After the 23/24 season, Serie A might not have been the closest as Inter ran away with the League title, but there wasn't one team dominating all competitions. Juventus won the Coppa Italia and a strong contingent of Italian teams progressed deep in the Europa League knockout stages, with Atalanta taking the crown after upsetting Bayer Leverkusen.
Through these great performances for Serie A clubs, the league was confirmed as Europe's strongest league in the European Coefficient ranking system, earning them an extra League Phase position for this year's Champions League.
Whilst last season's league wasn't the closest, the 24/25 season has certainly made up for it.
In the title race, the top six teams are separated by only 4 points, 7th to 11th by four points, with all four teams from second to fifth sitting on 28 points after 13 games.
On top of this, 12th down to 20th are separated by just five points. So, Serie A is still completely wide open across the board, and we still have 25 games left of the season.
Serie A's Prime, Downfall & Modern Ressurgance
In the 90s, Serie A clubs won a combined 13 European trophies, had multiple record transfers, saw six Ballon D'or winners and various iconic stars from the likes of Batisuta to Zidane; it was considered the League's golden era.
As it was considered the strongest and most competitive league in the world, it attracted the best talent from around the world that showcased a blend of tactical brilliance, defensive stability and extraordinary flair.
This era of Italian football brought so much attention to the top flight of Italian football, but it didn't last into the 21st century.
In the early 2000's but mainly the infamous 'Calcioopoli' Match Fixing Scandal that led to huge point deductions for some of the biggest clubs, this period took away the appeal that the league once had to big-name players, making the league less competitive as a result.
However in recent years, there has been a resurgence, with a focus coming on youth development such as the likes of Francesco Camarda for AC Milan as well as more strategic investments being made.
While it may not be as popular as some of the the other leagues in Europe they are definitely starting to find the spark that made Serie A so special in the 1990's and slowly going back to what made the top flight so popular.
This Year's Title Race
In the last five seasons, Serie A has seen 4 different winners in Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Napoli, and whilst the league winner hasn't really had to deal with a proper title race in any of those seasons, this season is much different.
After 13 games, there are six teams from Napoli at the top to Juventus in sixth that have only four points between each other, with Lazio, Fiorentina, Inter and Atalanta making up the gap.
Fiorentina will want to extend their winning streak to eight games as they welcome Inter Milan this weekend. Palladiono's side are level on 28 points with Atalanta, Inter and Lazio and trailing league leaders Napoli by one point, and both Inter and FIorentina will know by kick-off if they can overtake Napoli who are at Torino before the clash in Florence.
Fiorentina's last trophy was the 2001 Italian Cup and will be facing an Inter Milan side that aren't quite up to the standards they are used to off the back of last years title winning season and is certainly going to be the highlight of the weekend.
Atalanta will be ready to pounce on any slip ups that occur this weekend, as they are are continuing to play some of Europe's most exciting football and will face a struggling Roma side in Rome.
Gasperini's side are yet another team with Napoli in their sights and simply cannot be discounted from the title race after winnign 10 of 11 matches in an unbeaten run that extends to the start of October.
Napoli have bounced back to similar form of their title winning season a few years ago and are playing much better than their lack lustre season last year which saw them fail to retain the Scudetto.
Apart from their embarrassing 3-0 loss to Atalanta which ended their nine game unbeaten run in the league, they have managed to bounce back and are undefeated in their last two games.
Lazio are on a five game unbeaten run since their 1-0 loss to Juventus and will be looking to extend that to six games as they take on newly promoted Parma.
Victory for the Europa League leaders could take them top, but even if results elsewhere don't entirely go their way, they known that victory is guaranteed to take them into the top four as at least one of either Inter or Fiorentina will drop points in their showdown in Florence.
Juventus are slowly getting back to their usual selves and will want to continued success this season after winning last seasons Coppa Italia.
The Old Lady sit in 6th and like Lazio can leapfrog into the top four.
Juve are looking to keep their unbeaten streak in the league having won six and drawn seven games. Thiago Motta's side will be travelling to Lecce which should be a straightforward result and help bring back Juventus even closer to the title race, after a few years out of contention.
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