Sven-Göran Eriksson believes Milan will win Serie A this season and reveals why Massimiliano Allegri doesn’t entirely trust Dejan Kulusevski.
The former Lazio, Roma and England coach spoke to The Italian Football Podcast about the title race in Serie A and many other topics.
“I think on paper Inter are one of the favourites to win the Serie A this season, but they have lost very important players and it’s not easy to replace them,” the 73-year-old said.
“Juventus lost Cristiano Ronaldo too. Milan look very strong, and they almost defeated Liverpool in the Champions League. Ultimately, I think Milan will win, Inter will finish second then Juventus third and one of the Rome clubs will finish fourth.”
Roma are the Serie A table leaders after three games along with Napoli and Milan, but the Swedish coach doesn’t see the Giallorossi go all the way.
“I was surprised that Mourinho took Roma. Normally he takes clubs that can win titles for sure, I’m not sure Roma are good enough to win the Scudetto, I could be wrong,” he said.
“I think Mourinho will do well his first and second year, as usual, then we will see what happens. That’s the story normally with Mourinho. I’m quite sure that the players will like him, especially in the first years. It’s been like that everywhere he has been.
“If someone can do something very positive during these first years at Roma, it is Mourinho. But I’m not sure that Roma or Lazio can compete with Milan and Inter for the Scudetto.”
Eriksson also discussed Dejan Kulusevski’s performance at Juventus now that his compatriot has entered his second season at the club.
“Someone told me yesterday that Allegri thinks Kulusevski can’t read the game good enough. I don’t know what that means but obviously, the coach sees something that makes him not trust him 100%,” Eriksson revealed.
“But with the talent Kulusevski has, he can do things on his own. So, it is very strange that he doesn’t start every game. I don’t think he should leave Juve now, but if this goes on all season, and that he’s sitting on the bench, then I think he should leave.
“Also, at his age, with his talent, also for the Swedish National team, he needs to play regularly, he has to play a lot. If not he won’t become the great player we hope he will become.”
Eriksson coached many talented players during his career, including Roberto Mancini, who led Italy to win UEFA Euro 2020 in the summer.
“I could talk all day about Mancini. I knew that he was a good coach since 20-25 years ago when he was a player. I knew that if anyone were going to be a good coach, it would be him because he always has football in his brain. It’s been like that since he was 20 years old.
“It’s no surprise he played beautiful football because everything he does is elegant. The way he trains is elegant, the way he plays is elegant, the way he behaves is elegant. So he didn’t just win, but he won with class.”
“Italy are good at keeping the ball, but they are also direct with how they play. When they win the ball, they attack, they attack.
“Pep Guardiola is the best in the world, but it is not difficult to win when you spend that much money.”