Alessandro Nesta discussed the pressure of Juventus, Roma’s impressive signing of Paulo Dybala and Lazio’s strong summer transfer window.
The Serie A season is rapidly approaching and the Italian clubs are still working hard to strengthen their teams a little ahead of the first round of games, being played earlier than usual due to the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.
Juventus, Roma and Lazio have all had strong windows so far, with Napoli also doing alright, but fans in Lombardy are a little concerned after the slow progress of the two Milan clubs, setting up an exciting battle for the top four next season.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Nesta first discussed which Italian team has the best chances of success in the Champions League next season.
“Inter, the team to beat in the league, then Juventus. Milan still needs to add a few important pieces to improve in the Champions League, they have recently started a journey.
“Napoli have lost their soul a bit. Koulibaly and Insigne are great champions who kept the team together, even off the pitch. Replacing them will be difficult.”
The former Lazio and Milan defender then gave his thoughts on Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus.
“Juventus, with all they spend, are forced to win something, at least the Scudetto. Last year they did badly, now they’re obliged to win something important.
“The coach? At Juventus now whoever takes on the role suffers. Sarri was no good, Pirlo was inexperienced, Allegri came back and didn’t win, I wouldn’t want the coach to always be the problem.
“The squad also needs to be fixed, it needs to be more functional, lately it has been weaker compared to the game they wanted to play.”
Nesta touched on the arrival of Dybala to Roma and how much that improves Jose Mourinho’s side.
“Dybala to Roma is a great signing, a unique player, one of the few number 10s left. With Mourinho the enthusiasm was ignited and the team did well. With Paulo a new boost will come, also with future investments.
“Can he make the Giallorossi take a leap forward? Let’s hope not! Well, I am Lazio fan through and through, and not hypocritical. Certainly, after such an important purchase Roma must raise the bar and aspire for a place in the Champions League.”
Finally, Nesta gave his thoughts on Lazio’s summer transfer window.
“Last year Lazio suffered from the change of system and formation. With Sarri’s ideas so many players became non-functional. Now they are fixing things.
“They have kept the big boys and put a few players in, they too must aim higher than in the past.”