After 18 rounds of Serie A action, calcio takes a break for Christmas and the new year. This is how the season has unfolded so far…
When the leading club domestically purchase the standout performer of the previous season little is likely to change, and sitting top of Serie A at the midway stage Juventus and Gonzalo Higuain reinforce that rule.
However, while the Bianconeri look primed for a sixth consecutive Scudetto, it is equally disappointing that as the winter festivities begin the top three match those that ended the 2015-16 campaign.
At second-placed Roma, though, Edin Dzeko has proved plenty of his critics wrong this term with 13 goals – just eight in total last season – but remains one the few improvements of a club set to make another half-hearted title challenge.
With Champions League football back at the San Paolo, Napoli took their eye seriously off-the-ball early on domestically, but cling onto a qualifying place for next season’s competition after Dries Mertens hit consecutive hat-tricks against Cagliari and Torino.
One of the more positive stories for Serie A this term has been the apparent resurgence of AC Milan, particularly as new coach Vincenzo Montella has done so with little money, due to continued search for new owners.
Despite results sometimes exceeding performances, the Rossoneri even threatened to make a Scudetto challenge, but some disappointing results as shutdown approached raise questions as to whether they will make a push for Champions League football come May.
Instead, Milan are set to play a part in one of the season’s more entertaining storylines that is the race for Europa League qualification, with Torino and Atalanta battling it out with their more illustrious rivals.
Granata striker Andrea Belotti is hot on the heels of Capocannonieri leader Mauro Icardi, but the personal plaudits he receives often hide the understated work of new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic in Turin.
In comparison, another new coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, over in Bergamo is given plenty of praise for breathing fresh life into one of Serie A’s mid-table regulars, who display great collective spirit to cope with the loss of talisman German Denis 12 months ago.
Down the road at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, it has already been a season of relative turmoil at Inter, with Frank de Boer lasting barely three months in the coaching hot-seat and captain Icardi trying to start a civil war with the club’s ultras.
When the 25-year-old enraged the Interisti with comments in his autobiography in October, things could have got quite ugly for the outspoken striker, but being the Nerazzurri’s main source of goals must have worked in his favour as he kept the captaincy.
It is a similar story of disruption at another club expected to be challenging for Champions League football, Fiorentina, with coach Paulo Sousa no doubt contemplating a fate the same as De Boer when he tucks into his turkey this Christmas.
For the past 12 months performances at the Stadio Artemio Franchi have been questioned by Viola followers, and consecutive failures to win against Sassuolo, Lazio and Napoli going into the break will be hard to swallow.
Sneaking up almost unnoticed in recent weeks into fourth are Lazio under Simone Inzaghi, striker Ciro Immobile – back in Italy permanently after a loan spell at Torino – providing a cutting edge missing last term.
At the other end of the table, Pescara, Crotone and Palermo look to be set for immediate returns to Serie B, with the latter doing a phenomenal job at proving wrong those that believed they would retain top-flight status.
Until a sudden and unexpected reversal against Genoa on week 17, the Sicilian club had embarked on a quite stunning nine-match losing streak and owner Maurizio Zamperini showing comparative faith in now former coach Roberto De Zerbi.
The trio’s survival could well rest on those above them witnessing an equally poor run of form, with Sassuolo showing signs that their European excursions were hard to manage alongside domestic football.
After finishing bottom of Group F, the Neroverdi are yet to refocus their attention on Serie A and end the year with three consecutive defeats to sit seven points from safety. Only Empoli have had a worse start to the current campaign, hovering four points above 18th placed Palermo.
So, while rivals remain in touching distance at both ends of the standings, it has been a half-season of little surprises in Italy, but with the transfer window on the horizon, it will be a festive period spent by many clubs considering if they can finally end the current status quo come June.
