With the season less than a week away, Roma enter the new term hoping to improve on last year’s sixth place finish and potentially end their 23-year long Serie A title drought.
After last season’s rollercoaster, supporters will be counting on manager Daniele De Rossi to bring stability and hopefully snap their six-year absence from the Champions League.
So with the new season just days away, what are the Giallorossi’s prospects in the 2024/25 Italian league campaign?
De Rossi Brings Optimism, Fresh Ideas
The arrival of former captain and club legend Daniele De Rossi in mid-January created significant enthusiasm. Given the Italian played 459 times for the Giallorossi, his familiarity with the environment has paid dividends.
With De Rossi entering his first full season on the bench, new sporting director Florent Ghisolfi overhauled the squad following the departures of several players including Romelu Lukaku, Sardar Azmoun, Renato Sanches, and Rasmus Kristensen, whose parent club Leeds United are the 7/2 favourites in the English Championship betting this season.
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— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) August 2, 2024
Despite these exits, Roma are likely to be one of the popular football tips this season thanks to an impressive summer transfer campaign. After acquiring youngster Enzo Le Fee and Matias Soule, the Giallorossi made a huge splash by securing La Liga’s top scorer from last season, Artem Dovbyk.
The Ukrainian scored over 20 league goals for Girona last season as Roma supporters hope he can fill the hole left by Lukaku.
The squad overhaul will provide De Rossi, who prefers an attacking brand of football, with more options and flexibility throughout the pitch.
Inter the Team to Beat Again
Unsurprisingly, defending champions Inter are the team to beat again in Serie A. Simone Inzaghi’s side prevailed by 19 points last season, one of the largest margins of victory in the Italian league history, and they’ve given few reasons for why they won’t repeat.
The Nerazzurri added shot-stopper Josep Martinez, the expected long-term replacement to Yann Sommer, and signed free agent duo Piotr Zelenski and Mehdi Taremi.
Meanwhile, Lautaro Martinez, last season’s top goal scorer in Serie A, is back to guide the attack alongside assist-man Marcus Thuram—leaving few flaws within Inzaghi’s team.
Juventus in the Mix for the Crown
Italy’s most successful club, Juventus, hit the reset button this summer by appointing Thiago Motta to replace season manager Max Allegri. Motta, who spent the past two seasons with Bologna, will be expected overhaul the Old Lady’s playing style and inject excitement into the squad.
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— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) August 7, 2024
Juventus have already splashed the cash this summer to strengthen their title bid. They signed Brazilian star Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa, while goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio arrived from Monza.
