Inter Milan did a whole of the Italian football landscape a lot of good by winning the league last season. If they had not, Juventus would have won an unprecedented 10th straight league title, a feat never before in any of Europe’s top 5 leagues. It was the manager that started their level of dominance, Antonio Conte, that led Inter to their well-deserved title; the Italian starting and ending the best run in Italian domestic football history. Had the Bianconeri won the title, their fans would have bragging rights for life, and rightly so.
While the 9 consecutive league titles is not to be sniffed at, 10 would have represented immortality. While the Old Lady is seemingly not in the frame to win another league title this term, football neutrals invested in Serie A will prefer anyone between Napoli or AC Milan to win the Scudetto this time, obviously for sentimental reasons. These two teams have not won the league in such a long time, but rather for football reasons, it would do the Italian top-flight a lot of good if any of these teams win the championship.
Napoli have not won the league in more than 30 years, since the glory days of Diego Maradona and there have been many near misses, most especially under Maurizio Sarri, but the football-mad city of Naples is due another league title. Should they win, it would lay credence to the fact that any team with the right leadership, good management and players with hunger can still win a championship, despite the formidable financial strength of their closest rivals. It would also be evidence that a team can compete, lose its way and still find a way and will to win, despite all the odds.
For Milan, who are the second most successful team in the history of the Champions League, it will re-establish them as one of the best teams on the continent, and regain their place as one of the pantheons of the game in Europe. Milan could end 11 years of hurt with another Scudetto title, and paint San Siro red and white again, as they could only watch with envy as their closest and bitter rivals, Inter Milan end their own decade of hurt by winning the league title under Conte last term.
Serie A could do with another winner, and for Napoli and Milan, this is the best chance they can get. Italian football will be better for it, in the spirit of competition.
The odds
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