There was joy and disappointment, success and failure, skill and controversy in another captivating Serie A season. Giancarlo Rinaldi gives his grades to the 20 participants in this year’s colourful Campionato.
Not all teams are created equal. Expectations at football’s giants mean that sometimes a finish near the top end of the table can still constitute underachievement. And at the same time, dodging the drop on the final day could represent a glorious triumph for those with more modest resources. Context, as always, is king.
It all makes it devilishly tricky to grade a league campaign with so many different shades of display over 38 matches. A change of coach, a January transfer or an injury to a key player can all have deep transformative effects on a football team. Only a fool would try to make sense of that deeply complex issue and convert it into marks out of 10. So, here we go then. Please remember, this is for their Serie A displays alone.
INTER – 9/10 – It probably could have been a perfect 10 if it wasn’t for their version of kryptonite – Sassuolo. Otherwise, the Nerazzurri were the uncontested best in Italy and finished streets ahead of their chasers. They had, far and away, the best squad and proved it with devastating effect.
MILAN – 7/10 – It was painful to watch their city cousins crush everything in their path and Stefano Pioli bore the brunt of supporters’ anger. Still, to more impartial eyes, he did a respectable job with the resources at his disposal. Time will tell if a new occupant can deliver any more with the players the Rossoneri possess.
JUVENTUS – 5/10 – When winning is the only thing, a top-four finish simply doesn’t cut it. The Bianconeri briefly flirted with a title challenge but their dreadful 1-0 win football eventually caught up with them. The Coppa Italia was consolation but that doesn’t boost their mark for a miserable Serie A battle.
ATALANTA – 8/10 – A sluggish start suggested to some – myself included – that Gian Piero Gasperini might have lost his magic but he made a mockery of that assessment. Slowly but surely he reinvented another great side and blasted his way back into the Champions League. Their European form would send the mark even higher into the stratosphere and Atalanta can still finish third if they win their game in hand against Fiorentina on Sunday.
BOLOGNA, WE DID IT. ❤️💙#UCL #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/OCzf1RD2E4
— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en) May 12, 2024
BOLOGNA – 9/10 – To return to Europe would have been achievement enough but to make the Champions League could be revolutionary for the Rossoblu. They played cracking football and developed some of the league’s most envied talents in the process. Now they will hope to make sure the loss of Thiago Motta is not the start of a wider exodus.
ROMA – 6.5/10 – A real season of two halves from the surly, grouchy, red card heavy José Mourinho days to the more jovial, free-flowing form under Daniele De Rossi. A top six spot was enough to give them Europe of some flavour but they will hope to press on and finish higher in the next campaign.
LAZIO – 5.5/10 – Another club who changed coaches through the season to some effect but it couldn’t completely erase feelings of disappointment. Second place in 2022/23 should have been something to build on but instead their football went backwards and it looks like any advantage over their city rivals has been spurned.
FIORENTINA – 6/10 – The last dance for the Vincenzo Italiano era was an inconsistent one which delivered much more in cup competitions than it did in the league. They stumbled to another European finish, which owed a bit to their own efforts on the continent, but the pursuit of a consistent scorer hampered them throughout.
TORINO – 6/10 – They might yet end up with European football which would be a reward for some progress – if not spectacularly so. A tight defence helped to boost them up the table but an average of less than a goal per game did not make them a side many neutrals would tune in to see.
NAPOLI – 4/10 – The reigning champions delivered probably the worst defence of a Scudetto crown in history. Despite the loss of their coach they should have managed much more but it felt like a lengthy hangover after a glorious celebration. It started badly under Rudi Garcia and never improved. Fan delight, though, may still take years to subside.
🖼️🔴🔵🖼️ pic.twitter.com/miLW6T5vt1
— Genoa CFC (@GenoaCFC) May 24, 2024
GENOA – 7/10 – Some bad early results had many concerned about the Grifone’s fate but Alberto Gilardino steadied the ship to achieve a more than comfortable survival. With Samp stuck at least another year in Serie B, it gives them bragging rights in the city for some time. And all done while playing some more than respectable football.
MONZA – 6.5/10 – To confirm last season’s revelation was impressive enough but still there must be some regret that they failed to push on. On their day they were more than capable of giving anyone a game but a little more work is needed to make another leap forward. Decent, but felt like it could have been even better.
VERONA – 7.5/10 – Not everyone could lose half their team in January and still build Serie A survival out of it but Marco Baroni did. Hats off to the Florentine coach and his players for battling with such spirit and resolve to defy the odds. Can they do it again next season? Never say never.
LECCE – 6.5/10 – Survival was always the objective and it was managed with the backing of a never anything less than vociferous support. Still, they feel a bit caught in a halfway house where they could aspire to a little bit more than just keeping their heads above water. Credit for staying up but with a nagging thought that there might have been more possible.
CAGLIARI – 7/10 – A sentimental vote for Claudio Ranieri’s last campaign which delivered another season in Serie A just as he did in the islands so many years ago. There were so many epic moments that his substitutes turned a game that you could hardly fail to have been entertained. Hail Claudio indeed.
Tu che chiamale se vuoi… EMOZIONI 👏🏼❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/PKLJCjIyek
— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 22, 2024
UDINESE – 5.5/10 – Another club of constant sliding doors where the lack of consistent personnel from season to season took its toll. They chopped and changed their coaches too in a bid to find the form that could banish thoughts of Serie B. On the final day, Fabio Cannavaro oversaw the win that got them home but it was far from easy.
EMPOLI – 6.5/10 – They were always under pressure in Tuscany after a dreadful start to the campaign but they never lost faith. They binned Paolo Zanetti quickly, turned to Aurelio Andreazzoli before eventually going for Mr Miracles – Davide Nicola. He delivered with an epic late win over Roma on the last day to keep them up.
FROSINONE 6/10 – There was a brief spell at the start of the season when they threatened to outshine regional rivals Roma and Lazio but it soon settled into a tougher fight. Still, they kept Eusebio Di Francesco and it produced some decent football at times. It ended, though, in the cruellest heartache in the season’s dying embers.
SASSUOLO – 4/10 – The victories over Inter aside this was largely a depressing campaign as all the player sales seemed to take their toll. A serious injury to Mimmo Berardi was the lid on the relegation coffin after more than a decade. Now the hard work begins to ensure they bounce back quickly.
SALERNITANA – 3/10 – A chaotic summer quickly led to a desperate year where they seemed destined for Serie B almost from the outset. Without the goals of Boulaye Dia they looked like a Second Division side with a scattergun approach to signings. A big shake-up will be needed to get back to the top flight.