The Italian football's new season kicked off yesterday with the start of the Serie A, with the strong desire of many clubs to end the Juventus monopoly of years of local championships. The focus is more on former Juventus coach Antonio Conte, who is expected to make a real leap in local competitions after his contract with Intermilan, and to make several big deals.
Conte was frank and professional in explaining why he accepted the job of Inter and his desire to end the dominance of Juventus, a club that has succeeded him as a player and coach. "In the last eight seasons there has been no competition for first place in Serie A," Conte said, a few days after signing Inter in May.
Conte took charge of Inter after resting in recent months following two seasons with Chelsea from 2016 to 2018 in which he won a single Premier League title. Conte has previously coached Juventus and led him to the first three titles in his eight consecutive Serie A titles in recent seasons. He then took charge of Italy for two years before moving to the Premier League. Conte has also won five Serie A titles with Juventus as a midfielder.
"Here at Inter they want to change these things," he said. The insistence of Inter president Stephen Chang impressed me. I can't wait to lead Inter to the right place. "The fans are waiting a lot and right."
The challenge for Conte, which annoys some Juventus fans, starts tomorrow, with Inter visiting Lecce at the end of the first round of the competition.
Conte began his football career in Lecce, where he was born in the same city as the club, and stayed with this team until he moved to Turin to play for Juventus.
Many believe Inter will be the strongest contender for Juventus this season.
Inter this summer signed Uruguayan defender Diego Godin as a freelance player, dangerous Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku from Man United for 80 million euros, and Italian midfielder Nicolo Barilla. Striker Mauro Icardi, meanwhile, has little chance of staying at Inter after losing the captain's armband and missed part of last season amid fierce talks over his contract renewal.
Juventus are on the defensive this season under coach Maurizio Sarri, who took over this summer as coach of Massimiliano Alegre, who has led the team for the past five seasons.
Napoli are in the second consecutive season under coach Carlo Ancelotti, who has signed Dutch striker Herving Lozano for PSV Eindhoven, after strengthening the defense with two prominent players, including veteran Costas Manolas.
Napoli have included Giovanni Di Lorenzo, right-back of Empoli, who have confirmed that they are proud to coach under Ancelotti this season, which he believes will be the toughest and toughest title.
Uruguayan defender Godin and Belgian striker Lukaku are among the new highlights of Inter Milan.