 games in all competitions with AC Milan. When he arrived at AC Milan in the summer of 2023 from Chelsea, there were some questions regarding his involvement in the team, since Samuel Chukwueze was expected to be the starter on the right attacking wing, and Pulisic could become an option to replace Rafael Leao or Chukwueze himself in the rotations of the manager. Even if the Rossoneri ended up the season without winning a trophy, we can consider Pulisic's season a success and he will definitely be one of the key players for the club next season.
Most disappointing signing: Samuel Chukwueze, AC Milan
The summer expectations were on Chukwueze, who didn't perform as we would expect. In his first season at AC Milan, the Nigerian winger only scored one Serie A goal in 24 games but barely started also thanks to the great performances of Pulisic. AC Milan signed him from Villarreal and the idea was for him to become the starter on the attacking right, but Pulisic quickly became the starter after a great start to the season and Chukwueze could only become his replacement. However, AC Milan fans need to be positive because with a new manager coming, his spell at AC Milan can only improve.
