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Chivu’s Inter sent a clear message to the league—and especially to Napoli. Milan’s slip-up confirms once again that the opening rounds are always unpredictable.
Matchday 1 of Serie A has already handed down some early verdicts and first hints: both Scudetto favorites, Inter and Napoli, got off to winning starts, dodging the risks and uncertainties of the opener. Milan, on the other hand, stumbled badly at home, collapsing against Davide Nicola’s Cremonese.
The Rossoneri’s defeat is without doubt the biggest surprise of these opening 90 minutes in our much-maligned Serie A. The other big side to lose their opener, Lazio, at least had the excuse of playing away against Como—a team that’s no longer a surprise package and spent around €100 million this summer—while the Biancocelesti stood still, hampered by the liquidity index rules, and essentially fielded the same roster as last season.
As for Milan, there are mitigating factors behind the misstep: numerous injuries, key departures, and a delayed transfer market have turned Milanello into an ongoing construction site. Allegri’s job won’t be easy, but he has the experience and tactical acumen to get the Rossoneri back on track. Last year, Conte’s Napoli also opened with a disastrous 0-3 loss away to Verona, and we all know how that season turned out.
This time, Napoli started on the right foot thanks to the usual McTominay and the league’s marquee signing, Kevin De Bruyne. At 34, he still has a couple of seasons left to make a decisive impact, and both Conte and the Neapolitan faithful hope he can help add more silverware to a trophy cabinet that in recent years has not only been dusted off but restocked for celebration.
If Conte is a certainty, Chivu began his Inter tenure surrounded by doubts: little managerial experience, an aging squad, and a miserable end to last season (zero trophies). Inter needed to send a strong message—perhaps first and foremost to themselves. Their resounding 5-0 win over Torino in Sunday night’s late game carries even greater weight than the three valuable points it brought.
If Napoli and Inter are universally considered the favorites for the Scudetto, the “second row” (to stick with the racing metaphor) is crowded: Juve and Milan complete the group of traditional powerhouses, with Atalanta and Roma as potential outsiders, and why not also Fiorentina, Lazio, and Bologna? All chasing a spot in the sun—and especially in Europe—armed with significant qualities relative to the level of the league. Once they were called the “Seven Sisters”; today we’re already up to nine, perhaps more due to the league’s overall decline in quality than an actual rise in competitiveness. I’ll call them the “Nine Cousins.”
So let’s assess their debuts: 4 wins (Napoli, Inter, Juve, and Roma), 2 draws (Atalanta and Fiorentina), and 3 defeats (Milan, Lazio, and Bologna). Bologna lost away to Roma, which softens the blow since it was a “direct clash.” By the same logic, Roma’s victory gains even more weight, as theirs was the toughest assignment on paper among the cousins.
Excluding that match at the Olimpico, the other seven cousins played seven games. Three ended in victory (Napoli, Inter, and Juve), while in the remaining four, the cousin in question failed to take all three points (Milan, Atalanta, Lazio, and Fiorentina).
This leaves us with two key takeaways. First, early-season fixtures are always tricky for favorites: smaller teams often front-load their efforts to stockpile precious points for the relegation fight later in the season, while the big clubs, burdened by heavy preseason training to prepare for multiple competitions, often look sluggish. Second, Serie A’s middle class will struggle to reach paradise: with the overall level dropping, it’s more likely that the minnows will trouble mid-table sides and steal points from them.
Aiming high in hopes of making the leap in quality is fine, but the most important thing is keeping your feet on the ground to avoid falling. Sometimes heavily, as Milan just did.
L’articolo Serie A: A Debut Full of Light and Shadow for the “Nine Cousins” proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
