Across all of Europe’s major domestic football leagues, the 2024/25 campaign is now nigh on at a close and each country can lay claim to creating solidly entertaining headlines this year, but whilst some may look at the Premier League and note that 16th place Manchester United lost to 17th placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League Final, the Italian Serie A season has been gripping.
After some toing and froing across the months, Friday evenings action went down to the proverbial wire with second placed Inter Milan taking a 2-0 victory over Como, and first placed Napoli matching that score in their victory over Cagliari. In taking the win, Antonio Conte’s side avoided a title play off by maintaining the single point advantage they held to lift this years’ Scudetto and consigning I Nerazzurri to the runners up spot with the required Serie A results in.
Scott McTominay’s £25.7 million arrival over the summer from Old Trafford had already created plenty of headlines for Serie A previews as the 28 year old 60 capped Scottish international quickly settled into life at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and began impressing. Having played a key part in their surge to the title this year with their Serie A scores, the midfielder was again front and centre with his performance as his 42nd minute goal (his 12th goal of the campaign) set them on their way to victory, and having already attained hero status, he has now cemented himself as a club legend in his first 12 months.
With fellow former Manchester United striker, Romelu Lukaku, grabbing the second to ensure that they claimed their fourth Serie A title, McTominay was then quickly named as Serie A’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the 2024/25 campaign.
Having been with United for 20 years having come through their youth Academy ranks, his desire for a change of scenery allied to the club being desperate to cash in for Profit and Sustainability Rule reasons, has worked out perfectly for the Lancaster born talent – but having now helped his new club to the title and top place in the Serie A standings, there will most certainly be those United fans who look back on the deal with even more confusion and anger given the part he could have played in what became an utterly disastrous season for them where cost cutting, and not success, has become the order of the day under minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Conte takes major credit for the upturn in his goalscoring form though. Having predominantly been used as a more defensive minded midfielder at United, the Italian gaffer promoted him to a more offensive minded role in the middle of the park, and clearly the player relished it, returning his 12 league goals in only 34 matches and he is the top scoring midfielder in Serie A this year. As a comparison, he only scored 19 times in 178 Premier League games for his former club, so it really has been a match made in heaven and fans of the Partenopei have reacted well to that.
Naples is a one club city, and despite the lack of success through history, heroes are truly idolised and McTominay’s favourite given nickname is now McFratm – which translates roughly as McBro in Neapolitan slang. Others have been gifted as McTerminator, MacGyver and ‘the bottle opener’ (aprilbottiglie) and he is thriving on the bond that has been quickly built.
The only question to be asked when the celebrations end is, can he maintain, or better, this form next season? Successive and back to back titles is unthinkable…is it not?
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