With the return of Serie A upon us, many are unsure what to expect from a second half of a season disrupted by the six-week World Cup break, details Apollo Heyes.
68 players left Italy for Qatar in November and now all of them are back, ready to return to normality with their clubs. For some, they’ll be desperate to maintain early momentum in the coming months, whilst others will be hoping for a change in fortunes after such an unprecedented break.
Leagues around Europe have already shown us that things will likely be a little different after the World Cup. Paris Saint-Germain suffered a 3-1 loss to Lens, Barcelona only picked up a point when hosting Espanyol and Manchester City failed to find the win over Everton, suggesting that those who went off to Qatar will need a little more time to get back into the swing of things.
It’s likely that some clubs will be more heavily impacted by the World Cup than others. Juventus sent 11 players to the tournament and three were involved until the very end – Frenchman Adrien Rabiot and Argentine duo Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria.
Whilst this could be a worrying sign for the Old Lady, the break has also allowed them to work on their injury crisis and first team stars Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba will soon been regular features again. Their increased integration of young players also show that they have a variety of options at their disposal.
None of Napoli’s players went particularly far in the World Cup but they’ll have anxieties of a different nature. They flew off at the start of the season, running out the gate in electric fashion as they shot up the Serie A table and booked their spot in the Champions League knock-out stages.
They’ll be desperate to maintain this momentum and will hope that the break didn’t upset the balance in the Campania capital. One or two smart January signings could help tighten their grip on a first Scudetto in over three decades.
Milan said goodbye to seven first team regulars at the start of the World Cup break and their French pairing of Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud will be key for Stefano Pioli in the coming months, so they’ll be hoping the duo manage to avoid any injuries in the coming weeks.
They’re already without goalkeeper Mike Maignan, forcing their hand in the transfer window, and other additions could be exactly what they need to try and close the eight-point gap with the league leaders. The Rafael Leao situation is also seemingly nearing an end and tying down the Portuguese star to a new contract would certainly calm the waters in the Lombardy capital.
Inter also sent seven players to Qatar and three returned earlier than expected, giving them a slight advantage over their competitors. Simone Inzaghi’s outfit did not particularly enjoy the first half of the campaign and the break came at a good time, allowing them to take a breather and re-focus on their goals after a stressful few months.
The Nerazzurri sit 11 points behind Napoli and beating the league leaders in their upcoming head-to-head clash would be the perfect way for them to fire up the jets for the new year. That result would also put them eight points behind Luciano Spalletti’s side, allowing them to dream of a possible Scudetto bid.
With 23 games left to play, anything can still happen in this Serie A season and the impact of the six-week World Cup break remains to be seen.