⚽️🇮🇹 Serie A teams make big moves in the transfer market
In this week’s Italian soccer digest, we round up the latest transfer moves, we check in on the biggest moments from summer tournaments here and in Europe, and much more!
🗓️ Inter to begin title defense at Genoa as full schedule announced
We may have to wait until August 17th for the start of the 2024-25 season, but we now know all the key dates for the upcoming Serie A season.
🫡 Reigning champions Inter will begin their campaign away at Genoa, while city neighbors Milan will host Torino. Newly promoted Como will be reintroduced to top flight life with a trip to Juventus, Venezia head to the capital to face Lazio, while Parma host Fiorentina.
🤩 Matchday three will see some enticing clashes, including Inter vs Atalanta, Juventus vs Roma, and Lazio vs Milan
🥊 Inter will host the first Milan derby on Matchday five, the first Turin derby takes place on Matchday 12, while Roma and Lazio will wait until Matchday 19 in the new year to face off at the Olimpico.
🔁 Transfer update: Juve, Napoli, and Lazio building for new season
The summer transfer carousel is up and running at full speed! Here are some of the completed deal highlights so far (with a very interesting deal from Milan coming later in the newsletter)…
🤝 Leonardo Spinazzola has completed his free transfer from Roma to Napoli, on a two-year deal. (And it sounds like his new coach Antonio Conte will want him to have a very particular kind of game face.)
👋 Juventus has secured the services of Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz, with a reported €50m heading to Aston Villa in return. The Premier League side will also see its Italian loanee Nicolo Zaniolo making a further loan move to Atalanta.
🧤 The Bianconeri have also brought in goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio from Monza.
🤝 Fiorentina has picked up Moise Kean from Juve, and Inter has confirmed a deal for Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinski.
🦅 Lazio has brought in Verona forward Tijjani Noslin, Salernitana striker Loum Tchaouna, and loanee midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
🇪🇺 Serie A stars take center stage at Euro 2024
The defending champions may have exited Euro 2024 at the Round of 16 stage, but there has been no shortage of Serie A stars making their mark in Germany.
🇫🇷 Milan’s Mike Maignan and Theo Hernández, Inter’s Marcus Thuram and Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot all featured in France’s semifinal clash with Spain, after eliminating Rafael Leão’s Portugal on PKs at the quarterfinal stage.
🇳🇱 The Netherlands boasted Inter duo Stefan de Vrij and Denzel Dumfries, plus Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders among their ranks in their semifinal defeat to England. De Vrij’s goal against Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s Turkey helped send the Dutch through to the final four.
⚽️ There have been five goals scored by Nerazzurri players during these Euros (Bastoni, Barella, Arnautovic, Calhanoglu, and De Vrij). Only Bayern Munich players have scored more (six).
🇬🇪 Georgia were the surprise entertainment package of the tournament, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s dazzling runs taking center stage. The Napoli star and his countrymen were given a heroes’ welcome upon their return to Tbilisi.
🇨🇭 Switzerland’s valiant run came to an end over the weekend, despite great tournament performances from Serie A stalwarts Yann Sommer, Dan Ndoye, Remo Freuler, Michel Aebischer, and Ricardo Rodriguez.
🇮🇹 It was the Swiss who eliminated Italy in the Round of 16, with Bologna midfielder Freuler scoring the opener. After the defeat, FIGC President Gabriele Gravina gave a vote of confidence to coach Luciano Spalletti, who has held the national team position for less than a year: “There was a long chat with the coach yesterday and I think that it is unthinkable to solve the problems by abandoning a multi-year project after eight to nine months.”
🇦🇷 Lautaro Martínez fires Argentina into Copa America final
Defending champions Argentina have advanced to the final of the 2024 Copa America, with Inter’s Lautaro Martínez leading the top scorer race.
👏 Lautaro brought his tournament tally to four goals with a brace against Peru in La Albiceleste’s final group match.
👍 The reigning Serie A capocannoniere started in Argentina’s quarterfinal win over Ecuador, alongside Fiorentina’s Nico Gonzalez, and made a late cameo in Tuesday night’s win over Canada.
🇨🇦 While Canada was thrilled with their run to the final four - which featured a shootout win over a Venezuela side featuring Parma’s Yordan Osorio - it was very bad news for Lautaro’s Inter teammate Tajon Buchanan, who broke his leg in training last week.
🇧🇷 Juventus’ new signing Douglas Luiz missed his spot kick as Brazil went out to Uruguay in a shootout.
🇺🇸 And sadly, you’ll likely need no reminding that the USMNT did not clear the group stage at the tournament, with Juventus’ Tim Weah earning his marching orders in the defeat to Panama, and after Milan’s Christian Pulisic put the hosts on the board after just three minutes of group play against Bolivia. Coach Gregg Berhalter was relieved of his duties on Wednesday.
💬 Calcio Conversations
The summer transfer market - or calciomercato - is in full flight, and if you’re keeping an eye on the Italian media, you may well have seen references to Mister X.
❌ Who is Mister X? The term refers simply to a mystery man; someone whose identity is secret or unknown. In the context of the Italian transfer window, it’s typically used as a way of describing a surprise signing or transfer target.
🙋 Who is the latest Mister X? Gazzetta dello Sport’s leading headline on Tuesday said: “I’m Mister X” alongside a mocked-up picture of Spain and Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata in a Milan shirt. Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic had hinted a day earlier that the Rossoneri were looking at a mysterious striker.
🆕 Milan Futoro team to begin play in Serie C
The Rossoneri have unveiled a brand-new team, Milan Futuro, which will play in the third tier of Italian soccer.
😯 Milan Futuro is an U23 team which will act as a reserve team for Milan proper. They make their debut in Serie C in 2024-25, taking the place of Ancona, who are excluded due to outstanding debts.
🧑🏻 They will be coached by former Italy and Rossoneri defender Daniele Bonera.
🤓 Serie C consists of 60 teams, split into three geographical regions. Milan Futuro is one of 20 teams in Group B, the central region.
👋 On Monday, three new signings were announced for Milan Futuro: Gabriele Minotti from AS Giana Erminio, plus youth prospects Mbarick Fall and Mattia Sandri.
👕 Social Post of the Week: Napoli unveil new crest and kit
Napoli has unveiled its sleek new EA7 home shirt for 2024-25, which contains their new brand identity: a minimalist and contemporary update to their traditional Napoleonic N crest.
🇺🇸 See Milan play in the USA this summer!
The Rossoneri are taking part in the DIRECTV Soccer Champions Tour this month with stops in New York City, Baltimore, and Chicago!
🥳 New Milan coach Paulo Fonseca will be taking his team on a tour of the United States later this month to play some of the world’s biggest teams.
🗽 On July 27th, Milan will face Premier League champions Man City in New York.
💨 The Rossoneri then head to Chicago to take on reigning European champions Real Madrid.
🦀 Milan will make its final stop in Baltimore to play Spanish giants Barcelona.
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