After months of waiting, the moment that calcio fans worldwide have been waiting for has finally arrived: the beginning of the 2015/2016 Serie A campaign. As always, there will be three newly promoted sides hoping to remain in the top flight and a handful of teams seeking to be crowned Scudetto-winners in May.
The new season officially began with Hellas Verona vs. Roma and Lazio vs. Bologna. Today will feature the other 16 teams, including current league champions Juventus as well as AC Milan, Inter, Napoli, and Fiorentina. Seven out of these eight games will be all played simultaneously, with a start time of 14.45 EST/20.45 CET, whilst one, Juventus vs. Udinese will commence at 12.00 EST/18.00 CET.
Juventus vs. Udinese
After winning their fourth straight Scudetto, as well as a Coppa Italia and making it to the finals of the Champions League, Juventus underwent some major changes this summer. Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, and Arturo Vidal all said Arrivederci to Turin to play their football with NYCFC, Boca Juniors, and Bayern Munich respectively. However, the Bianconeri, who are seeking to make it a fifth consecutive Scudetto have been very active in the transfer market, and have spent over €100 million reinforcing all aspects of the team with a good mix of emerging young talents and experienced veterans.
Juventus have already won their first trophy of the season by defeating Lazio 2-0 in their recent Supercoppa Italiana clash, with goals from new signings Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic. With Roma, Inter, Milan, and more all hoping to unseat them at the top of the table, they will be certainly keen on starting on the right foot as they prepare to welcome Udinese to Juventus Stadium later today. Massimiliano Allegri, now in his second season, will have to tinker with his formation and personnel due to several key players being absent due to injuries.
However, Juventus have yet to lose a season opener at home and also enjoy an excellent record against Udinese, who have not beaten them in the league since 2011, which bodes well for the hosts and not so much for their visitors.
Like most of the other teams, Udinese have also made some acquistions in the transfer market and have a new coach, Stefano Colatuono, following Andrea Stramaccioni's resignation. They will be certainly hoping to improve following a miserable time last season that saw them finish in a disappointing 16th place. However, fans will be more excited about the fact that talismanic attacker Antonio Di Natale has opted to extend his playing career by another season.
Fiorentina vs. AC Milan
After another poor campaign, AC Milan opted to again change the man on the tactician's bench, with Filippo Inzaghi being replaced by experienced coach Sinisa Mihajlović. The Serbian boss will be very familiar to Serie A fans due to his spells with Fiorentina and Sampdoria, and will be pitted against some of his former players later today as the Rossoneri take on Fiorentina.
As a result of a second straight season sans European football, Milan have opted to splash the cash this summer in an effort to re-build their squad. Thanks to finally allowing outside investors, the Diavolo have spent over €80 million to bring in attacking reinforcements such as South American duo Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca as well as take a gamble on some emerging young Italian talents, and have been not shy about trying to woo Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to the San Siro.
Like Milan, Fiorentina now has a new coach, with Paolo Sousa taking over following Vincenzo Montella's dismissal. Like Mihajlović, the Portuguese tactician will be feeling the pressure, given that under Montella, Fiorentina managed three straight fourth-placed finishes, securing Europa League football as a result. And finally, like their visitors, the hosts have also added some new faces to the squad including Atletico Madrid's Mario Suarez and have welcomed Giuseppe Rossi back after a long-term injury.
Milan do not have a good record when it comes to facing Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, where the Viola have won their last three season openers when played at home. Additionally, out of the four games on matchday one betwen these two sides, Fiorentina enjoy the upper hand, with two wins and one draw from those matches.
As Serie A's first "Super Sunday" gets underway, will Udinese finally break their bad spell against a Juventus side with some injury concerns? And will Milan be able to undo Fiorentina's good record at the Stadio Artemio Franchi?
The new Serie A campaign looks to be an exciting one for Italian football fans worldwide. Make sure you bookmark LiveSoccerTV's Serie A page for viewing times on these matches and more throught the season.
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