The last rendition of Serie A, the premier Italian league, was very exciting. After almost a decade of Juventus domination, the Italian title was returned to Milan and the Giuseppe Meazza. In this post, though, we're looking at Serie A players to watch.
The iconic club from the world capital of fashion, Inter Milan, stopped the Juve streak of winning and won the title. This is the same team that has had smaller or bigger crises in the last 10 years since last winning the trophy. There were some incredibly poor seasons and even though there was a bit of a bounce-back, no one expected them to be back on top so soon.
Additionally, the rise of teams like Atalanta and a comeback for Milan and Lazio means a more competitive league. Juve does not have a stroll towards the championship anymore and that makes every neutral fan who likes to watch the Serie A very excited. However, to fully enjoy the season, here are three players to keep a very keen eye on for this season of Italian football.
Serie A Players To Watch
Edin Dzeko, Inter Milan
Starting with the champions themselves, they have lost two important pieces from last season. Right-back Achraf Hakimi and star striker Romelu Lukaku moved to PSG and Chelsea, respectively. They were, however, replaced by Denzel Dumfries and Edin Dzeko, who will be looking to make an impact right away. These two players are in two different states of their careers, with Dumfries almost just starting and Dzeko having his last big years on the European scene.
However, it is exactly Dzeko who should be watched in this season of Serie A. The Bosnian forward is an experienced player who has seen it all. He won the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, the Premiership with Manchester City, and played some great seasons in Roma. Last year was clearly a down year for Dzeko, scoring only seven goals in 27 Serie A matches, but that does not mean that he was not useful.
Dzeko's value comes from goals, as he does have 306 club goals in his career. However, he can also shield the ball like the best of players in the world and distribute it. If Inter can deploy formations with Dzeko and fast wingers, or fast attackers and Dzeko as an advanced number 9, they will be able to utilize his skillset to the maximum. This is the sunset of his career and he will give it his best, so the forward should be a key contributor for Inter this season.
Paulo Dybala, Juventus
Juventus did not have a great summer, nor a great last season. Losing the title was bad enough, but losing to Porto in the round of 16 in the Champions League and losing Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer just makes the year abysmal for the 36-time Italian champions. However, after night, there is always dawn and the light of that dawn must be Paulo Dybala, Argentinian wizard that was somewhat forgotten last few years.
After bursting onto the scene with Palermo in 2014-15, Dybala was dominating for the Bianconeri in his first three years in Turin. But then, after a poor 2018-19 season with only five Serie A goals and a small bounce-back in the season after that with 11, he scored just four goals and only featured in 20 Serie A games. Unfortunately for the Argentinian, his favorite position was not part of the plans of the last few coaches.
Now, without Ronaldo and with Max Allegri back in the coaching seat, Dybala should have tons of space. If injuries avoid him, and if Allegri can find him a proper spot in the attacking third of Juve, Dybala might be reminding us why Barcelona thought that he would be a good replacement for Lionel Messi. He already has a goal in Serie A and in the Champions League. Hopefully, for the Juve faithful, he can continue like that for the whole season.
Robin Gosens, Atalanta
It has been an interesting few seasons in Bergamo. Atalanta went through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time ever in 2020 and has been a stable member of the top four in Italy since 2016, with one exception in 2017. On the other hand, one of their biggest stars Josip Ilicic was absent from the team in 2020 for a number of months, just after the team made their first deep run in European football, causing major distress among the team and their supporters.
Now, it seems like everything is in place. Unfortunately for their fans, there was no major step forward taken with the confidence accumulated over the last few years. The team finished third in Serie A three years in a row and their offensive threat has been neutralized by their poor defending. However, one positive about their defense is Robin Gosens.
Gosens was absolutely mesmerizing during the EURO's for Germany, running down the wing but also defending every attack down his side. He plays with a ton of energy and seems tireless. While he alone will not solve the issues Atalanta is having at the back, the combination of EURO superstars Gosens and Joakim Mehle should be enough to cover at least one side of the defense. When Juventus prospect on loan, Merih Demiral, is added, the defensive woes should be a thing of the past.
Gosens is really key in this line-up. He has all the confidence in the world from the EURO's and there are a few fullbacks in the world that can stop what he can do right now.
Nevertheless, do you agree with our Serie A players to watch of Robin Gosens, Edin Dzeko, and Paulo Dybala?
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