Serie A

10 Things In Italy: A Tale Of 2 Milans, Old Juventus & Sinisa Mihajlovic

10 Things In Italy: A Tale Of 2 Milans, Old Juventus & Sinisa Mihajlovic

Your favorite Serie A column is back, starting with two teams in Milan on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Aug 28, 2019
10 Things In Italy: A Tale Of 2 Milans, Old Juventus & Sinisa Mihajlovic

Serie A is back, which means “10 Things” is, too.

Here’s the first column of the new campaign, keeping you up to date with the most important moments from the last seven days in Italian football.

1. Sinisa Mihajlovic Is A Warrior

Clearly we all love football, but some things just transcend the sport and deserve to be appreciated by everyone. Sinisa Mihajlovic being on the Bologna bench on Sunday evening is one of them.

The Rossoblu coach was diagnosed with leukemia and spent the last six weeks in a clinic undergoing chemotherapy, keeping in constant contact with his staff and players using video links to supervise training.



That was expected to continue as Bologna took on Hellas Verona, but the 50-year-old checked out of the hospital and sat on the Stadio Bentegodi bench, watching as his side earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

Forza Sinisa!

2. New Season, Same Old Juventus (Literally)

After weeks and weeks of anticipation about how the new Juventus would look and how they might play, the 2019-20 campaign’s first fixture had an air of familiar disappointment to it. Fans of Juventus will be happy enough to have seen their team win against Parma, but most will find it hard to get excited about a starting XI that contained Mattia De Scigilo, Sami Khedira, and Blaise Matuidi. 

With Matthijs de Ligt and Paulo Dybala also benched in favor of Leonardo Bonucci and Gonzalo Higuain, there was a very 2017 feel to the Bianconeri setup, and that was reflected in a dour second half where they struggled to create chances against a resilient opponent. 

The problems Juventus have had this past summer were discussed in this previous column, and while it is only one game, supporters will certainly be looking to see more new faces next time out. 

3. Aleksandar Kolarov’s Still Got It

While the Old Lady needs to change, AS Roma fullback Aleksandar Kolarov showed on Sunday that he doesn’t. The Giallorossi signed Leonardo Spinazzola last month and the Italy international was expected to replace the former Manchester City man, but was forced to look on as the veteran retained his place against Genoa. 



But Kolarov showed that he fully deserved his place, slotting home a trademark free kick that underlined just how good he is. With a disappointing 3-3 draw and the Rome derby against Lazio next week, the Giallorossi will need more than just a moment of magic, but just look at that strike!

4. But Francesco Totti Not Impressed

That result certainly did not seem to convince Francesco Totti about the quality of his old side, the former Roma skipper having quit his managerial role at the club this past summer after complaining he had been marginalized. 

“I hope that I’m wrong, but when you’ve been in football for 30 years, you have a good eye,” he told Radio Radio. “I think many fans like me hope to see a great Roma that can get back into the Champions League and hope the club is working in that direction.

“Unfortunately, Roma can only hope to fight for fourth place,” Totti continued. “That is the reality of the situation, seeing what happened in preseason.”

5. Franck Ribery Leads Exciting Changes In Florence

Continuing the theme of old faces thriving, Franck Ribery made his Fiorentina debut on Saturday evening, unfortunate not to be awarded a spot kick after he was dragged to the floor by Elseid Hysaj on the edge of the penalty area. 

Irrespective of his failure to get on the scoresheet, the France international has certainly provided a major morale boost in the renaissance city, his arrival adding to the upbeat feelings generated by new owner Rocco Commisso. 



Fans have been re-energized and the atmosphere at the Artemio Franchi seems even louder than normal as Ribery leads La Viola into a bright new era. With seven of their starting XI against Napoli 23 or under, things are certainly looking up!

6. But VAR Controversy Spoils Incredible Match

Sadly for lovers of Serie A, it didn’t take long for controversy to raise its ugly head, the second match of the new campaign marred by some woeful officiating as Dries Mertens was awarded a penalty for a clear dive in the box. 



It appeared as if the official on the field Davide Massa didn’t even consult the VAR team, leaving his boss extremely disappointed. 

“There was something which didn’t work in the collaboration between the referee and VAR,” refereeing designator Nicola Rizzoli told reporters shortly afterward. “It was an error that must be corrected and can’t happen again.”

Sadly that came too late for Fiorentina as they lost 4-3 to Napoli, the incident overshadowing what was otherwise a spectacular advertisement for Italian football. But as we know, it won’t be the last time that happens in 2019-20…

7. Atalanta Thrilling Fans Already

It seemed as if the new season wasn’t going to start in the way Atalanta wanted, last term’s brightest side finding themselves 0-2 down against SPAL after just 26 minutes on Sunday evening. However, the Bergamaschi proved once again just why they fully deserved to finish third in the previous campaign, fighting back to a superb 3-2 victory over a shell-shocked opponent. 

“The problem, unfortunately, is that we always seem to start slowly,” Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini told Sky Italia shortly after the final whistle. “We didn’t want to leave ourselves open too early, but that’s precisely what we did end up doing… We still struggle to express ourselves in certain conditions, but I’d like us to always play like that and not just when we have to turn negative situations around.”

Neutral fans would beg to differ!

8. AC Milan Woes Continue

The start of a new season was expected to see a rejuvenated AC Milan return to relevance, but it certainly didn’t, the Rossoneri losing to an Udinese outfit who were almost relegated just a few months ago. 

A 1-0 loss on the opening day is certainly not the end of the world, and it was always going to take time to improve what he inherited, but new Milan boss Marco Giampaolo appeared thoroughly crushed when addressing the media after the defeat.

“We’ll have to work on it and certainly in a different way, probably 4-3-3,” he told Sky Italia. “It’s not their fault, they have tried really hard, but I mustn’t try to transform their very nature. That is not my job. I have to make the most of these players and their qualities. Until today, we didn’t see that so clearly.”

Not exactly what supporters of the San Siro giants want to hear after just 90 minutes of the season.

9. But Inter Start On Fire

While their crosstown rivals seemingly have a lot of work to do, neighbors Inter stormed into the new season with a 4-0 smashing of Lecce. The newly promoted minnows looked completely out of their depth against Antonio Conte’s new-look side, the former Italy and Chelsea boss clearly having made his presence felt already. 



Romelu Lukaku got on the score sheet, Antonio Candreva enjoyed his best outing in years, and fans on the Curva Nord left the arena rightly pleased with what they had seen. Yes, it was only Lecce and much stiffer tests await, but right now Inter supporters could not have asked for more from their first-week display. 

10. And Then Sign Alexis Sanchez!

Having already invested heavily in their squad this summer, Inter followed up that first victory by continuing to provide Antonio Conte with new weapons as Alexis Sanchez arrived in Milan on Wednesday evening. 



The Chilean forward will hope to rediscover the form he showed at Arsenal, Barcelona and of course Udinese, rather than the forlorn and ineffective figure he cut at Manchester United over the past 18 months.

Adam Digby is an Italian football writer for FourFourTwo, The Independent, and elsewhere. Author of "Juventus: A History In Black & White." Follow Adam on Twitter.