The first two weeks of Serie A will see Borja Valero face Fiorentina and Luciano Spalletti return to Roma.
After a summer of big transfers between the Serie A clubs, there is no shortage of matches with an added edge to them.
The Derby della Capitale and Fiorentina-Juventus will always be passionate games, but here are the matches with a real personal flavour…
The first two weeks of Serie A will see Borja Valero face Fiorentina and Luciano Spalletti return to Roma.
After a summer of big transfers between the Serie A clubs, there is no shortage of matches with an added edge to them.
The Derby della Capitale and Fiorentina-Juventus will always be passionate games, but here are the matches with a real personal flavour…
Inter-Fiorentina [Week 1]
Borja Valero has made it abundantly clear that he never wanted to leave Fiorentina, with the Spanish midfielder feeling he was forced out by the club.
“I’d never have left Florence but after these problems the situation became unbearable,” the Spanish midfielder said earlier this month.
“I don’t think I was as important to them as Florence has always been to me. We couldn’t go on like that, you also have to think about yourself.”
Borja said these things in his official Inter presentation, giving the strongest possible impression of a man who didn’t actually want to be in this situation.
How exciting for him then, that he’ll face his old club at San Siro in the first game of the season.
He’ll probably be joined by Matias Vecino, but it’s Borja who will really be feeling the emotion of the occasion.
Roma-Inter [Week 2]
Luciano Spalletti has enjoyed two successful spells with Roma, but he’s not the most popular figure at Stadio Olimpico.
Rumours of a breakdown in his relationship with Francesco Totti, as well as eliminations in the Coppa Italia and Europa League saw the Coach whistled by the Giallorossi fans at the end of last season.
“I heard the whistles on Sunday. I had felt them before, I heard them before Sunday,” said Spalletti in his farewell Press conference, the Tuscan seemingly genuinely stung.
“I didn’t deserve those whistles for what I’ve done and how I worked… If they’d been in my head for a minute in those matches we lost, they wouldn’t have whistled on Sunday.”
The tactician was out of contract, and soon accepted the Inter job. He’ll probably experience a few more whistles when he returns to Stadio Olimpico in Week 2.
Lazio-Milan [Week 3]
Week 3 brings a similar story for the other half of Rome, with Lucas Biglia returning to Lazio.
The Argentine was Biancocelesti captain, but forced through a move to Milan in one of this summer’s most protracted transfer deals.
“I had taken it for granted that he’d stay,” Coach Simone Inzaghi admitted on Monday.
“When he told me before the Inter game that he wanted a change I was bewildered. I thought he’d stay as captain for another four years.”
A trip to Lazio will be a huge early test for the big-spending Rossoneri, and Biglia in particular.
Fiorentina-Juventus [Week 24]
Juventus’ trip to the Artemio Franchi is always a fiery occasion, and it will be even more heated this season.
Federico Bernardeschi committed the ultimate sin in leaving the Viola for their most hated rivals, following the path taken by Roberto Baggio in 1990.
That transfer sparked riots in the Florentine streets, and while Bernardeschi’s move wasn’t quite so angrily received, he won’t relish a return to the Viola.
Juventus-Milan [Week 30]
For Gonzalo Higuain last summer, read Leonardo Bonucci this.
The defender swapped Juventus for Milan in the most surprising transfer deal of the season, and he’ll face his old teammates in Week 11.
It’s later in the season though that the real fire could happen, with Bonucci returning to Turin in Week 30.
Given the investment the Rossoneri have made this summer, this match could well prove crucial in the title race, and the centre-back is sure to get a frosty reception.
Bonucci once sat among the ultras at Juventus Stadium when suspended for a match, but he’s unlikely to be so well received this time around.